Does Sweating Help You To Lose Weight

We're a fan of intense workouts for their feel-good and strength-building powers. But given the stress placed on pouring salty liquid from your pores by so many HIIT trainers and hot yoga studios, we have often wondered whether sweating does actually help you lose weight (not that it is the be all end all, mind).

When you picture a 'good workout', what usually comes to mind is being red in the face, dripping profusely and feeling hyped enough to bounce off the walls.

However, is how much you perspire a true indication of how much fat you might be tearing through, as you train? We've enlisted experts to clear up the dilemma once and for all...

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'Sweat is an indicator of your body’s temperature regulation, rather than how hard it is working – and these can be connected, but are different, ' says sport scientist for Auster Fitness, Harry Aitken. Think: hitting your deadlift PB probably destroyed you, but you likely didn't sweat as much as when you were coasting in your last spin session.

As to any apparent weight loss effects that seem to be down to how much you've been sweating? They're not really legit. Karen Austin, Founder of Topaz Fitness Academy, explains that 'sweating is literally a loss of water instead of a loss of fat, therefore [any apparent weight loss] will be temporary – until your next glass of water'.

Okay. So you are likely to sweat less at the weight rack then you are on the treadmill. But what does that mean for torching calories? 'You will likely sweat a lot less doing weights as you take rest periods between exercises, allowing your body to cool down, ' says Aitken.

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However, that doesn't necessarily mean that you'll ultimately lose more weight doing cardio than strength training. This is a complex topic, so we'll direct you this way to read up on strength training versus cardio for weight loss.

It's also wise to remember that our bodies are all built a little differently. 'Some have more sweat glands than others, ' says Austin. People with more sweat glands are going to perspire more, natch – but that does not mean that they're on track to lose more fat than a person with fewer glands who is working to the same intensity.

The upshot is that 'going by just sweating alone is not a good indicator of how much weight you're going to lose or burn.'

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Long story short, no. Sweat volume also does not indicate how fit you are, nor how many calories you're going to burn.

A good sweat sesh can work wonders for getting glowing skin, by carrying grime out of your pores (just make sure you wash your face after working out, STAT, to stop any gunk resettling into your complexion) and can certainly help you

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OK, this is how to calculate a calorie deficit 'I tried the Lumen Metabolism Booster' NEAT exercise: The (missing) key to your goals? How to start exercising as a total beginneThis article was written by one of our qualified writers, and fact-checked by our experts. The numbers in parentheses (e.g. 1, 2, 3, etc.) throughout the article, are reference links to peer-reviewed studies.

Do you measure your weight loss workouts by how much you sweat? Learn the truth about sweating and how it affects your ability to lose weight!

Sweating A Lot Doesn't Necessarily Mean Losing Weight

According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly 75 percent of the American adult population is overweight or obese (1). That means a large proportion of people are currently dieting and exercising to lose weight.

And it’s not just overweight people that train and watch what they eat to lose weight; fit and healthy people do too. After all, there is a big difference in appearance between 15-20 percent body fat and getting your body fat levels to under ten percent. If you want lots of muscle definition, you need to be lean.

There are lots of workouts you can do to shed that unwanted weight, from HIIT to circuit training to bodybuilding to good old steady-state cardio.

Why Do I Sweat So Much When I Work Out?

When you hop on the scales and weigh yourself, the reading tells you your total body mass. However, your body mass is made up of several different components:

While reducing any of these components will lower your scale weight, it’s fat that you really want to lose if you want to be leaner and healthier.

Body composition is usually expressed as a body fat percentage. For example, if your BF% is 17%, that means 17% of your body weight is fat, and the rest is designated as lean tissue – which is basically everything else.

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To burn fat and lower your BF%, you need to reduce your calorie intake and increase your energy expenditure. This creates a calorie deficit, and your body will use fat for fuel to make up this energy shortfall. You CAN lose fat with diet or exercise alone, but it’s generally accepted that combining these two approaches works best.

Exercise usually leads to sweating. You’ll sweat more if you work out in a warm environment or wear something like a plastic sauna suit. Some people are genetically programmed to sweat more.

Your body produces sweat through perspiration to stop you from overheating. It releases water which evaporates from your skin, taking heat with it. If you sweat heavily while you exercise, you will probably weigh less at the end of your workout.

Does Sweating Make You Lose Weight?

For example, if you sweat out a pint of water and do not rehydrate during or immediately afterward when you hop on the scales, you will have lost about half a pound. One liter of water (about 2.11 pints) weighs one kilogram or roughly 2.2 pounds.

Unfortunately, while you’ll weigh less, this weight loss is temporary. As soon as you drink any water, you’ll replace those lost fluids, and your weight will increase again.

While your workout will have burned calories and can contribute to fat loss, you probably won’t be able to measure that effect on the scales, as even a very intense workout burns a relatively small amount of fat.

Does Sweating Help You Lose Weight Faster?

It’s estimated that a pound of body fat contains roughly 3, 500 calories. Most people should be able to burn 500-600 calories per hour of exercise. That equates to about 2¼ ounces of fat. That’s a very small amount compared to how much water you can lose (and regain) through sweating.

So, while sweating does lead to weight loss, it’s probably not the type of weight you want to lose. Also, whatever weight you have lost will be regained the moment you rehydrate.

While there is nothing wrong with getting hot and sweaty during your workout, it’s mostly a bad idea to try and sweat off weight. At best, weight lost through sweating is temporary and quickly regained.

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Ideally, you should drink during and after your workout to replace lost sweat. That way, your body weight will remain largely unchanged. As well as being an ineffective way to lose weight, other reasons that trying to sweat yourself slimmer is a bad idea include:

As your core temperature rises and you sweat more, your body takes water from various sources, including your blood plasma. As you lose water from your blood, it starts to thicken, and your heart has to work harder to pump it around your body (2).

This causes your heart rate to increase or drift, even if your workout intensity remains unchanged. However, with your heart working harder than usual, you’ll probably start to feel tired and may even need to bring your workout to a premature end.

Sweating And Weight Loss: Does Perspiring Help You Burn Calories And Lose Weight?

You don’t just lose water when you sweat. Sweat also contains a suspension of minerals called electrolytes. The main electrolytic minerals are:

Low levels of these minerals can lead to impaired muscle contractions, cramps, and heartbeat irregularities. While you could chew a few multimineral tablets to restock your electrolytes during exercise, it’ll be a whole lot easier if you consume them along with a hydrating drink. That’s why most sports drinks contain electrolytes.

Your workout will suffer if you sweat a lot and don’t replace the lost fluids and minerals. If workout intensity falls or you have to cut it short because of dehydration or overheating, you won’t burn as many calories, making your training less effective for fat loss.

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Sweating is your body’s response to being too hot. If you sweat heavily but don’t rehydrate during your workout, you risk developing exercise-induced hyperthermia (3).

Hyperthermia means that your core temperature becomes dangerously high. Overheating will lower your workout output, bring your session to a premature end, and can also result in severe illness and even death.

Sweating is a natural part of the workout experience. As your body heats up, it produces sweat to stop you from overheating. The hotter you get, the more you sweat. It would be a terrible

Sweating It Out: Does Sweating Help You Lose Weight?