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You Asked: Does Sweating Mean You're Burning More Calories?

FitSugar — Fri, 30 May 2008 03:30:00 -0700

You're asking and I'm answering. . .

Dear Fit,
I work out with a friend of mine all the time. Whether we're running, biking, or in a yoga class, she's always drenched in sweat. I feel like we're both equally fit, but I hardly sweat. Does that mean I'm burning less calories?
—Dry Dara

I'm so glad you asked about this because I'm sure other readers were wondering about the connection between sweating and calorie burn too. To see my answer, just

5 Things: Burn 100 Holiday Calories

FitSugar — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 02:30:00 -0800

Holidays are a great time to get together with family and friends, to share laughter and memories, and to eat a ton of delicious decadent foods. Here are five easy ways to burn 100 calories around this time of year:

Vacuum your entire house before your guests arrive for 25 minutes.
Clean vigorously around the house for 30 minutes, scrubbing the shower and bathroom, washing the windows and floors, and sweeping the stairs.
Iron your family's fancy party clothes so they look pressed and neat for 25 minutes.
Crank up the holiday tunes and dance with your family and friends for 20 minutes.
Take your dog, or just yourself for a brisk 15 minute walk.

You've got to do all of this stuff anyway, right? Well, maybe not the ironing! Now you know at least, that all that hard work is burning calories too.

Source

Skipping Meals Won't Help You Lose Weight

FitSugar — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 13:30:00 -0700

If you want to lose weight, it's simple math — to lose one pound a week, you must burn approximately 3500 calories over and above what you already burn doing daily activities. That's about 500 calories a day that you need to either cut out or burn with exercise. Let me say this out loud: Skipping meals doesn't count.

If you skip let's say Breakfast, or decrease your calories significantly (to less than 1000 calories a day), you're not helping your body lose weight. You're actually decreasing the rate of your metabolism. You go into "starvation mode" where the body tries to compensate for the low calories. Your metabolic rate can actually decrease as much as 10-15%, and your body will hold onto the fat and burn lean muscle instead.

Skipping a meal also makes you really hungry, so when you do go to eat your next meal, you'll probably end up overeating, which also won't help you lose weight. Try to reduce your daily caloric intake by 250 calories and burn the other 250 calories by working out. Try passing on that extra slice of pizza at lunchtime, and take a walk.

Fit's Tips: Don't let yourself go hungry. Eat throughout the day, making sure to eat 3 meals a day, and include small, healthy snacks in between.

Source

Back to Basics: How The Body Burns Calories

FitSugar — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 09:30:00 -0700

This may seem like sixth grade science class all over again but if you are trying to lose calories, then you should know the basics of how your body burns them. Here are the three primary functions the body uses for burning calories from RealBuzz.com:

Basal metabolic rate. Your BMR accounts for about 60% of your daily calorie burn, and is simply there to keep your body alive, irrespective of your activity levels.
Activity and exercise. The fuel that you require for your daily activities – from every small movements through to harder exercise – accounts for the next 30% of your calorie expenditure.
Thermogenesis. Every time you eat, digest, absorb and utilize food, heat is generated – which is referred to as the ‘thermogenic effect’. This meal-induced heat production accounts for the remaining 10% of your calorie expenditure.

So it is important to always keep the three primary calorie burning functions in mind when going through our weight loss journey. Especially activity and exercise as this is the one area where most of us are majorly lacking -- Coincidentally it also happens to be the area that we have the most control over.

Source

Burn a Few More Calories: Take a Self Defense Class

FitSugar — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 09:30:00 -0700

Some of my favorite kinds of workouts are the ones that kill two birds with one stone. For example, I love getting in 30 minutes of cardio while watching the last episode of TopChef (yes, I watch that show too). I also love doing pull-ups and dips on the monkey bars while I am at the park with my kids.

Another way to get fit and accomplish something (aside from plain ol' getting healthy) while you're exercising is to take a self-defense class. Here's why: Your first defense in self-defense is to run (run Forest, run...), and we all know how good running is at burning calories. Your next defense in self-defense is to try to fight off a possible attacker, which means you'll be learning how to protect yourself with specialized moves. Perfecting moves such as the Hammer Fist and Elbow Shots is an excellent method for burning calories as well as empowering yourself too. Check around for self-defense classes near you. A lot of local YMCAs offer them as well as community centers, and even gyms, nationwide.

Volleyball Tourney: Take it From Eva Longoria

FitSugar — Thu, 24 May 2007 04:00:00 -0700

Eva Longoria took a minute out of her busy wedding preparation schedule to participate in a Celebrity Charity Volleyball Tournament - the tournament raised funds for PADRES Contra El Cancer.

Eva is definitely working hard to be toned and stress free on her big day. Beach volleyball is a fabulous way to burn off a few extra calories and steam. You can always join a league. I'm a big fan of joining leagues because you are more accountable and have to show up; otherwise it is just too easy to skip it when you're feeling lazy. Not ready for a league, well you can also partner up and head to the beach (or local spot where there is a sand volleyball court) for a pick up game. I love a good competition and nothing gets the stress out like a mean spike. What's more? A 130 pound person can burn about 500 calories playing beach volleyball for an hour and it's a fabulous upper body workout.

Fit's Tip: Wear water/sweat proof sunscreen to keep your skin protected. Follow Eva's lead and wear a hat and sunglasses to protect your face and eyes since all the looking up for the ball can mean a lot of sun time and squinting [read breeding ground for wrinkles] on that beautiful face of yours.

For more pics of bride-to-be Eva showing them how it's done on a beach volleyball court,

Street Surfing: Ride The Wave

FitSugar — Fri, 18 May 2007 04:00:00 -0700

Winter has come to an end and those of us who are into snowboarding may be a little down. Maybe you're fortunate enough that you're able to go surfing now - For those of us that don't live anywhere close to water, we can still ride the wave...

The Wave ($129.95) is a very cool new board that's part skateboarding, part surfing, part snowboarding. It's also known as street surfing because your body is doing the movements much like you would if you were actually surfing (the board has two wheels that rotate 360 degrees). Aside from being really, really cool, the board is propelled by using core movements of the body, making it a great addition to your fitness plan. My guess is that you can burn about 250 (or more) calories per hour while riding The Wave, depending on how skilled you are. Buy it from StreetSurfing.com.

Skate or Die.

Fit's Tip: Be sure to wear pads and a helmet, because nothing is as uncool as busting open your head, while trying to be cool.

What can one pound of muscle do for you?

FitSugar — Thu, 03 May 2007 12:52:55 -0700

One pound of muscle burns how many calories a day?

A New Way to Burn Calories: Speedminton

FitSugar — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 07:30:00 -0700

Looking for a new way to burn calories and tone those arms all while having fun? Who isn't, right?

Try Speedminton, a cross between tennis, badminton, racquetball and squash, but requires no walls, no net and no court. It's a great way to just to have fun at the beach, park, in your backyard or driveway with friends and family. Or you can get more competitive... which you know I love. According to SpeedmintonUSA, you'll burn about 400 calories an hour. In addition to burning major calories, playing a few matches will help to sculpt arms and back, as well as tone legs.

The best part? It's totally affordable! The Speedminton Bag Set ($29.99) includes: 2 Speedracquets, 3 different aerodynamic Speeders, 8 Easy Court cones so you can set up anywhere, 4 Speedlights for up to 3 hours of night play and 1 Speedbag for carrying with you every where you go. Buy it from SportsAuthority.com.

Wii and Weight Loss - It's Official

FitSugar — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 02:00:00 -0800

Well, the research is in. Kids who regularly play Wii games burn up a significantly larger amount of calories than kids who play other game consoles, or spend their time passively watching TV.

Not really surprising news for anyone who has ever played Wii Sports. After a night of Wii bowling, the next day my arm was really sore and I knew that I had worked it!!!

Professor Tim Cable headed the study at Liverpool John Moores University, where they measured the impact of playing Wii versus playing a traditional non-motion-controlled console on 5 girls and 7 boys, between the ages of 13 and 15 years.

15 minutes of gaming using a traditional controller increased the subject’s energy expenditure above resting values by an average of 60%. With a Wii controller this was increased to a whopping 156%.

Heart rates also increased to 130 beats per minute while playing Wii, compared with 85 beats per minute with a traditional console.

Most kids who are serious gamers, average about 12.2 hours of playing video games a week. At 150 calories an hour, in a week they'll burn 1,830 using the Wii, which works out to be 40% more than your average video game.

Wow that's great news, but too bad it's next to impossible to get your hands on a Wii right now.

Do You Have to Sweat in Order to Burn Calories?

FitSugar — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:05:00 -0800

OK people, just because you're sweating, does NOT mean you are burning calories. Just because you're not sweating doesn't mean you're not burning calories. Caloric burn depends on the intensity and duration of the exercise.

The environment plays a big role in how much you sweat. If you exercise in an air-conditioned room, you will not sweat so much because the cold dry air works to quickly evaporate your sweat. Your body can easily cool the heat generated by your exercise.

Exercising in a hot and humid room will just exhaust you faster, and you won't burn as many calories because you will stop working out sooner.

On the same note, when you go into a sauna, you're not burning calories - you are merely sweating. Any weight loss incurred is likely to be water-loss from perspiration, and will be regained as soon as you drink fluids.

Sweating is simply a way to cool your body so you don't overheat. Some people prefer to workout in ways that make them sweat, because they feel like they've worked hard. Other folks like to sweat because it's cleansing, and releases toxins from their body.

So now we know, a good workout and a good sweat do NOT go hand in hand.

A Quick Chart to Live By

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 16:26:09 -0800

Health Magazine online has a couple of great charts that you can print out and use daily. One that I found especially helpful is the Workout Free Fitness chart that shows how many calories you (man or woman) can burn doing relatively normal activities.

Check out the other charts on Health.com. I've printed some out and keep them on my refrigerator for inspiration. Not to obsess on Valentine's Day, but 4th from the top seems like a great inspiration to stay in the spirit all year round. Or maybe you'll be inspired to mow your own lawn instead of hiring someone else to do it. Enjoy!

Eat Fat - Burn Calories?

FitSugar — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 03:58:13 -0800

It may sound weird to include fat in your diet when most of us want to dissolve the fat we already have.

A low-fat diet was all the craze, but studies now show that increasing your fat intake a little (to 30-35% of total calories) doesn't translate to bad news on the scale. By including healthy fats in your fiber-rich and lean protein diet, you may find it easier to lose weight permanently, stay fuller longer, and avoid the binging that packs on the extra pounds.

In order to burn calories effectively, you need to consume regular doses of healthy fats. Sorry to say - I'm not talking about junk foods that contain saturated or trans fat.

Some foods containing these good fats good-for-you-fats are nuts like walnuts and cashews, nut butters like peanut and almond, seeds like sesame and sunflower, salmon, avocado, flaxseed, green and black olives, and olive oil.

Fit's Tips: Snack on a handful of nuts to get your fill of healthy fats. Instead of buttering up your bread with dinner, try brushing on some olive oil.

Drinking Cold Water

FitSugar — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 10:15:00 -0800

What's the deal with drinking cold water? Is it bad for you? If you drink it, are you burning more calories? I'm here to set the record straight.

Drinking cold water is actually good for you. In order to re-hydrate after exercising, your water should be below room temperature. Colder fluids leave your stomach more quickly, so they'll get to your body faster.

When you're in hot weather, you lose extra fluids. Drinking cold water actually helps to cool you from the inside.

So now we know it's good to drink cold water, but are we burning extra calories when we do? The answer is yes. Your body is burning calories to raise the temperature of the cold water to be equal to your body temp.

Don't go running away to stick ice in all of your bottles of water just yet. Drinking a 16 ounce glass of ice water only burns 17.5 calories. But if you're strictly sticking to the 8, 8 oz glasses of water a day rule, drinking 64 oz of cold water burns 70 calories. Over time, that 70 calories a day really adds up.

Burn it up - Xtra calories, that is

FitSugar — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 02:30:00 -0800

Maybe you splurged a little over the weekend and ate just a bit more than you meant to and here it is again: Monday. So now you're looking for some everyday ways to burn some extra calories to offset that double-double with cheese.

Well here's a few ideas to try.

If you ride public transportation - don't sit, STAND. Plus it gives you a chance to work your core so you don't fly about the bus or subway car as it jerks you around.
Park as far away as you can from your destination, this way you have to walk more, or get off the bus or subway one stop earlier. More steps means more calories burned.
Clean vigorously - a little elbow grease goes a long way. Just up your speed as you dust, vacuum or scrub.
Eat breakfast. It helps to jump start your metabolism.
Take 3 - 4 minute exercise breaks throughout the day while at work.

Fit's tip: Add some of these to your daily routine and create some fabulous new habits.