I didn't know where to put this but here goes.........

I do kayaking as a sport. It involves getting up early and paddling in icy cold water, sometimes sitting upside down in / on it.

When I weighed 182lbs @ 19%BF I was warm as a toaster. Now that I have trimmed down to 168lbs @ 13%BF, I am finding that I am getting colder. Recently, I have not bothered going because I fear that I will get cold. I am wearing the right kit, plus I am now wearing gloves.

I just wondered if it was that the fat was keeping me warm, or maybe down to what I eat before I do the kayaking. I eat my usual, Oatmeal and Eggs, sometimes a cooked breakfast when Im not at home.

Any thoughts?

Foley

When I was heavier and at 30% body fat, I used to sweat profusely. Now in the lower teens in body fat percentage, I'm cold all the time. I actually had the company gopher secure a space heater for my office (which I sometimes have to run in summer!). There's got to be a correlation between body fat and your perception of temperature, but I don't really know what that is beyond common sense - if you're carrying more body fat, you're quite simply better insulated and as such, your body retains heat more efficiently.

-R

It was fat.

I remember when I was 30% body fat, I would tell people I dont get cold because Im built like a seal. This was not completely a joke.

Fat is definetly an insulator. You are going to have to find another way to keep warm. I dont know how a kayaker would do that but there are some amazing synthetic and natural fibers out there that are warm, breathable, lightweight, blah blah blah. I sound like a salesman.

Yer, my friend said maybe wear more.

I wear two thermal tops, and a cagoule that has three layers, which is one of the best :tucool:

Would it help if I was heavier, but muscly heavier, not flabby heavier?

I am finding that I am getting colder. Recently, I have not bothered going because I fear that I will get cold. I am wearing the right kit, plus I am now wearing gloves.

I just wondered if it was that the fat was keeping me warm, or maybe down to what I eat before I do the kayaking.
Yes you probally are getting colder. in a way it is good to get cold and get used to it. You will burn more calories. You want to hold on to that 168lb body and even eat a little more. Sleep nude with light blankets, cut heat down at night in the winter. take cold showers. Wear light jackets. All in reason, but your body will burn fat to warm you up in a natural way.

Anybody who's lived in the North can think of "that guy" who was always fat and somehow ALWAYS had shorts on, even in the dead of winter. It was never a skinny guy. Fat is heavy, requires work to move around, and doesn't allow good escape of heat, so you get hot.

That aside, I've actually found that in the last year or so as I've gotten fitter, I seem to be hot all the time. I have had to totally stop wearing under shirts because I sweat. I sweat at the drop of a hat and often have my desk fan going when others don't. I'm weird, I guess, but definitely if push came to shove and i was at the south pole I'd want extra fat to avoid feeling cold.

Fat is well known scientifically to act as a body insulator. Remember though that the more time you spend at lower fat levels, the more your body will be able to adapt. This is in a similar way to how people who live in colder climates adapt to an extent. Your body has various ways of controlling its temperature (breathing, raising of hairs, organ activity, vasodilation/contraction), and should become more efficient at doing this up to a point.

BRRRRR!!!!! When I got down to 9-ish% winter here in Minneosta was HELL... shivering all the time. To heck with the few calories it burns. :mad:

I've dropped about 30 lbs and went from being hot all the time to COLD all the time. Never thought I'd be a cold person after all these years.

Ok, so its not just me then, phew.......

But I have only lost 1 stone....... not much to turn me from boiling to freezing...

hehe.. I've often wondered the same thing. I'm finding myself cold all the time as well now that I've lost some fat. I thought it was just in my head and that this all was just a myth! Good to see I'm not crazy, but bad to see that it's gonna get even colder :).

Cheers,
Heavy

Mind you- if you are drinking a lot more water like you should be, that will cool you off too. :drool:

Ditto, ever since I lost my blubber, i've been like a girl in the cold. [sorry for the sexist statement, but all girls i know are sensitive to the cold.]

^^^..lower % of b.f for me means I get chilly as well.

Ok, so its not just me then, phew.......

But I have only lost 1 stone....... not much to turn me from boiling to freezing...

Maybe only a stone, but 19% to 13% is a big and crucial drop. Big difference between the two. At 13%, probably most of your fat is subcutanious (sp ?)

Wear more. :)

Ok,

I am really glad its not just me. It makes sense:
LOSS OF FAT = LOSS OF WARMTH (unfortunately)

Would this be the same if Person X was to do a bulk? Would they gain more heat?

Hahaha... yeah, I dropped way too much weight last year (40lbs) and I am cold all the time. I would bring my jacket with me so that I could wear it come evening time in March in TEXAS. It's getting hotter in Texas now, but it was really funny to realize that I was colder because I had less fat (and unfortunetly, less muscle) on me.

Kind of relieving to know that others have gone through the same thing.