Temperature Wars and Brown Fat
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Is it too much to ask that I ditch the sweatpants over the spring/summer? I mean, really, do I need to stay swathed in layers all year long?
I have a great wardrobe – some of the cutest little tops you’ve ever seen. But, you won’t ever see me wearing them in our house. That’s because icicles hanging from the ceiling and cuteness do not match. Yes, some days I do believe icicles could form on our ceiling, even if it is July.
You see, husband is a furnace. I am a Snow Queen. (You thought I was going to say cold-natured, didn’t you?) When the temperature dips below 70, I get cold. When the temperature rises above 70 Husband begins to sweat. Hence, the raging battle over the thermostat in our house. Hence my wearing winter clothes indoors all. year. long. Because no matter how many times I click the thermostat above 72, somehow, magically it gets lowered to 65. (I wonder who is doing that?)
I used to watch Friends on TV and think, wow, Jennifer Aniston is 1) always tan and 2) always sleeveless. Obviously, she had everyone whipped into shape on set. She was in charge of the temperature.
Occasionally Husband stares at my sweatpants and sighs. I know what he’s thinking. She didn’t used to wear those before we were married. (That’s because we spent the majority of our time in my house prior to wedding vows being spoken. Where it was always a nice balmy 72-73. Where I had wardrobe choices and was never in danger of being impaled by a falling icicle.)
It doesn’t help that on the news the other night there was a big discussion around “brown fat.” (Oh, the visual.) Apparently, brown fat — which everyone has but in varying amounts — has amazing calorie-burning properties. It also makes your temperature rise – obviously from all the exercise it’s getting from eating your other fat. So, if you have a lot of brown fat, you’ll be thinner. On top of that, news reports say that one way to boost your brown fat is to spend time in a chilly room. This supposedly encourages the development of more brown fat.
Husband positively beamed as he shared this NPR report. For a moment, I do believe he thought he had me hooked. Silly Husband, I said, as I walked over to the thermostat and clicked it (back) up. Have you ever seen a thin Eskimo?
