I was the first one to become interested when we were told that during a summer fitness program that I attended, you burn more calories in the heat. To be able to have more precise measurements of my workouts, I purchased a smart fitness tracker on Amazon.
The reason I picked Amazon is that it was the cheapest, has fast delivery, and has lots of customer reviews that can assist me in making a choice. The primary purpose of my purchase of the tracker was to find out whether hot weather exercises were indeed burning more calories than indoor ones.
In one week of running outside, I was able to experience my body heat more than usual, and my heart rate skyrocketed more than normal. That was when the thought came to my mind: can you really burn more calories, burn weight loss in the heat, or is it the sweating that is playing a trick on me, that I am working harder? I chose to experiment with it and have a report of my experience to allow others to learn.
Why I Started Tracking My Calories in the Heat
The heat in the summer was very tough, but I saw my calorie counter increase after my outdoor exercises. That got me thinking, was this actual burning fat or simply the loss of weight and water through sweating? I had already found a good machine, and I vowed to myself that I would do an indoor workout and an outdoor workout and compare the results.
As an illustration, I had a 30-minute treadmill run in a heated setting with a controlled temperature and did the same exercise in the blazing sun. Weirdly, the tracker indicated about 15-20 per cent more calories used outdoors. However, was this increase really associated with fat loss, or was it merely heat stress on the body?
What Studies Say: Survival Burning Calories in Heat
Further research I conducted led me to discover some conflicting views among professionals. LiveWell Dorset argues that when it is hot, your body works harder to cool down, using more energy — but this is only a slight increase. You burn more calories because your heart beats faster and you inhale more oxygen.
CPR First Aid, however, notes that the difference is not always significant enough to cause permanent fat loss. Much of what happens during a hot workout is simply loss of water weight through sweat, which is regained once you rehydrate.
It aligns with my personal experience — I sweated much more outside, but the scale didn’t change much after drinking fluids the next day. So, do you actually use more calories when you sweat? The answer is: sweating doesn’t mean fat loss, but the energy your body uses to regulate temperature does slightly increase calorie burn. If you want to learn effortless ways to keep your metabolism active even on lazy days, check out this helpful guide on lazy ways to burn calories.
Comparing Heat vs Cold: Which Burns More Calories?
The other query that has been posed is, does being cold or hot burn more calories? Funny enough, there are research findings that cold weather can even burn more calories since the body is shivering to create heat. This uncontrolled move uses energy and is capable of increasing the calorie burn.
In my trial runs, I had realised that when the weather was colder, I would not sweat as much, yet my body would be as exhausted. In the comparison of my tracker results, the difference in the number of calories burned during cold and hot workouts was not as big as I thought. This has made me learn that, as much as you are walking in cold or heat, your body manages to use the energy. The actual calorie loss is still left to rely more on the intensity of the work exercises rather than the temperature.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Working Out in the Sun
Pros:
- You are more challenged, and this may drive motivation.
- Minor increase in calories burnt because of heat control.
- It is able to develop heat tolerance.
- Increases sweating, which others consider to be an excellent exercise.
Cons:
- The bulk of the weight loss is not fat.
- Great danger of dehydration and heat exhaustion.
- Strenuous physical activities in hot weather may decrease performance.
- Not sustainable in day-to-day activities, particularly among the novices.
There were positive factors that encouraged me on my personal path, but negative factors were making me look wary. I came to an understanding that heat workouts can make the exercises more varied, but they cannot take the place of regular exercise under normal conditions.
My Final Feedback on Burning Calories in Heat
I have tested weeks later and concluded that you burn more calories in the heat. Yes, but only slightly. It is not even that big to fall back on as a means of losing weight. Sweating will make you think that you are burning fat; however, it is the effort that your body puts into cooling you down that will result in the loss of calories.
In case you like outdoor exercises, then you can gain a minor advantage by training in the heat. It is necessary to be hydrated, to listen to your body and not to work too hard. In my case, now I prefer hot-weather training as a boost but not as my primary weight loss method.
Conclusion
Working out in hot climates can slightly increase the number of calories burned, although the change is not a dramatic one. Still, consistency, intensity, and balanced nutrition are the keys to losing weight. Exercising leads to more sweat, but it does not lead to fat loss; it’s only a way of cooling your body.
