[murphmitch]

I've been freezing for years. It shows no signs of improving either. Having an occasional hot flash with menopause does not abate the frequent periods of freezing. They keep it too dang cold at work and I'm always raising the thermostat only to have someone else lower it. Ice cold drinks and the freezer sections at stores are punishing. I always wear long sleeves at work - two layers. I work in a hospital and they keep it cool. I suffer in restaurants and especially in movie theaters. I make my husband put his arm around me and rub my arms & shoulders at times to heat me up. I think I will be this way the rest of my life! By the way, I had my thyroid checked and it is normal. I was kind of hoping it would be low so I could find a cure!

[Megan1982]

I actually have always been "cold-blooded", but it's gotten worse since I lost weight. My mom was always very stingy with the thermometer during Pennsylvania winters, never would go above 68, so I was always cold no matter how many layers I had. (Of course the irony is that now I'm the one trying to control the thermometer (keep it low in the winter/high in the summer) b/c my roommates don't seem to mind outrageously high electricity bills.) I do remember that as a teenager I started making an effort to go for longer walks on the weekends and exercise more, and the exercise always helped make me warmer for a while - I think I have naturally poorer circulation.

Moving to Florida helped me get warmer , but during the summer everyone always keep their AC cranked to the max here, so I always carry layers that I put on inside, take off outside. During the summer luckily a lot of the socializing is done outdoors, so I can wear cute tank tops and sundresses (but then bare arms get bitten by all the bugs...). In the wintertime (50-60's during the day, 20's-40's at night) all of the rednecks here sit around outside fires in shorts and a t-shirt and I'm the one who's cold in my winter coat. BF makes fun of me, I'm from the north, shouldn't I be the warm one? I'm usually cold all winter long.

But it's been over 3 years since I lost the bulk of my weight, and I'm still freezing. I'm trying to build up my collection of cute jackets, sweaters, etc. I consider it a small price to pay.

[Mel]

My mom was always very stingy with the thermometer during Pennsylvania winters

68 is much warmer than we are willing to pay for during the cold PA winters! Megan, you'd turn blue at my house!

I thought of this thread this morning when I was picking out clothes for work. It's SPRING! I want to wear something that looks, well...springy but who am I kidding? I basically wear a winter wardrobe in lighter colors all spring and summer because I'm freezing to death in my office. When I go outside in the summer, I can take my jacket off and be hot in a sleeveless top, but inside stores, at work, just about anywhere that is air conditioned, I'm in either a suit jacket or a sweater.

[tdiprincess]

Let's see.. I've had a problem with being cold since I started losing weight a couple years ago.. Now that I have started trying to lose weight again, I've been getting cold easier... although it has been cold here this spring!! ICK!!!
And growing up my dad kept the heat low.. generally 65 was his high.. and at night he'd turn it down to 55... my mom would turn it up a bit when he wasn't looking.. but the majority of time it was about 62-65... now that I'm married the DH is great about keeping the heat on.. I'm generally more likely to turn the heat down.. Since the spring has been chilly he turns the heat up.. I just sit through it until he turns it on.. because that's what I grew up with

[Apple Cheeks]

Hmmm...all of your posts get me to wondering if I may already be affected by this.

I work mostly with men (lucky me!), and I am always the first one to reach for a jacket or turn on the heat. Usually the poor guys are sweating it out just so I can feel comfortable. One guy even started calling me "Chilly Willy!"

I did lose about 60 pounds about 9 years ago (gained it back, taking it off again!), so maybe my thermostat got thrown off way back then and I just never realized it.

[Rif]

I had the same experience after losing a lot of weight -- freezing cold all of the time for a few months. I seem to have moved beyond that point, although the frozen foods section is still bitterly cold and I move through it as quickly as possible (which is probably a good thing since ice cream is my biggest downfall). There are two things that I think have helped me to overcome the cold problem. One is lifting weights, which I believe has revved my metabolism (I'm following the New Rules of Lifting for Women plan, which is working splendidly) and thus is making me warmer. Also, I find that eating healthy fats in adequate amounts helps a lot. I eat whole, organic foods most of the time and try to eat healthy oils or nuts/seeds with each meal. This has made a huge difference in my life (I mostly followed a whole foods low fat/low cal diet to lose weight) as far as not only being warmer, but also controlling blood sugar levels and stabilizing my mood (no more bingy feelings -- yay!). According to one source, eating Omega-6 essential fatty acids which have gamma-linolenic acid, amongst many other benefits, helps to stimulate the brown fat around our organs, which helps to keep us warm because it converts calories into heat (which means it also helps to lose weight). Apparently, as we get older the burning capacity of brown fat declines, which is why older folks tend to get cold very easily and why my 12-year old son can go out in 30-degree weather with no jacket and claim that he's not even remotely cold. The highest source of GLA is Evening Primrose Oil, but also can be found in soybeans, pumpkin seeds/oil, sunflower seeds/oil, flax meal/oil and leafy greens.