How To Burn More Fat With Cold (And Bump Up Your Metabolism by 301%).

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Articles, Fat Loss

Can drinking a gallon of cold water each morning help you burn fat faster?

You bet.

So can cold-hot contrast fat burning showers, in which you shower for 5 minutes while turning the water for 20 seconds cool, 10 seconds warm…

So can keeping your house cool and sleeping without covers…

So can taking mile long walks in the cold in which you keep your whole body cold, except your face, hands and feet….

But in today's video, you're going to discover how to take burning fat with cold to an entirely new level.

Allow me to introduce you to Eric from CoolFatBurner.com.

Eric recently tested his entire metabolism and calorie burn at the “EPARC” lab – Exercise and Physical Activity Resource Center – at the University of California, San Diego. He video recorded the entire experience, in which he experienced acceleration of fat burning and ketosis, faster clearing of glucose from his bloodstream, and…

…a 301% increase in metabolic, calorie burning rate.

Check out the 20 minute video below. During the video, Eric is demonstrates some pretty cool fat loss biohacking gear. Pun intended.

If you want more resources on cold thermogenesis, then you're in luck. In addition to today's podcast, I'd highly recommend you check out the following:

The CoolFatBurner.com vest Eric wears during the video.

What Is A Body Cooling Device, and Does It Actually Work? (podcast)

How You Can Use Cold Thermogenesis To Perform Like Lance Armstrong And Michael Phelps (podcast)

Tips For Burning More Fat With Cold Thermogenesis (And Why Icing Really Does Work) (article)

The BenGreenfieldFitness Premium content, which features an absolutely mind-blowing 1 hour cold thermogenesis lecture and slides by Ray Cronise (podcast)

-The DeSoto Arm Coolers I'll be sporting during Ironman Hawaii this year

Tim Ferris's 4 Hour Body book 

Questions, comments or feedback about the video or about how to burn more fat with cold? Leave your thoughts below.

Ask Ben a Podcast Question

30 thoughts on “How To Burn More Fat With Cold (And Bump Up Your Metabolism by 301%).

  1. Ahmad Khan says:

    How do you manipulate your room temperature for fat loss like it states in article a group lost 5 percent body fat over 6 weeks?

    1. Turn the room temperature done low..

  2. Brandon KL says:

    Great Video! I’ve been taking 2-3 alternating hot/cold showers for 2 months now. I’m afraid my shower doesn’t get cold enough for it to work right now. Is there a baseline temp?

    1. According to Ray Cronise "Mild Cold Stress" in water begins at 80 degrees (and gets dangerous at 60 degrees) and in air it begins at 60 degrees (and gets dangerous at 32 degrees).

  3. TPentzer says:

    Nice writeup. I took the plunge, so to speak, and bought one. CFB customer service was quite helpful with questions I had.

  4. steven says:

    Could i just use a large ice pack and ice my back and chest for a long period to get a similar benifit to this fat loss burner. Will iceing myself to the point of shivering increase my metabolism?

    1. megs1768 and Eric have been talking about that in the comments above, take a peek!

  5. MusicloveI says:

    Hi Eric and Ben – great video-thanks so much for posting!
    I have been using the CFB vest for about an hour in the morning and occasionally at night as well, however I cant seem to make it to the shivering mode. I get mild goosebumps but am never uncomfortably cold or feel that my body is really working to stay warm. I do have a higher body fat percentage – maybe around 25% – could this affect my ability to induce shivering? Thanks again!

    1. Eric may be able to speak to this but you may want to try wearing it in conjunction with a cold environment. I personally don't shiver much if my house temp is above 67, for example.

      1. megs1768 says:

        Do you have to shiver for it to be affective or for the brown fat to form?

        1. EricCFB says:

          No, but that seems to be the fastest way for it to happen… but probably also the fastest way for folks to 'burn out.'

          It's a lot like exercise; how many people jump into a new routine w/ a full head of steam, just to get burned out and quit a month or so later?

          I like to think of 'Hardcore' shiver level as "brute forcing" the fat off. But not necessary, just faster.

    2. EricCFB says:

      It depends… it is true that w/ higher BF%, folks tend to have a harder time reaching shivering (regardless of using CFB, or any other method of CT). Also keep in mind, shivering is not necessary for boosted metabolism, BAT activation, etc. I like to think of Hardcore (shivering) intensity as “brute forcing” the fat off. It’s fast and direct, but not the only way.

      One thing you could try, is manipulating the room temp and/or drinking more / colder ice water. I would often drink over a 1/2 gallon of ice water (truly ice cold) during my sessions.

      Having said all that, you’ll note on the video, that even when I initially started my session (albeit, I also had on the Gut Buster), I was starting to get an increase in metabolism, even in the first 15 minutes. It was starting to ramp up even then… but since I jumped up to slight shivering, it’s hard to tell how much higher it would have gone, even at ‘Casual’ intensity levels.

      Once the Cool Gut Buster is released, it will be much easier / quicker to reach a desired level of CT, without having to use the ‘supporting factors’ of A/C and drinking ice water as much.

      1. danco1212 says:

        Question and thinking it through.
        I understood that placing cold on BAT areas isn't the factor for activating BAT and fat burning but more so just getting cold. Either shivering – deep CT or non shivering thermogenesis. Even placing cold on other body parts, say the legs and getting that area below 55F has the potential of up regulating BAT in a colder environment.
        What are your thoughts in this?
        So basically the idea is to get cold rather than placement on BAT area's.

        1. EricCFB says:

          The first methods were direct placement over BAT zones, and this of course was popularized by the 4 Hour Body group. Another factor seems to be sheer surface area of skin coverage, to trigger the activation of BAT. Also important is where it happens — the literature, studies, personal accounts, etc., all seem to imply that, the closer to the trunk / core, leading up to the BAT areas (neck) seem to work best, whereas moving away from the trunk, out towards the hands and feet, seems to be least effective.

          Of course, there is a wide variance from person to person, especially in the beginning if that person has no cold-adaptation yet, and/or no BAT built up yet.

  6. john says:

    He just made a believer out of me. Need to get me one of them vests

  7. megs1768 says:

    Is the "fat burning vest" a lot different that just taking ice wraps from Walgreens and putting them over your shoulders and stomach… I have a pic but not sure how to post….

    1. EricCFB says:

      Yes, it's a lot different. First, our specialized packs are literally ice-cold. Second, they last for hours. Third, they have a very large surface area. Forth, when one wears the vest w/ the straps, there can be significant compression, especially over the BAT zones.

      All of those things serve to create a greater thermal load, and a greater CT experience, as shown in the video.

      We actually tested a LOT of packs back in the day. Nothing came close to what we have now.

      1. EricCFB says:

        As a quick aside, an amusing anecdote we've gotten via customer feedback, apparently a number of our users also use our specialized Hybrid gel/cold-packs in their lunch coolers, LOL!

        1. megs1768 says:

          Hey EricCFB,
          Have you done tests on the reverse? SO HEAT? Like a Bikram Yoga class or sauna or hot jacuzzi etc? Are the results similar as the body tries to cool itself down?

          1. EricCFB says:

            Actually no I haven't… though I believe there is a fair amount of research out there on that.

            One common misconception that seems almost pervasive, is the idea that all because one is sweating, they're burning more calories. Sweating itself is of course just your body trying to cool itself; there is little inherent metabolic boost going on from the process itself.

            I imagine people subconsciously correlate sweating to exercising, and therefore think that just because they're sweating, they're burning calories or getting a workout or something, IDK.

            It may also be tied in with people who workout, then immediately jump on the scale and think they just lost 2-3lbs of fat, when obviously they only lost 2-3lbs of water-weight via sweat. Or maybe it's due to all the exercise DVD infomercials talking about "melting off the fat" while they show glistening models working out in the background.

            Working out in excessively hot environment, like you mentioned, sure that may make one's systems work a little more and that may create a slight increase… I doubt it's significant, though. And of course, if working out in an excessively hot (or cold) environment hinders one's workout (or makes one stop working out altogether) then it would defeat the whole purpose.

          2. megs1768 says:

            It's hard to not correlate the hot and cold… shivering is your body's way of heating up right? So burning more…. and sweating is your body's way of cooling down…. so burning more….?
            I am actually not interested in the fat loss benefits of either of these but the hormonal and adrenal benefits… have those been proven? Helps adrenal fatigue or hypothyroid?

          3. EricCFB says:

            Well, the process of sweating is very passive, especially when compared to what's happening physiologically during cold stress, and especially at higher intensities. Except that cold thermogenesis also has all the other advantages, including hormonal changes that you mentioned.

            Last winter I proved (at least on myself) the dramatic hormonal changes that using the CFB could have on my insulin sensitivity. I'm also planning on doing more self-experiments over the next while, and some of them are on the positive hormonal changes that occur from CT. (and like this last experiment at UCSD, these will be in formal, controlled settings)

            We'll see how they go! :)

    2. Saw your photo on Facebook – very inventive. It's a decent facsimile… not quite like the real thing but it'll do in a pinch.

  8. megs1768 says:

    Hey Ben,
    I did watch the video… did I miss something? I did not hear him say anything about the body adapting to the cold and hanging on to fat…..

  9. Jeff says:

    Ya, like Eskimos (. ?)

  10. megs1768 says:

    If you make the body cold all the time won't it HANG on to fat in order to STAY WARM?

    1. EricCFB says:

      This is a common question, though this issue is more about diet than CT. Some cite examples of swimmers (in colder water, thus a slight thermal load) having higher BF%, yet the only studies about swimmers and BF% didn't correlate for diet. And if you look at groups at different climates… there are just waaay too many variables to factor in what 'causes' whatever BF% they have.

      Basically, it all comes down to this: what and how much do you eat *after* your cold-thermogenesis sessions. Because for some users, it can really boost appetite for a while. (it actually kills my appetite, but so does exercise) All a person has to do is eat properly and responsibly during that window to maintain the caloric deficit.

      Also note: I don't advise the "be cold all the time" approach that a few others do (Cronise, Kruse). I personally would get sick and tired of that. But that's me. To each there own.

      1. danco1212 says:

        I am wearing mine right now…. First it was a quick jump into my 50 Degree F bathtub then vest on to do some work on the computer…….

    2. No, it increases formation of Brown Adipose Tissue to form heat – which burns storage fat in the process. Big difference between metabolically inactive vs. active fat.

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