Turn up the heat!

One thing I have noticed the last few weeks is how much colder I am this fall than I have been in years previous. My whole life I have gone around without a jacket or even a coat because I'm just too lazy to grab one. I always say you only need a jacket from the house to the car and from the car to wherever you're going. So if you can handle the cold for a few seconds you're okay. But this year for the first time, I've been a lot colder than ever before!

I always told people that I'd much rather be cold than hot, which is still true. You can do more about being cold than you can about being hot. I used to jokingly tell people that I could handle the cold better than they could because I had a lot more insulation than they did because of my fat. I say jokingly, because who knows if that is even true or not? Well, I have lost close to fifty pounds this year right before winter, so I decided to research it and see if there was any truth to it.

So does me losing weight have anything to do with me being colder than normal? Or is it just a coincidence? My research* shows that there are two reasons that those experiencing weight loss would be cold. Fat is an insulator, as I used to joke about. When you lose fat, you lose insulation, and you feel cold. So apparently I learned that in school at some point and wasn't just making it up. But the second reason is because my metabolic cell processes aren't working as hard as when I was heavier. It takes fewer calories and less energy to maintain and move my smaller body, and as a result, less heat is generated to move me around.

I have good news and bad news. I'll tell you the good news first. My body temperature will become normal again once my weight stabilizes. Rapid weight loss throws off your body and it is caught off guard. It needs time to catch up. Until then I need to wear more clothes I guess. Now for the bad news. Apparently those who exercise regularly experience less chilling than those who don't exercise. So I guess my body is hinting at me that I need to exercise more than I have been. Dang it!

This was a fun little research project. Maybe I'm just cold for no reason and it has nothing to do with my weight loss. Maybe my office just needs to turn up the heat, because I'm freezing!

*This article is in reference to gastric bypass patients, but it also talks about significant weight loss in general. There are also forums supporting this on caloriecount.com.

Today I'm grateful for my boots and my pea coat. They keep me warmer and they're super cute!