Cold, Metabolism and 2026: Why We Started with the Hard Thing First

Every January arrives with the same promise.

This is the year we lose the weight.  
This is the year we feel energised again.  
This is the year we finally stick to better habits.

And every year, most people do not fail because they lack motivation. They fail because their energy is gone before the day has even started.

We know that cycle well.

There were long periods where weight gain crept up slowly, energy dropped quietly, and low motivation became normal. Parenting, work, stress, broken sleep. None of it felt dramatic on its own, but together it created a body that felt sluggish and a mind that struggled to stay consistent.

We were not lazy. We were depleted.

That distinction matters, because metabolism and energy are not moral issues. They are physiological ones.

And that is where cold exposure entered our lives in a very unexpected way.

WHY METABOLISM IS ABOUT MORE THAN WEIGHT LOSS

When people talk about metabolism, it is usually framed around burning calories or losing fat. But metabolism is much broader than that.

Your metabolic health determines how efficiently your body uses and stores energy, regulates blood sugar, responds to stress, and recovers from physical and mental load.

When metabolic health declines, fatigue increases. Cravings rise. Motivation drops. Consistency becomes fragile.

Cold exposure directly influences these systems.

When the body is exposed to cold, it has to generate heat to survive. This process, known as thermogenesis, increases energy expenditure and activates brown adipose tissue, a type of fat whose sole purpose is to burn calories to create warmth.

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation found that repeated cold exposure increased metabolic rate by roughly thirty percent. Importantly, this was not a one off spike. With regular exposure, metabolic adaptations improved over time.

Dr Susanna Søberg’s research has also shown that deliberate cold exposure improves insulin sensitivity and glucose regulation. This matters because blood sugar instability is one of the biggest drivers of fatigue, cravings, and weight gain.

Cold does not override poor nutrition or movement. But it supports the systems that make healthy choices easier to sustain.

That difference is everything.

THE ENERGY SHIFT WE DID NOT EXPECT

We did not start cold exposure thinking about metabolism.

We started because we felt flat.

But one of the first things we noticed was not weight change. It was energy.

Not the wired, jittery energy you get from caffeine, but a steadier sense of alertness that carried through the morning.

There is a biological reason for that.

Cold exposure triggers the release of norepinephrine and dopamine. Dopamine is often misunderstood as a pleasure chemical, but its primary role is motivation, drive, and focus. Research discussed by Andrew Huberman shows dopamine can increase by up to two hundred and fifty percent during cold exposure, with levels remaining elevated for hours afterwards.

This is why cold can feel like a mental reset.

Instead of dragging yourself into the day, you arrive awake.

That shift changes behaviour downstream. When energy is higher, people move more without forcing it. They make better food choices without white knuckling. They recover faster from stress instead of spiralling.

For us, that was the turning point.

Energy came back before discipline did.

And once energy returned, habits stopped feeling like punishment.

WHY WE STARTED DOING COLD FIRST THING IN THE MORNING

One of the most underestimated benefits of cold exposure is psychological.

Getting into cold water first thing in the morning creates an immediate win.

You have already done something uncomfortable. Something you could have avoided. Something that required presence.

That changes how the rest of the day feels.

Behavioural research shows that early wins increase follow through on later tasks. Cold exposure becomes what psychologists would call an anchor habit. Other behaviours attach to it more easily.

We noticed this ourselves.

On days we did cold early, we were more likely to move our bodies, eat intentionally, and stay consistent even when the day went sideways. Not because we were suddenly more disciplined, but because we had already shown ourselves we could do hard things.

That matters deeply when your goal is long term weight loss and sustained energy.

Consistency beats intensity every time.

OUR EXPERIENCE WITH WEIGHT, HABITS AND MOMENTUM

Our own journey with weight and habits was not a straight line.

There were years of comfort eating, inconsistent routines, and telling ourselves we would start properly when life calmed down. Parenting does not calm down. Work does not slow down. Stress rarely disappears on its own.

Cold exposure did not fix everything.

But it gave us momentum.

Mornings became clearer. Energy steadied. Movement felt more accessible. Food choices improved without force. Most importantly, habits stopped collapsing under pressure.

Cold became the habit that held the rest together.

Not because it burned the most calories, but because it changed how we showed up to the day.

USING COLD TO SUPPORT 2026 GOALS

If your goal this year is weight loss, better energy, and habits that actually stick, cold exposure does not need to be extreme to be effective.

It needs to be repeatable.

A realistic starting point looks like this.

Thirty seconds of cold at the end of a morning shower.  
Two or three times per week.  
Slow, controlled breathing through the initial shock.  
Noticing how energy and appetite feel later in the day.

As adaptation builds, exposure can increase. Or not. There is no hierarchy.

The aim is not suffering.

The aim is showing up consistently enough for the benefits to compound.

If you want clear guidance on how to start safely and realistically, we have put everything we use into a free resource called The Cold Start Guide. You can download it here and follow along in your own time.

https://stan.store/BeingWellCold/p/the-cold-start-guide-

FINAL THOUGHTS

Most people do not fail their goals because they lack willpower.

They fail because they are tired.

Cold exposure supports metabolism, improves energy regulation, and strengthens habit formation. But more than that, it changes how you start your day.

You begin with intention instead of reaction.

For us, that shift changed everything.

If you want to explore the science in more depth, our free metabolism and resilience guides inside the Cold Crew break this down clearly, with research, structure, and practical application.

No extremes. No pressure. Just tools that fit real life.

Cold that means something.