After an amazing workout, whenever we sweat buckets it can be a sign. That we are working hard~ however, does it indicate that you’re burning body fat?
You sweat when your body temperature rises. This response might make you think your body is burning extra calories but this is not always the case.
Take, for example, a blazing hot summer. You might sweat by just sitting down on your sofa watching TV if your AC is broken. In this case, no fat is being reduced. But if you come home after a 2k run during the winter. You might even sweat equal amounts, but the run will have a much more significant effect on your fat loss.
To clear some facts and make things more clear, in this article. I will go through all the main pointers to help you answer the question. ‘DOES SWEATING HELP REDUCE BELLY FAT?‘
Why Do We Sweat?
You have sweat glands present throughout the body that are ready to cool your body down. Whenever it starts to overheat. As sweat is released from the gland, it starts evaporating from your skin~ cooling your body in the process. Without this, our core temperature would overwhelm our body causing many risk factors.
Body temperature can be raised by many factors. Such as negative emotions like stress, eating spicy foods, getting sick, and drinking alcohol.
Photo by KarstenWinegeart on Unsplash
Sweating Means A Better Workout?
Sweating can mean that you are having a great workout. Despite that, there are other factors to consider.
Doing intense training like HIIT will certainly get your heart rate up with its fast-paced nature. Yet yoga is still a great option for cutting down belly fat. Even though you will not be sweating as much. Another great example is swimming~ it is probably one of the best exercises for zapping away your calories. Since you are in the water, your body is already getting cooled meaning no sweat is secreted.
Environment plays a role as well, as I mentioned previously in the summertime you are naturally going to sweat more. People tend to take their feet off the pedal. As they think if they are sweating twice as much as usual, they don’t need to work as hard. So, while executing your regular workouts, don’t get fooled by your drenched clothes.
Some people genetically sweat easier than other people. Even if they are working at the same level as you. So don’t dictate the effectiveness of your workout by this component.
Does Sweating Result In Weight Loss
Sweating does result in some weight loss, however, it’s only for an extremely short period. What I mean by this is the weight that you lose right after a sweat-drenching exercise. Is the result of getting rid of excess water from your body~ also known as water weight.
losing water weight is easier/quicker to see results on the scale than losing fat. This might sound good at the start, except you will gain it all back after just a bottle of water. So, it is not a true measurement for weight loss.
Rather than sweat you should focus on getting consistent workouts every week. Losing fat would be the truest form of losing weight, which can take some time. Even if you don’t have time for the gym. There are many home exercises that are quick and easy to perform.
Hydration will be key to keeping your body in good condition by replenishing the lost water back.
How Many Calories Does Sweating Burn?
The amount of sweat does not quantify how many calories had been burnt. Even though your body does use some energy for the production and secretion of sweat. It is nowhere enough to make any difference.
Rather than sweat, your body uses additional calories as fuel to accommodate physical activities. The large muscles on your body are used for a longer period. Your body will eat up a higher amount of calories. To give you a perspective on average a 2km run will burn around 235 calories. This number can change depending on your speed and weight.
People also naturally burn calories throughout the day even without doing any exercise. On average according to the dietary guideline women burn around. 1,600 to 2,400 calories whilst, for men, it’s 2,000 to 3,000.
How To Effectively Lose Fat
Losing body fat can be more complicated than you might think. But is sweat part of this equation? Not necessarily, sweating does not correlate with fat loss. There are many other important factors that you should consider which will have a bigger impact~ these are:
Balanced Diet
Diet should be your no1 priority for weight loss. No matter what you do, if your diet is not optimized then everything else becomes futile.
The hardest part about sticking with your diet is probably the cravings you get throughout the day. Your brain randomly tells you to consume food loaded with fat or sugar. To combat these cravings make sure to eat foods. They are high in fiber & protein as they make you fuller for a longer period. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water, dehydration can also cause your craving to spike up.
You should be burning more calories than you are consuming. To support this switch up your processed foods with whole foods. Whole foods include fruits, vegetables, brown rice, fish, and eggs. Unprocessed foods are high in essential nutrients. High in fiber, low in sugar, and most importantly they are lower in calories. Having lower calories and making you fuller for longer, whole foods are a clear winner for fat loss.
Daily workouts
Once you get your diet on point, you need a vehicle to burn off calories. Getting your daily exercise no matter what it is, could just be a brisk walk for 20 minutes—having the discipline of doing something. Even on your busy days will tremendously help you out in the long run.
There are 4 types of workouts- endurance, strength, flexibility, and balance. All these 4 types should include in your routine as they all interlink with each other. Excluding some of the types will not make much difference at the beginning. But once you start advancing problems will start surfacing due to it. Here are some examples for each category
- Strength- Squat, push-ups, lunges, and plank
- Endurance- Hiit, swimming, running and skipping rope
- Flexibility- Yoga, seated butterfly, standing calf stretch, and wall slide
- Balance- One-leg Romanian deadlift, sideways walking, marching and step-ups
Sleep
Sleep is as significant as your diet and workout. Without a good night’s rest, your body will less likely to cooperate with your routine for the day. Firstly it will cause an imbalance of your hormones, and due to this. The body would naturally craves foods that are high in sugar or calories. Secondly, lack of sleep can slow the recovery of your muscles. Feeling fatigued and achy can have a big negative impact on your motivation to exercise.
Your metabolic rate increases with sleep. Metabolic rate is the number of calories that your body burns to just function. So with quality sleep, you will be burning extra calories without having to do anything.
What Are The Benefits Of Sweating
Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay
There are many other benefits of sweating than just cooling your body ~ a few of them are:
Cleanses Skin:
Sweat is mainly made out of water. But there is still a small percentage of harmful toxins present in it such as ammonia. Build up of these toxins can cause skin problems in the form of pimples and acne. Getting rid of the toxins will help cleans your skin.
Another way it helps your skin is by clearing up your pores. When the sweat comes out from within your skin. It pushes out any build of dead skin or oils, thus unblocking your pores. However, it is important to wash your face soon after to fully make sure it does not get blocked again.
Protect From Foreign Invaders:
Your sweat glands secrete dermcidin peptide, which has antimicrobial properties. Dermcidin fights off many microorganisms present on your skin surface, regulating a healthy skin surface. Our skin is our first line of defense. So, killing off microorganisms before they through the barrier will help prevent you from getting ill.
Lowers The Chance Of Kidney Stones
Excess build-up of salt & calcium can lead to kidney stones. As the stone builds up, there is only one way that it can exist in your body and that is through your urine. People have mentioned this being one of the most painful experiences they have experienced.
By sweating you would be flushing out excess salt from your body. You are also likely to drink plenty of water after you sweat. Drinking enough water will fend off stones from building up at all from the beginning.
Better Mood
After a tough workout, seeing yourself sweat makes your brain release endorphins which are the feel-good hormones. Drenching in sweat gives you a sense of accomplishment. Which is a great thing to keep you motivated.
Conclusion
Sweating does not have a big part when it comes to the reduction of belly fat. It can sometimes be a sign of you working hard after a workout. However, this is only a vague measurement that you shouldn’t rely on.
So to answer the question ‘Does Sweating Help Reduce Belly Fat? No, it does not. Sweating is just our biological reaction for keeping our body healthy. It has various benefits but unfortunately, fat loss is not one of them.
Hey, my name is Kevin and I am all about spreading positive information about living a healthy life. Leading a healthy life does not need to be complicated, there are plenty of easy methods that fit everyone. I share health & fitness topics over on my own website raikevin.com~ feel free to check them out. Read another article from this author. Hip Flexor Exercise | The 7 Best For Improving Physical Health
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Loved writing this post, sweating can be a tricky subject sometimes, hopefully this article was able to answer some of your quires you had.
Hi Kevin Rai,
Thank you for your comment, and for this article, we try our best to keep our readers informed.
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