Do cold baths use more calories ...

Unknown

I believe "studies have shown" that swimmers, for the same amount of effort expended
(measured as O2 thoughput)
have LESS of a tendency to lose fat than runners

and it's hypothesised to be because the immersion in cold (colder than body temp) water
causes the body to want to be protected by a nice layer of blubber

whereas getting all hot running makes the body
want to be less insulated.

Note the physiques of Inuits and Kenyans.

So I think cold baths will not help anyone get thin.

Clearly the basic thermodynamics that you'll have to expend energy
that dissipates into the water
must be true,
but the body has regulatory mechanisms that
compensate for that over the longer term.
IMHO.

[Deleted User]

weighed myself before cold bath - 48.9 kg (yes, on the rather small scale of thin - nothing i can do about it, not matter what i eat)..........after cold bath and much shivering - 48.8kg. so there you go - proven that you lose weight in a bath. therefore i am not going to take anymore icy soaks or i might disappear and never be seen again.

[Deleted User]

FF - specific heat capacity of water = 4200J/kg/degree, so 4.2J to raise temp of 1g water by 1 degree. Not that anyone really cares...

FerrousFerret

<puts on D cap and goes to sit in the corner>

Night Nurse

pearplumpie, loss of .1 kg ? are you sure you just didnt have a wee to warm the water up ?

[Deleted User]

no, ALWAYS do a wee before i get in the bath. too tempting to do it while sitting in ice cold water. tell children off for doing it in their WARM bath (not that cruel!), and besides i have to clean the bath - so no weeing in it.......!

[Deleted User]

do you use calories thinking? have to make myself do a whole sudoku or other puzzle in a cold bath so i stay in for long enough - maybe it is the extra brain strain that causes the weight loss too?