Some often think that  a intense workout that  produces lots of sweat really works off the calories and burns lots of fat.  And, that is accurate.

Numerous people associate the burning of fat calories through exercise with the perspiration produced from the workout.  After all, everyone says that the more frequently you work out and the longer your workouts, the more fat you will burn.  And, if you go to a gym you see lots of people building up sweat.

So, anyone would imagine it's obvious to associate perspiration with workouts and the burning of fat.

However, the difficulty comes about when people look for a shortcut.  They think that any activity that causes them to perspire will burn fat.   They frequently assume that they can easily do something that makes them perspire without having to exercise.  For instance, I was in the sauna one day with another person. who really does exercise a lot, and he indicated that he really enjoyed the sauna since it caused him to sweat and certainly helped burn off more fat.

But, this thinking is flawed.  It just does not wok that way.  Here is why.

While you work out your muscles consume energy to work.  They receive this energy from carbohydrates, fats, and sometimes even proteins.  One part of energy production is the Krebs cycle. The basic purpose of the Krebs cycle is to generate a compound generally called ATP which supplies energy to the cells. ATP fabrication requires the oxidation or burning of carbohydrates, fats, or proteins.  This total procedure generates heat

You may notice that for a number of minutes after you complete your routines you keep on sweating.  You continue perspiring because the Krebs cycle is continuing to restock your energy reserves after being partly depleted by your routines.  The heat produced by this process causes you to continue to sweat for a few minutes until your energy supplies return to normal.

The heat this process generates during and directly after your exercise routines must be removed from your body to preserve your natural temperature.  Perspiration helps the body sustain a constant temperature.  Thus, you perspire because your body is using carbohydrates, fats, or proteins to generate energy for your exercise and for recovery.

Like my friend, many people only want to get straight to the sweating and not perform the workouts.  So, they take a sauna (even without exercising), wear additional thermal clothing while involved in gentle exercises, or even wrap themselves with a garbage bag, all just to generate extra perspiration.

However, what is happening is they are adding heat to their body in a sauna or blocking heat from leaving the body with thermal clothing.  And they perspire.  But, the sweat isn't caused by the production of energy which burns fat.  They perspire because their surroundings are hot. And, with all that sweating, they've merely lost the weight of water (as perspiration) that has evaporated from their skin, while the fat remains.

To burn lots of fat, your muscles must use lots of energy and fats must be transformed into replacement energy.  There really is no shortcut to burning fat.  Fat burning requires exercise.  Energetic exercise.