Sweat is just fat crying! Sounds great right? Gives the idea that the more you sweat, the more weight you can lose right? Well I really don’t like to be the bearer of not so good news but I have to be honest with you guys, this statement is not really based on truth and serves as more of a mental / motivational pitch, so let me try to break it down to you as best as I can.
Sweat or perspiration as it is otherwise called is simply a means by which the body regulates its temperature. It consists of water like fluid and is in fact literally approximately 99 per cent water with trace amounts of lactic acid, fatty acid and urea that secretes from our sweat glands which are present all over our bodies. The fact is, what we really lose when we sweat is mainly water, electrolytes and trace minerals and not toxins, since fat is burnt inside cells for energy.
It is a fact that some people sweat way more than others however this is not an indication of one’s fitness level since different factors can influence how much a person sweats. Some of these factors include, age, weight, genetic inheritance, fitness levels, water retention levels and environmental factors. When performing exercise routines, more than anything else, your weight and level of fitness will impact on the amount of sweat that is produced since your body requires more energy to satisfy more weight; the more body mass, the more sweat will be required to regulate the body temperature.
So it stands to reason that the better your fitness level, the faster you will generate sweat since the body will be more efficient at regulating its temperature which can allow more rigorous workout routines.
Now I am not saying that you won’t lose any fat from sweating because if you are engaged in very high intensity forms of exercise such as lifting heavy weights, running a marathon or hiking, the likelihood of your body burning some fat is very real. No, what I am saying is that sweat in and of itself is no precise measurement of fat burn during exercise or other forms of activity. Believe it or not the water weight will return as soon as you replenish your water intake. I am pretty confident that many of us have engaged in activities such as yoga, swimming and exercising in an air-conditioned environment where sweating is minimal at best yet our bodies still reduce its fat content and dare I say, in an even more effective manner than in extreme heat.
Throughout my life as a fitness expert, I have seen people take many seemingly desperate methods to lose weight via sweating in response to this myth. People would wear layers of clothes, ie jackets or even plastics while walking, running or exercising in hot / humid conditions for the purpose of losing weight, or they would work out in a gym without air-condition. I am here to tell you that what these acts usually do is simply put your body under stress, induce exhaustion and cause dehydration resulting in headaches, vomiting, loss of electrolytes, or heat stroke which overall hampers performance and does not produce the desired results.
Now you know that sweating and losing weight are not simultaneous so improve the quality of your food intake, supplements and exercise regime and your weight loss goals can be more realistically achieved.
Don’t believe the hype!