How Cold Exposure Contributes to Weight Loss

Does sitting in an ice bath have an impact on the body’s metabolism!? It sure does!

Cold exposure, such as an ice bath, has lots of effects on the human body, and especially regarding metabolism and weight loss. When exposed to cold environments, we rely on an increased thermogenic rate to offset the change in temperature or environment, part of our constant fight to return to homeostasis and maintain a stable core body temperature.

Your body wants to be 98.6 degrees, and if your body temperature is lowered, it will do everything it can to get back to 98.6 degrees. It burns calories as heat, and most of those calories come from fat.

In order to combat the cold, the body has a couple of mechanisms that help it to maintain or return to the normal body temperature: shivering thermogenesis and non-shivering thermogenesis.

“Exposure to cold temperatures has been proven to convert white fat cells to beige or brown fat cells. ”

Exposure to cold temperatures has been proven to convert white fat cells to beige or brown fat cells. White fat cells are a low metabolic fat cell, and brown fat cells are a high metabolic fat cell. Increased brown fat levels play a large role in fat loss and body composition.

Deliberate cold exposure converts white fat cells into this more metabolically, thermogenic active, metabolism-increasing beige and brown cells. Norepinephrine is released when we get into the cold and binds to receptors on the surface of white fat cells. This increases the mitochondria output of those cells.

This activation of brown fat upon cold exposure may also have positive implications for those with insulin resistance and diet-induced obesity. When you hop in an ice bath, the production of norepinephrine in the brain, while having the benefit of boosting mental health and mood, may also be responsible for regulating metabolism and helping to improve glucose and insulin sensitivity, increase fat utilization, and protect against diet-induced obesity.

When we are consistent with our deliberate cold exposure practice (averaging 11 minutes per week divided into 2 or 4 sessions), you can increase your core metabolism by increasing your brown fat stores.

Ready to try a completely different weight loss approach? We’re here for you.