I recently had an opportunity to try a product called, Sweet Sweat, which is touted as a “workout enhancer”.

Per their website, Sweet Sweat is a gel that is applied before exercise to promote sweating and thermogenesis. Thermogenesis is a big word that means your body is heating up. The most dramatic claim this product makes is that it helps you treat stubborn problem spots by forcing your body to heat up more in the area to which you’ve applied the gel. The idea is that once you begin exercising, that specific part of your body has to heat up more than other areas because of the product and you’ll burn more calories and melt away the fat stored there.

So, let’s talk facts. If you burn more calories than you consume, you can lose weight and all areas of your body will shrink, including those problem areas. And let’s just assume the product does work and does make you burn more calories. If your body is burning more calories due to heating up, it still doesn’t mean that fat will magically go away in a certain area. Especially if you’re still consuming more calories than you expend.

The main ingredient in Sweet Sweat, per their website, is White Snow Petrolatum. Petrolatum is just another word for Vaseline, or petroleum jelly. The other ingredients are as follows; Brazilian Carnauba Wax, Acai Pulp Oil, Pomegranate Seed Oil, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Virgin Camelina Oil, Squalane Oil (Olive), Aloe Vera Extract, d-Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Natural Fragrance.

So, Sweet Sweat is basically Vaseline, a bunch of oils, some aloe vera, vitamin E, and fragrance. It causes you to sweat more because it smothers your skin by clogging your pores.

The Sweet Sweat website doesn’t cite or list any studies to support their claims, nor do they explain how their product works in any kind of scientific way.

After some digging around, I’ve found studies that prove you can burn extra calories when you’re cold (mainly from shivering). But it’s hard to find scientific support for the claim that excess sweating causes extra calories to be burned. I also found studies showing that athletes who sit in a sauna after their workouts have enhanced athletic performance, but no mention of extra calories burned there either.

Sweet Sweat also claims that their product increases circulation. This is supposed to help keep your muscles warm and decrease soreness, accelerate warm-up and recovery, and soothes injuries.

Bottom line, if you think extra sweating helps you lose more weight, go buy a jar of Vaseline and save yourself 30 bucks, or put on an extra pair of sweatpants! If you really want to treat problem areas, I think it’s wiser to take a hard look at your diet and work out more. I can promise plenty of sweating during my workouts, whether you’re all lubed up or not!