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Do You Lose More Weight When Running With or Without a Sweatshirt?

Jun 14, 2011 | By Patrick Hutchison
Do You Lose More Weight When Running With or Without a Sweatshirt?
Photo Credit Thomas Northcut/Lifesize/Getty Images

In late August 1999, comedian Martin Lawrence went out for a run as part of his goal to lose weight for a new movie. When he left his home in southern California, it was nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit. He was wearing a heavy sweatshirt and wool hat to help enhance his weight loss. Three days later, he awoke from a coma brought on by heat exhaustion. Wearing extra clothes to lose weight is a common pound-dropping myth, one which is more likely to land you in the hospital than in a smaller pair of jeans.

Myth

Wearing an extra sweatshirt for weight loss is based on the myth that if you are hotter, your heart will beat faster, increasing your rate of weight loss when exercising. It is true that your heart rate is directly linked to the rate at which you burn calories. However, when you are running, the heart rate and weight-loss gains made by wearing an additional sweatshirt are negligible, regardless of the type of material or the length or the intensity of your run.

Sweating

Part of the myth around wearing a sweatshirt for weight loss surrounds sweating. It is true that running in an extra sweatshirt will make you sweat more. The more you sweat, the less you weigh as a result in loss of water weight, so you will technically lose more weight running with a sweatshirt. For long runs, this loss of weight can even be significant. However, weight loss from water weight is extremely temporary. As soon as you eat or drink, you will quickly regain the weight you supposedly lost from running.

Heat Exhaustion

In most cases, wearing extra clothes for weight loss is a dangerous practice because it promotes heat exhaustion and dehydration. Sweating works to cool your body down by moisturizing the skin. As it evaporates, it cools you down. Wearing an extra sweatshirt can suffocate this process, trapping sweat and preventing your skin from breathing, which can lead to heat exhaustion. Furthermore, the increased sweating caused by the additional shirt can force dehydration faster, leading to kidney and liver damage.

Considerations

Your running clothes should be designed for athletic performance and chosen based on environmental conditions. Athletic clothes are designed to help wick away moisture. In other words, they promote the evaporation of moisture vital to effective sweating processes. Avoid materials like cotton that do not breathe well and are easily saturated with moisture. Always dress in layers, so that as you warm up, you can take off pieces of clothing to adjust your body temperature. Finally, make sure to hydrate well and pace yourself.

References

Article reviewed by Lauren Fritsky Last updated on: Jun 14, 2011

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