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Expert Q&A
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| By Catherine Cram, M.S. Postpartum Fitness Expert Exercise Physiologist | ||
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Do you have to sweat in order to lose weight when exercising?
Sweating is your body's way of getting rid of excess heat created by exercise. When your core temperature rises, blood vessels below the surface of your skin dilate, and your sweat mechanism kicks in causing fluid to be produced on the surface of your skin. The evaporation of the sweat causes the skin temperature to drop, allowing the blood being brought to surface vessels to cool, in turn reducing core temperature as that cooled blood is circulated. It's an ingenious process, but it only works if the air around your body is dry enough to evaporate the sweat on your skin.
So, sweat rate can vary dependant upon how hard you're working, how hot your exercise environment is and how fit you are. The more fit you are, the faster your sweat mechanism kicks in, enabling you to avoid overheating. Not sweating a lot doesn't necessarily mean you're not working hard enough to build fitness. It's not as accurate a measure of activity level as heart rate and perceived exertion (how hard the exercise feels to you). You lose weight from exercise by expending more calories than you take in - simple as that. So do a little math and determine what your intake of calories is compared to those expended. Make sure and do a two- to three-day record of food intake to get an accurate assessment of your diet.
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