I am sure you have heard everything about fat. Fat is "bad," it makes us gain weight, increases our risk for Type 2 diabetes, and is linked to various types of cancer. The common wisdom says we need to grind at the gym to "burn it off" and maybe stop eating it. (That last point is actually wrong, but I’ll dive into the Fat vs. Healthy Fats debate in another post!).

But have you ever heard about the two different "colors" of fat living inside you?

Meet White Fat and Brown Fat. Believe it or not, we Torontonians might actually have a metabolic "leg up" on people from warmer climates. Because of our brutal winters, our bodies may have developed more brown fat—giving us the ability to lose weight more naturally during the winter months. Okay... it’s not exactly magic, but it is biology. Let’s break down how you can turn your body into a winter furnace.

The Science of the "Shiver": Deep Dive into BAT

The other day, I was thinking about the "Winter Paradox." Socially, our carbohydrate intake tends to skyrocket once the snow hits—hello, pasta nights and holiday treats! Yet, interestingly, many of us don’t see a massive gain in weight during the winter. Why is that?

We know that moving our muscles during a heavy workout burns calories, but what about the movement we don't control? When we step outside and start shivering, our muscles are actually performing rapid-fire contractions to create heat. This involuntary "workout" increases our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)—the number of calories your body burns just to keep the lights on and the "home" warm.

I wanted to go deeper than just the shivers, and that’s when I came across two game-changing concepts that explain why the cold is actually a metabolic gift.

The "Winter Walk" Effect

When you walk in the snow (or any temperature below roughly 60°F/15°C), your body triggers Non-Shivering Thermogenesis.

The Signal: Cold air hits your skin, sending a "red alert" to the hypothalamus in your brain.
The Activation: Your brain releases norepinephrine, which acts like a match lighting a fire inside your brown fat cells.
The Burn: To keep you warm, the brown fat starts pulling white fat and glucose (blood sugar) out of your system to burn as fuel.

Dietisha Tip: This is why cold exposure is a secret weapon for insulin sensitivity. Brown fat acts like a "glucose spong," soaking up sugar from your blood to power the furnace.

But… how exactly our fat is going to BURN FAT, DECREASE INSULIN?

1. The "Glucose Sponge" (GLUT4 & Insulin Sensitivity)

Cold exposure (whether it's 4 hours or 10 days) increases GLUT4 activity.

The Science: Cold increases glucose uptake in BAT by activating the GLUT4 transporter.
The Easy Breakdown: Think of your cells like a VIP club. Usually, you need a "key" (Insulin) to get through the door. GLUT4 is a special side door that swings wide open when it gets cold.
The Dietisha Benefit: This makes BAT a "glucose sponge." It soaks up extra sugar from your blood to burn for heat, which keeps your insulin levels healthy and your energy stable.

2. The Internal Oil Change (Lipolysis & TAGs)

Cold stimulates the "lipolysis of intracellular TAG."

The Science: Cold triggers the breakdown of Triacylglycerols (TAG) into free fatty acids.
The Easy Breakdown: Imagine your white fat is a giant warehouse of heavy oil barrels (TAGs). To use them, you have to break them open into small, portable jugs (Free Fatty Acids).
The Dietisha Benefit: Cold exposure tells your body to "open the barrels" and pour that oil directly into the BAT furnace. It’s like an internal oil change that cleans out stored fat to create warmth.

3. The "Priority Lane" for Fat (Dietary FA Uptake)

One fascinating finding is that BAT extracts dietary fat at a higher rate than even your muscles do when it’s cold.

The Science: BAT is more efficient at fatty acid uptake than skeletal muscle during mild cold exposure.
The Easy Breakdown: Usually, your muscles are the "big eaters" of the body. But in the cold, your brown fat gets "Front of the Line" passes. It eats the fat from your last meal before your muscles or your waistline even get a chance to store it.

Benefits beyond just burning calories:

Metabolic "Browning": Frequent cold exposure can actually recruit "beige fat"—white fat cells that start acting like brown fat cells. You are literally teaching your fat to burn itself.
Improved Cardiovascular Health: Cold air causes blood vessels to constrict and then dilate, which is like a "workout" for your circulatory system.
Mental Resilience: Easter argues that choosing the "hard" path (the cold walk) builds a mental toughness that makes sticking to a diet or exercise plan feel much easier by comparison.

Time to Leave the "Comfort Zone"

We’ve spent decades trying to engineer the cold out of our lives, but in doing so, we’ve accidentally turned off one of our body’s most powerful metabolic tools. The "crisis" isn't the cold itself—it's the fact that we no longer know how to handle it.

Your brown fat is waiting to be "the furnace" it was born to be. Are you ready to light the match?

**❄️ The Dietisha "Cold-Start" 30-Day Challenge❄️**

Ok… You don’t need to go on bikini in the snow to see the benefits. Science shows that even mild cold exposure can begin the "browning" process of your white fat. Join us for the next 30 days as we wake up our BAT:
**Week 1: The Thermostat Tweak.** Lower your home or office temperature to **66–68°F**. If you feel a slight "crispness" in the air, you’re doing it right.
**Week 2: The "Under-Dress" Walk.** Go for a 15-minute walk. The rule? Wear one layer *less* than you think you need. Let your brown fat do the work that your parka usually does.
**Week 3: The 30-Second Finish.** At the end of your normal warm shower, turn the handle to cold for the final 30 seconds. Focus on your breathing—this is where that **GLUT4** glucose-sponging magic begins.
**Week 4: The Winter Wander.** Find a park, a trail, or a snowy path. Spend 30 minutes moving in the cold. Notice the "inner glow" that happens as your mitochondria ramp up heat production.

Don’t Just Survive the Winter—Slay It. ❄️

Let’s be honest: those New Year’s resolutions usually start to freeze over by February. But while everyone else is hiding under a blanket waiting for May, you could be using the Toronto chill to turn your body into a metabolic furnace.

Imagine hitting your goals not by grinding harder, but by working smarter with your biology. No more guessing games, no more "winter weight" excuses—just science-backed results and a body that knows how to burn.

Ready to stop dreaming and start browning?

If you’re looking to finally shatter your resolutions this year, don't let this winter opportunity slip away. Let’s build your personalized metabolic roadmap together.

👉 [BOOK YOUR STRATEGY SESSION WITH DIETISHA] Because the best version of you isn't waiting for the summer—she’s being built in the cold.

Why Your Thermostat is Making You Gain Weight (And How the Cold Can Help)