Shivering Myself Skinny

By Judith Garfield


Living in an old farmhouse has its rewards.

Because it is always cold inside during the winter months, I can eat pretty much whatever I want without gaining weight. How is this possible, you ask?

I shiver.

S. says this is a good weight loss technique that not many people know about.

“Just think of all the calories you’re burning,” he always reminds me, as I throw on yet another layer.

One day recently he came in looking concerned. His horse Paloma had lost a troubling amount of body weight in one night due to an unexpected cold front. She had been outside without a blanket.

Wow, I thought, we should tell Oprah about this. This could be a breakthrough in weight management. Apparently, scientists are catching on.

A new paper recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine indicates that nearly every adult has little blobs of brown fat that can burn huge amounts of calories when activated by the cold, as when sitting in a chilly room that is between 61 and 66 degrees.

Hah! You call this news.

We who live in drafty old farmhouses have known this for years.

And I bet before you know it, scientists will soon agree with my theory for the warmer months.

Live in a house with three stories and no air conditioning. Have a significant other who works and or plays in the dirt a lot. Make sure the washer and dryer is in the basement and under no circumstances hire anyone to help.

You will sweat. A lot. It should be no problem keeping that weight off.

For an entertaining read about keeping the weight off, cartoonist Carol Lay has a great new book called “The Big Skinny.” With wit and artistic talent, she charmingly chronicles her saga of finally learning how to eat right and stop dieting.

So remember: keep moving. Shiver or sweat. Your choice. Both are excellent calorie burners.