So, does weather help control how many calories you burn?
Yes and no. Both warmer and colder climates have positive and negative aspects when it comes to weight loss, particularly when it comes to certain seasonal behaviors that are crucial to maintaining an ideal body weight. Consider the fact that in warmer weather, people tend to be a little more active, and are more conscious of their bodies since they’re wearing less.
But that’s not even the whole story.
Most of the frustration regarding fat loss is caused by the fact that we’re actually battling with our body’s innate ability to protect itself. This is because one of the primary protective functions of our body is to maintain a temperature close to or equal to 98.6. The body has an extraordinarily complex set of procedures to accomplish this goal, particularly by controlling the body’s metabolism.
Fat plays three major roles in regards to the metabolism:
• Fat is the preferred fuel source used for body temperature regulation.
• Fat is an insulator that helps retain heat in cold environments.
• Fat provides the whole body with a long term fuel source, which during extended cold spells, allowed our ancestors to survive and forage for food.
The metabolism slows down when it’s hot. The slower our metabolism gets, the less we use fat as a fuel source. But, as stated before, this is balanced by the idea that we tend to eat less and exercise more in warmer months.
On the flip side, the body’s ability to generate heat during cold times is done by increasing the metabolism. The metabolism requires a tremendous amount of fuel during this time and burns more fat.
So, yes, technically, colder weather does indeed help burn more fat!
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