This happens to me many days after lunch. I usually eat a cold salad. Then, I'm so cold I have to have a hot tea. I teach right after I eat and practically every day I was wearing a sweater for that class. I thought - why the heck am I worrying about what blouse I am wearing when everyday it is covered with a sweater!

Being a former yo-yo dieter, I do know that when I was gaining, I was always hot, especially at night. When losing, I'm freezing. I've been maintaining 3.5 months and I am still very cold but I'm happy to read that it went away for those who have maintained since that's what I am going to do!

I've been cold a lot since I lost my weight. 73 degrees seems to be my sweet spot. I'm finding it tough to convince others that that's where we should keep the thermostat.

I used to always be warm when at my various degrees of overweight, Pattience. My dad was overweight, though tall so he carried it well. I can't really figure what the doc meant about the skin circulation. Maybe some of the larger vessels that are usually deeper were close to the surface. That would place them near heat receptors so that might be what made him feel warm.

The SF weather this week sure hasn't helped has it? :D

In other news, I'm happy to say that this thread got my arse to the gym this morning & yoga at noon. And then to badminton in the pm where 8 baby boomers swung our rackets at an elusive birdie. I didn't feel the least bit cold. I ate more too--hopefully it will all even out. I like my current size!

I didn't get that at all from you. Your appreciated suggestion made a lot of sense---thanks! Sorry if I'm sounding a little muddled tonight. As of today, I'm about 5 lbs over desired weight but feel less cold and hungry.

Sounds like this might be where I need to hang out for a while, though eventually I'd like to get to the lower weight. I'll add weight training as neurodoc suggested so that the extra intake can balance out.

More anecdotal evidence for you: Yes, it's true about being cold now that I've lost a significant amount of weight, and the effects are lingering years after. I've had two obese house guests in my apartment recently: my mother and a very good, long-time friend of mine, whose weight now requires that she use a CPAP machine everywhere she goes. When I slept in my room with windows shut and a blanket up, in the guest room they opened a window and threw off all but the sheet. This happened during the day time, too, particularly when we were walking for extended periods of time. They'd get warm and sweaty from walking, I'd feel like nothing much had happened.

And I also get very cold after eating a salad and a refrigerated beverage when the indoor temperature is in the 60s or low 70s. So much so that I was drinking room temperature water or even brewing a cup of coffee afterward to keep from shivering.

That's interesting saef. I had it in my head that working out more will solve this, but I've read some of your workout posts, so maybe not! The shivering after eating cool things doesn't sound very pleasant.

I once ran a marathon long ago and they gave out mylar sheets at the end to conserve heat. I don't know if that sheds any light on this phenomenon or not--just another example of the mysteries of temperature regulation or lack thereof.

Interesting though, that the custom in very hot countries is to drink hot tea as it makes you perspire and cool easier. They also tend to wear a lot of loose clothing that traps air between the layers as insulation against the heat. Think desert tribes such as the Taureg, etc.

I am also quite cold a lot of the time but part of that is due to fibromyalgia - as exercise has the opposite effect in temperature regulation - actually dropping core temp after workouts in this case instead of raising it as usual.

I live in a very hot country but its not dry heat like the dessert dwellers you refer to. In australia where its dry heat the aborigines don't were a load of clothes but unlike the camel leaders they probably sleep under a tree in the middle of the day or somewhere cool.

The custom of hot tea drinking i think is large imported from the english and doesn't really make you cooler. In india i think they drink so much tea for the sake of the sugar, e.g. calories. Their cups of tea are tiny and super sweet.

I don't think the camel leaders would drink much tea throughout the day. I think it would be mainly water.

I have spent a lot of time being in extreme heat conditions. Tea does not cool you down.


The air being trapped in clothes isn't really cool air i think. In india its hot to wear what the women have to wear. The body is giving off heat all the time so it warms up any trapped air. If you are able to stay out of the direct sun, its actually cooler to wear fewer clothes so that any passing breeze can evaporate the water we perspire and also so that the air trapped inside doest warm up. if the sun is intense and you are out in it, all the clothes will protect you from the direct radiation of the sun in the same way that wearing a hat on your head is cooler than having the sun beating down straight on your head. The taurag would experience much sweatiness which is a problem in india and where i live where the weather is much more humid.

North Africans drink a lot of mint tea - not so much regular tea. Maybe the refreshing flavour of mint makes one feel cooler as well. Evaporation of sweat is cooling as long as the humidity is not extremely high, and you get enough liquid to replace what is lost. Sun protection is a big reason why people in desert countries with very little shade wear more clothes as well. That is why people in rainforest or jungle areas of the tropics don't need to wear much for clothing, whereas scrub & desert areas don't have the vegetation to protect locals from radiation.

The last time that I lost a large amount of weight (100+ lbs) I had the cold intolerance. I gained back half the weight and went back to my hot all the time nature. Now I have lost all the weight that I regained plus more. I am smaller than I have been my entire adult life but still, I am hot most of the time. Do you think that means that my metabolism is not extremely low this time?

Time2lose, are you close to or at menopause? Hormonal changes will "override" the coldness caused by weight loss, at least, according to my several friends who have lost weight around age 50-55. Apparently, hot flashes may actually be good for something if you're a dieter :>)

I have been a "normal" weight most of my life. I only gained post pregnancy and usually lose the weight within 2 years post baby. Anyway, I have ALwAYS been cold except for when I weighed way more than usual. I have always been the person that needs to bring a light cardigan when we go out in 90 degree weather, the person that freezes in restaurants and movie theaters, and I always had to wear way more layers than my friends. When I gained weight one of the first things I noticed is that I was not cold and actually hot, and as Im on my way back down, I find that I am getting cold again and I am happy about it. I don't like to be hot.

Anyway... I'm pretty sure my metabolism was and is normal, I just always assumed being cold was from not having lots of extra insulation. I also was always active as well. I always had very physical jobs that required a lot of being on my feet, up and down and walking.

Oh, I also used to work with a very thin girl who would get extremely cold after every meal she ate. She would be freezing for a while. She didn't really know why that happened either.

eta: I hope its ok I posted in maintainers... technically I have been maintaining around this weight for at least a month now. :D

pink hippie, i hadn't even noticed where this post was posted. I"m not a maintainer yet either. Nobody has told me not to post here.

Pinkhippie & Pattience, I guess this could be posted in a general forum but I posted here because being cold derails me from good eating habits, and I only noticed it after phasing off the initial big weight loss. Anyway, I don't know what makes someone a maintainer other than the state of mind. I'm seesawing a bit so I am often trying to be a weight loser, still. It's like the San Andreas fault where I live, a famous earthquake area--a wide zone rather than a discrete line. Thanks for adding to the discussion!