Ice Baths: Short Term Weight Loss or Long Term Weight Gain?

The body has two ways to deal with cold: expend more energy, or insulate itself to reduce energy expenditure. While a lot of the focus on ice bathing over the last decade has looked at how bodies deal with cold exposure in the immediate environment, there has been less study on how habitual ice bathing could lead to increased insulation. While I don't have any definitive long term scientific data there is at least some reason to think that people who do ice bathing all the time might end up fatter instead of thinner. #coldexposure #icebath #wimhof #weightloss
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[@dzzzzz1718]

Thank you! I was unaware about the weight gain in the long run. Makes sense when you think about it. Thank you, for making me think about it.

[@blainglenn7184]

The cold thing has also aged Wim Hof considerably. I’m older than him and he looks like he could be my grandpa.

[@robertdaymouse3784]

ditto. 'grandpa' may be an exaggeration though.

[@PhilippeOrlando]

Hoff is also insane.

[@virginiacharlotte7007]

@@PhilippeOrlando and an alcoholic, apparently.

[@Themlpg73]

@@blainglenn7184 There are a ton of other variables to consider. It's not like ice baths are all he's doing. He also has to live his life, with all that comes with that.

[@RockyD12]

He doesn't really look after what he eats and drinks😅

[@palmereldritch_6669]

It's possible that long term cold exposure leads to weight gain. But there are a few things here worth mentioning. Getting older is also associated with weight gain, and Wim Hof ain't no spring chicken. Secondly, arctic animals live in the cold 24-7. Ice baths work as a therapy because it shocks the system and causes stress that translates to increased dopamine and decreased inflammation (and my God it is nothing if not shocking AF), but most people stay in for less than 10 minutes per bath, which is a far cry from 24-7. At the end of the day, there may or may not be some associating with ice baths and weight gain. But so do a bunch of other factors. Like, for example, excessive alcohol consumption, or not getting much exercise, or eating garbage, etc.

[@kristinarnors]

I think you actually have something here. I happen to know a few long term cold plungers. They seem to all have gained weight after a couple of years.

[@sgcarney]

That's been my observation, too.

[@talabun]

It's a short term body stress with long term consequences.

[@ivandisipio]

During winter I am continually exposed to cold. And you know what? I gain weight that I lose without a particular diet during summer. This is my evidence on my skin about what you are claiming. Thank you Scott

[@trollol_]

I too gain weight in the winter but I think it has more to do with my activity levels than the temperature but who knows wouldn't surprise me one bit if the cold has an effect on fat gains.

[@ivandisipio]

@@trollol_ for me I'm sure it's not due by activity level. I like training in the cold more than in the summer heat. So I train more during winter. Moreover I'm a mountaineer so the snow for me is a call for movement!

[@asan1050]

Scott! Thanks for posting this video

[@EVanDoren]

You might also look into how cold shock Y-box binding protein-1 promotes cancer. Cold exposure can also increase LDL-cholesterol by 25%, thus accelerating heart disease.

[@tk80mufa5]

Wim Hof looking like Fat Dutch Grandpa right there 😂 ( i remember this long user comment , where the user described how his extreme long cold exposure had his body "make him a fat suit" like he over 10 years probably damaged his metabolism so much through cold water nonsense , that now he will have to live with an extra thick layer of fat for the rest of his life )

[@ManjeetSingh-rt1lc]

All false propoganda and fake naratives

[@tk80mufa5]

@@ManjeetSingh-rt1lc Wim Hof's teachings ? Yes !

[@blainglenn7184]

The rest of his shortened life.

[@bogdanradufeier5936]

Absoltley agree! Claims like this have no science to back them up. I guess marketing is the same for any product, wim hof method included.

[@kchuen]

I have done cold showers for a couple years and the biggest benefits I have noticed are 1. Immune system boost, I legit haven’t been sick once for the last two years while so probably got sick around 2-4 times a year beforehand. And 2. a great energetic/mood boost. Which I think could be a placebo effect. I doubt the immune system boost is a placebo though.

[@sgcarney]

The "immune system boost" could also be the very definition of placebo, too. Not that's a bad thing.

[@estate0007]

I do cold showers every day and I am pretty sure, the mood boost after that is no illusion rather than an increase of dopamine level. The brain is seeking for balance/regulation, that's why you're feeling depressed after 3 hours of watching TikTok, binge eating or excessive partying. In the opposite direction you're feeling good after experiencing the "pain" of workouts or cold showers. Dr. Anna Lembke has written a lot about that topic. Watch that graphic at 2:10 in this vid, this is the best explanation imho: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXabdIN4r7Vkoqssi=uFwvxGa272upRiMS

[@marceloliveira6212]

Iceman may be a little larger this days because he may be living a little larger this days 😂

[@Celticbavarian]

This is both very interesting and timely. I wonder if it might also be connected with aging. I am 62 and have been doing ice baths year round, 5x/wk for 3.5 years. I have also experienced a definite increase of mid section size and a few pounds gain. I am slim otherwise. 🤔

[@helenahanley]

As we age we lose muscle 💪 particularly after age 40.

[@trollol_]

This has probably been studied already with people who live in colder climates to see if there is some relation to fatty tissue and climate. Worth a look into.

[@trollol_]

Not that a cold climate and soaking in ice are the same thing but they are in the same ballpark.

[@gqas1247]

​@@trollol_ yep Intuit and the like...!

[@mizotter]

Do you think ice bathing has affected your fat levels? I'm quite skeptical of an explanation of ice bathing for WH's weight gain, since we don't have the info on other variables like food intake and activity & stress levels. Perhaps, like many of us, he is less active but eats the same as when he did more. There are too many variables to consider, but when looking at other animals' body types, we do see added insulation for those w/ ongoing cold exposure. Hope you're doing well! I see you're still in a sweater! We've had a very (too) warm spring in Michigan; we have put away the sweaters! I've had to mow the grass a half dozen times already!

[@sgcarney]

I don't know for sure, but I think mostly it has left it unchanged.

[@JesseCoomer]

It's the only reason why I don't have 6 pack abs. Well, there's also pizza...

[@SuperFilmregisseur]

How about 2 pizzas?

[@sgcarney]

#metoo

[@SuperFilmregisseur]

@@sgcarney what's the runtime on this vid?

[@sgcarney]

It’s short. Like 4 mins.

[@Breaking_Ice]

What do you think @jesseCoomer

[@msbeecee1]

What abt Wim's heavy drinking 🍸 as a cause ?

[@trollol_]

It makes intuitive sense that the body adapts to cold exposure by packing on the fat and holding on to it, but it would be more helpful to see what the science and studies have to say about it.

[@KevinBryden1]

Polar animals live in that environment. These ice bathers spendd a fraction of their say in the cold.

[@stevemc2626]

I like the idea of debunking pseudoscience but comparing us to polar bears or other arctic animals is worse than pseudoscience. Massive stretch there.

[@clouseaux]

I am on year 3 of ice baths (7 minutes, every other day) and have remained lean. Weight fluctuations have occurred based on my diet. Wim was quite fit up until several years ago, after cold exposure his entire adult life. After the enema injury is when his fitness level began a downward trajectory. Just my anecdotal observations...

[@sgcarney]

Could be! More study needed.

[@richardprice9730]

No it doesn't work like that, it all depends on one's approach mentality and life style. The body doesn't decide the brain mind does.

[@PlungeReviews]

Source: Trust me bro

[@robertdaymouse3784]

He was just throwing out a hypothesis. People can put forth opinions without a randomized control trial. Fwiw, I agree with him. I had made the same observation about ice bathers.

[@silverXnoise]

Literally said the opposite.

[@frusia123]

You're free to experiment on yourself and share your results 😊

[@toomanymarys7355]

Cold water long distance swimmersnare pretty much always covered in a layer of thick subcutaneous fat. It's usually very even.

[@steelonius]

This seems pretty shakey Mr. Carney. Wim Hof likes to drink beer, at least he seemed to in an interview I saw. He is about 65 years old now. Those seem like pretty big contributors. I'm not sold on this one.

[@ManjeetSingh-rt1lc]

No you are wrong we do not have to cold exposure for one hour it is for several min ie 10 minutes however in case of wim hoff he used to do lots of yoga but now he dosnt do it so he is big in the middle moreover he takes butter daily which adds to it instead i take cows ghee prepared at home and i am 64 but my weight is static since 10 years that is 55-58

[@sgcarney]

Evidence is what I'm looking for. Not conjecture.

[@ManjeetSingh-rt1lc]

@@sgcarney he has reduced stretching dont preach your mind to others

[@Find-Your-Wellness-With-Me]

I am not a fan of cold exposure at all. I use to live in cold climate. When i lived in cold climate My massage therapist told me when it's cold our body/muscles tence and later on its very difficult to relax body/muscles. No one mentioned this fact so far

[@leepatton3538]

Don’t guess TEST!

[@sgcarney]

Been doing the WHM for 10 years. This is an observation that leads to my hypothesis. The theory comes after testing.

[@mikaelaolsen8835]

Dear Scott, seriously; How are you? In the more recent videos you sound breathless, talk too fast and you talk out of rhythm with your breath. Something is going on with you. Take care of yourself. And since you like investigating things, look into " brown fat". Not all fat is the same. Brown fat is thought to be better and healthier. People living in cold regions have a higher proportion of brown fat. Brown fat is thought to help with/ accelerate fat burning. Brown fat is thought to make fat eadier to access and burn. There has been studies made into how to increase people's proportion of brown fat. You could look into brown fat and cold exposure and tell us where science currently stands. Personally I feel that daily cold exposure leads to ypur body fat being more elegantly and evenly spread out over all your body. That might be just me.

[@sgcarney]

I'm doing awesome! Thanks for asking. This channel has a lot about BAT on it. Here's a good places to start: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jX_Gkp2NqKhjopo But you can also look at this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/moCnnpmqeNl_qsU