Does Your Body Burn More Calories if You Are Hot or if You Are Cold?

Temperature affects how many calories we burn. According to the American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide, both prolonged exposure to cold temperatures and perspiration to lower body temperature use extra energy. The effect of temperature on your caloric burn rate varies with your body mass and the extremity of the temperature.

How Many Calories You Burn

According to a 2000 study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, you can calculate the number of calories you burn if you have a few key pieces of information. Start the equation by multiplying your body weight in kilograms by 3.5. Multiply the product of this equation by a metabolic equivalent intensity level, or MET. Then divide the entire product by 200. MET is a value that represents the calorie-burning potential of an activity. Walking has a MET of 2.5. Bodily function with no additional activity is assigned a MET of 1. This is known as your basal metabolic rate, or BMR. The equation to figure your BMR can be expressed as: (MET x body weight in kg. x 3.5)/200 = calories burned per minute. If you weigh 220 lbs., which is about 100 kg, you burn around 1.75 calories per minute or 105 calories per hour.

Effects of Temperature on BMR

According to the text, "Thermal Effects on Cells and Tissues," BMR changes as a function of temperature. BMR will change by seven percent for each temperature change of 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, when external conditions affect your body temperature, your body will burn more calories as it tries to compensate for the anomaly and restore your body to its normal temperature, increasing your BMR. This effect occurs in conditions of both heat and cold.

Heat and BMR

Your BMR reacts more slowly to external heat than it does cold. Short exposures to higher temperatures have little effect on your BMR. The text, "Basics of Clinical Nutrition," notes that your body's mechanisms to increase heat loss, such as perspiration, adjust for temperature increases and mitigate their effects on BMR. Prolonged heat exposure or an increase in internal temperature, however, can raise your BMR. For example, if you have a fever that is 3 degrees Fahrenheit above normal, your BMR will increase more than 20 percent.

Cold and BMR

Your body responds quickly to heat loss that arises from cold external temperatures. Your muscles move and twitch; you shiver, which increases your bodies heat production by as much as five times its normal level, according to Suzanne Schneider, a professor in the Department of Physical Performance and Development at the University of New Mexico. Your body constricts veins and re-routes blood flow initially, toward the skin and then back toward your core as internal temperature decreases, increasing your overall BMR.

Heat vs. Cold

The answer to whether your body uses more calories if you are hot or if your are cold is: it depends. If you walk outside in cold weather, your body will immediately raise its BMR to compensate for heat loss and burn more calories. You will burn few extra calories in hotter weather unless you are exposed for a long period of time. On the other hand, if your internal temperature increases a few degrees, your BMR begins to rise quickly. A fever of 105 F, for example, represents an almost 50 percent increase in BMR. Burning calories at this rate can lead to tissue damage and threaten your life.

Read More ..... »

How to Burn Calories While Lying in Bed

Burning calories while lying in bed may seem like a dream come true, but you may not realize that your body is constantly burning calories during homeostasis -- the process of keeping your organs and body systems functioning. When you crunch the numbers, you'll realize that your body efficiently burns quite a lot of calories throughout the day, even during periods of inactivity.

Step 1

Find out your basal metabolic rate. This is the number of calories your body burns daily if you were to stay in bed all day. To figure out your basal metabolic rate, use the formula below provided by BMI-Calculator.net. You'll need to know your weight in pounds and height in inches. Divide your basal metabolic rate by 24 to find out how many calories you burn every hour you lie in bed. The formula:



Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years).

Men: BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in year).

For example, a 28-year-old woman who is 70 inches tall and weighs 160 lbs. has a basal metabolic rate of 1,548.4 calories and burns 64.5 calories per hour. The math:

BMR = 655 + (4.35 x 160) + (4.7 x 70) - (4.7 x 28) = 1, 548.4 calories

BMR/hr = 1,548.4 / 24 = 64.5

Step 2

Perform light activities in bed to burn more calories. According to USA Today, you can burn from 70 to 100 calories per hour reading. Writing in bed clocks in at 100 to 140 calories per hour and watching TV burns 55 to 75 calories per hour.

Step 3

Perform progressive muscle relaxation while lying down to burn a few more calories. Lie on your back with your arms at your sides. Starting at your toes, tense and relax the muscles at each body part. For example, squeeze the muscles of the toes and relax them before moving on to the feet. Progressively move through the body up to the head, engaging as many muscles as possible. An additional perk of progressive muscle relaxation is an increased sense of calm and less difficulty falling asleep.

Read More ..... »

How to Burn Calories in School

When you are trying to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. However, If you attend school for many hours a day, it can be difficult to feel active when sitting behind a desk. In addition to making dietary changes and working out, you can burn additional calories by changing your actions at school. Even small changes can add up over time.

Step 1

Eat regularly during the day to keep your metabolism going. Although it can be tempting to severely restrict your calorie intake to lose weight, your body burns calories more slowly to make the most of the energy it has. Have a healthy breakfast, always eat lunch, and keep small snacks on hand to prevent blood-sugar crashes. Eat protein, which helps build muscle mass. Because muscle burns more calories than fat, lean protein lunches can help you burn more calories overall.

Step 2

Work in small periods of exercise throughout the day to get your heart rate up and burn more calories. Stand up and walk around whenever possible; you burn more calories while standing than sitting. Between classes, don't stroll leisurely through the halls; instead, pick up the pace and walk quickly. Go for a walk or a jog around campus at lunch, taking a few walking lunges as you go. If you drive to school, park as far away as possible and take the stairs instead of the elevator.

Step 3

Turn sitting down into an opportunity to exercise by planning resistance training into your day. "Forbes" magazine recommends working in small exercises that will get your heartbeat up. Work your arms by placing your palms on the edge of your chair and holding your body above the seat. Tighten your abs and hold them to strengthen your stomach, repeating as often as possible. Work your legs by doing leg lifts and toe raises.

Step 4

Make small, fidgety movements even when you are sitting down. According to Dr. James Levine in an article for the "New York Times," people who move more though fidgeting, pacing, and other unconscious activities, burn more calories than those who do not. When you must be seated during classes at school, offset the negative effects of sitting by making an effort to move around more. Bend over to tie your shoes, bounce your leg, or get up to sharpen your pencil. In doing so, you can burn more calories.

Read More ..... »

Does Running on Hills Make You Lose Calories?

Running on hills can annihilate calories, if you are up to the challenge. While moderate aerobic activity on flat land, like running on a track or a treadmill, is efficient for burning calories, adding hills into your running routine is markedly more effective. Take your cardio to the next level by burning calories with an uphill running workout.

Calories Burned by Running

• Aerobic exercise, like running, is the most efficient way to burn calories. But you can burn even more calories when you make your aerobic activity more difficult. Adding hills into your running routine will definitely increase the challenge. For every 5 percent increase in grade -- a small change in topography -- you can burn up to five more calories a minute than running on flat land. Take shorter, higher strides than you would on level land and swing your arms more forcefully to make the most of your workout.

Muscles Burn Calories

• Besides the fact that hills push your heart rate and your oxygen consumption to increase, they also challenge your muscles more than running on flat land. Your quads strain to push your body uphill, which helps you build stronger thigh muscles. This is a huge bonus for burning calories, because muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue. By increasing your strength with uphill runs, you will increase the amount of muscle tissue in your body, increasing your body's ability to burn calories more efficiently.

Break it Up

• Running uphill has many advantages, but it is also extremely difficult. Make the most of your time and energy by doing running sprints for short periods of time uphill with an interval workout. After jogging to warm up for 10 minutes, run uphill quickly for 20 seconds. Walk briskly for two minutes and then repeat this four more times, switching on and off between the brief hard runs and the longer recovery walks for a total of five sprints. If you combine this with two miles of running on flat land you can torch up to 340 calories a session. You may end up a happier runner, too, since high-intensity interval training has been linked to a greater enjoyment of running.

Lack of Oxygen

• You should be careful running up hills that are located at high elevations. Oxygen is harder to access the higher you get, and that can lead to hypoxia. Hypoxia is a lack of oxygen in your body, which can result in fatigue, injury and even death. If you feel dizzy, light-headed or like you can't see very well while running at a higher elevation, take a break. Hill-running is an effective method for burning calories, but you should be mindful of your health and safety when embarking upon this challenging exercise.

Read More ..... »

How Does Archery Burn Calories?

If you’re looking for a new hobby or have previous experience with archery, you’ll find joy in knowing that the sport certainly burns some calories. While it isn’t too physically demanding and probably won’t help you dramatically shed pounds, you can enjoy an afternoon of archery as part of your regular workout regimen.

Activity Involved

Archery isn’t a strenuous cardio workout that gets your heart pumping, but it is a form of exercise that burns calories. Target archery requires you to stand in place and shoot at targets at various distances and locales. While you’re not moving around a lot, you are carrying a pack of arrows, as well as a bow, making you lift some weight. Plus, while you’re aiming at the target, you’ll hold up the bow and arrow for several seconds until you’re ready to release. If you’re not used to the weight, your arms will feel the burn. Field archery also requires you to shoot at targets, although you’ll be walking around to do so -- possibly on some type of course.

Calories Burned

As with any form of activity, the more you weigh, the more calories you utilize. So if you weigh around 125 pounds, you’ll burn roughly 105 calories from 30 minutes of archery target practice. But if you weigh closer to 155 pounds, you’ll shave off 130 calories, and as much as 155 calories if you are at a weight of 185 pounds.

Warming Up and Cooling Down

You’ll also burn calories from your afternoon of target practice if you warm your body up ahead of time and then do some sort of cool-down activity afterward. Just 15 minutes of walking and light stretching uses up 60 calories at a weight of 125 pounds. If you weigh 155 pounds or 185 pounds, you’ll burn off 75 and 90 calories in 15 minutes, respectively.

Losing Weight

You have to create a deficit of 3,500 calories in order to lose 1 pound of body weight, explains MayoClinic.com. Either burn off all those calories -- about 500 a day to lose a pound a week -- or burn a few and cut some calories with your diet. Shave 200 calories from your daily diet and then burn 300 calories with exercise, for example. Since a half-hour of archery doesn’t use up that many calories, go for a run beforehand. Keeping a steady pace of 5 mph for 30 minutes -- or a 12 minute mile -- burns 240 calories at 125 pounds, 300 calories at 155 pounds and 355 calories if you weigh 185 pounds. You’ll get the cardio your heart craves and then head off to get some toning while shooting a bow and arrow.

Read More ..... »