This conclusion can be drawn from observations of lovers of running and winter outdoor activities. Therefore, if you want to start running to lose weight, but you are stopped by the frost, this is the wrong decision. You should not wait for summer, it is easier to lose weight in winter.
The most popular opinion is that it is easier to lose weight in summer. But all arguments in favor of this boil down to the fact that in the heat one simply wants to eat less, while in winter the body accumulates fat. These assumptions are not entirely correct because they are too narrow in their scope of causality. The reasoning that we sweat more in the summer, and therefore lose weight, is completely incorrect and, one might say, primitive.
The body does tend to replenish body fat under the influence of cold. However, we are talking about so-called brown fat. It is the best source of energy and thermal insulator. And this is not the kind of fat you see on your belly, thighs and buttocks, which for simplicity is called white fat.
Babies are born with a lot of brown fat, which is evenly distributed throughout their bodies. It serves both as physical protection against temperature fluctuations and as an easily accessible energy plant. But soon the body ceases to need a large supply of brown fat, as thermal stresses (in this case, cold) become rare due to the greenhouse environment. However, this does not stop our appetite in any way, so the excess ballast is quickly deposited in long-term white storage.
In response to the cold, the adult body can create an analogue of brown fatty tissue, similar in its properties and purpose.
In our case, when considering the effect of cold on weight loss, the production of the hormone irisin seems to be the most interesting. It turns white adipose tissue into metabolically active brown fat and starts to participate in thermogenesis. Theoretically, irisin is also produced in response to exercise, which is why sports help to fight belly fat.
Researchers periodically find various chains of interactions occurring in the body at lower temperatures, which favorably affect the loss of excess weight.
And running in winter, despite the fact that the body may feel hot when moving, very noticeably enhances the effect, helping to get rid of fat. It’s probably a matter of the body’s general perception of the environment. And also in the circulation of cool, more oxygenated air through the lungs.
If we consider that cyclic athletes are still quite often exposed to heat stress, we can draw some numerical conclusions. They clearly show why it is not difficult for all-weather athletes to stay slim.
In middle-aged people, the body can allocate up to 35% of its energy reserves for heat production. At the same time, the utilization of 50 grams of brown adipose tissue is equivalent to a loss of 300 calories, which, in turn, can be equated to 30 minutes of easy running.
The more obvious reasons for losing weight quickly in winter include the opportunity to exercise vigorously in oxygenated air. For example, running in fresh, deep snow creates maximum resistance to movement. But it almost eliminates the possibility of standard running injuries caused by excessive impact compression on shin bones and knee joints. However, sloppy movement here, too, can lead to trivial dislocations or sprains. In order to avoid such cases, it is necessary to carry out an intensive warm-up and a warm-up.
The Japanese and the Dutch, in their studies, confirm the effectiveness of cold for weight loss, as well as the great benefit of physical activity in the winter outside. But, as one scientist correctly noted, the cold alone cannot help you lose weight. People can easily get fat in the winter, because most of them tend to stay warm, eat a lot and move little.
