does sweating more during a run mean more fat loss

Sweating profusely while running is a very satisfying experience for many runners. Breaking a sweat makes the whole body feel very comfortable. When you see someone drenched in sweat after a run, most people would assume that their exercise was more effective than someone who didn't sweat much.

Some people look like they just came out of the water after a run, while others don't sweat much at all. Why is that? Is sweating more good for the body? What does the amount of sweat indicate? Today, Wuyan Zu will discuss this topic with everyone.

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Why does the body sweat during exercise?

Sweating is a way for the body to regulate its temperature, with the sole purpose of dissipating heat. In a resting state, the body starts to sweat when the ambient temperature reaches around 30 degrees Celsius. If the air humidity is high, sweating can start at 25 degrees Celsius. During exercise, the body generates a lot of heat and the temperature rises, leading to a significant increase in sweating to dissipate the heat.

Excessive fluid loss due to sweating can significantly reduce physical function, cause fatigue, and seriously impact your health. Studies show that a significant amount of water is lost before and after exercise, and when the amount of sweat reaches more than 2% of body weight, it indicates dehydration. This can lead to an excessive burden on the cardiovascular system, disrupted temperature regulation, and other consequences.

Our bodies are composed of about 60% water, one-third of which comes from extracellular fluid, including the fluid around cells and plasma. Typically, the sweat we lose comes from extracellular fluid. If fluids are not replenished in time during heavy sweating, it can easily lead to a decrease in blood volume, increased heart rate, reduced sweating rate, decreased heat dissipation ability, increased body temperature, electrolyte imbalance, and acid-base imbalance, resulting in decreased exercise capacity, dehydration, and in severe cases, heatstroke.

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Why do some people sweat a lot while others don't?

Some runners are always drenched in sweat while running, while others barely break a sweat, only sweating slightly.Why is this? Actually, the amount of sweat mainly depends on each person's sweat glands.

Generally, women have more sweat glands than men, but men's glands are more active. The amount of sweat depends on your gender, the number of sweat glands you have, how hot you are, how intense your exercise is, or how anxious you feel. The amount of sweat a person produces also depends on how many sweat glands are activated and how much sweat each gland secretes. Generally, men sweat significantly more than women.

When it comes to sweating, there are some things you can control. If you drink coffee, it will increase sweating, and alcohol has the same effect. Smokers also sweat more because nicotine affects your hormones, skin, and brain. Wearing non-breathable fabrics will make you feel hotter and sweat more easily, so it's best to wear breathable, quick-drying fabrics.

In addition, the amount of sweat is highly related to your physical condition at the time, ambient temperature, skin blood flow, and blood flow speed. It's not easy to sweat a lot outdoors in winter, while in summer, you can sweat just by standing still. This is due to the different ambient temperatures.

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Does sweating more mean more fat is burned?

Some people say 'sweat is fat crying,' indicating that many people equate the amount of sweat with the effectiveness of fat loss. After running, seeing your clothes soaked in sweat gives a sense of happiness, making you feel like you've lost a few pounds instantly. While this can be motivational, believing it entirely is a mistake.

Researchers at Colorado State University conducted an experiment with a hot yoga class. The class lasted 90 minutes, with 11 women and 8 men participating, completing 26 different poses and two breathing exercises. The final results showed that a hot yoga class that makes you sweat profusely does not burn more calories than a regular yoga class with little sweating. In other words, if the amount of exercise is the same, sweating more does not increase the number of calories burned.

So, does sweating have nothing to do with fat loss? Not exactly. For the same person, if you exercise in the same environment, the more intense and longer the exercise, the more you will sweat.

In other words, excluding environmental and personal factors, the amount of sweat is proportional to the intensity and amount of exercise. Generally, more exercise leads to better weight loss results. This may be why many people believe that the more they sweat, the better the weight loss effect.

Therefore, sweating is not a standard for determining whether this exercise achieved fat loss, but it can be used as an auxiliary reference along with other indicators to judge whether your exercise today was sufficient.

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Does sweating during exercise equate to detoxification?

Scientific research shows that sweat is indeed a way for the body to expel harmful substances such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. Heavy metal components can be detected in sweat at concentrations comparable to those in urine, sometimes even higher.

In daily life, the average daily evaporation of sweat is 550 milliliters, and the daily urine volume is about 1000-1500 milliliters. It's hard to say that regular sweating plays a more important role in excreting these harmful substances.

Rather than saying sweat detoxifies, it would be more accurate to say urine detoxifies. However, considering runners, the amount of sweat during summer exercise can reach up to 2000 milliliters, so the idea of detoxifying through running seems reasonable.

However, for ordinary people with low exposure to harmful substances, the amount of heavy metals in their bodies is already very low. In this case, the health benefits of 'detoxifying' through exercise-induced sweating are generally negligible.

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Sweating a lot is not a problem, just make sure to stay hydrated

Before running

Not drinking enough water before exercise and not staying hydrated during exercise can lead to dehydration.

Recommendation: Do not feel thirsty before running, and drink a glass of water 10 minutes before running.

During running

Drinking water when thirsty is instinctive, but it is not enough to stay hydrated. The body's ability to gauge hydration status is very inefficient; by the time you feel thirsty, you are already dehydrated.

Recommendation: Drink 200-300ml each time, which is about one paper cup, every 20 to 30 minutes. Sports drinks are also a good choice as they can replenish both water and some electrolytes.

After running

Even if you have replenished water before and during the run, you may still be somewhat dehydrated. So, rehydrating after running is necessary, but drinking as much water as possible after running is not advisable.

Recommendation: Scientists suggest replenishing 500-1000ml of water or sports drinks for every 500g of body weight lost. To determine how much sweat you have lost, compare your net weight before and after running. Based on the weight difference, you can know how much water to replenish after running.

The amount of sweat is mainly determined by the intensity and amount of exercise, as well as the body's condition at the time, ambient temperature, and individual constitution such as the development of sweat glands. Therefore, it is natural for some people to look like they just came out of the water after running, while others don't sweat much. For those who sweat a lot, just pay more attention to staying hydrated.

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