Can sauna help you lose weight?

Guest post series continues.

Rudy Dewatine from Bodyfatgenius.com. Enter Rudy:

Are you thinking about going to the sauna in an attempt to lose weight?  There are some things you need to know about saunas and their capacity to help you with your weight loss goals.  People say that sitting in a sauna for half an hour will make you lose weight.  It’s true, but you should know that your body fat scale won’t show a difference.  This is because the weight you lose when sitting in a sauna comes from sweat being lost from your body.  (water weight).

As you probably know, sweat is salt water from inside your body. As water leaves your body, you lose that amount of weight. You’ll gain it all back the second you drink some water and rehydrate your cells!

Can Your Sauna Help You Burn Calories?

People who use the sauna to try and lose weight say that your passive calorie burning abilities improve when you sit in a sauna.  This is true.  When you sit in a sauna, your body begins to overheat, forcing you to sweat in an attempt to stay cool.  All this activity increases the amount of energy expended in your body, which is a direct result of burning more calories.

This energy is sent to your sweat glands, causing them to release more sweat to your skin.  Your heart rate also increases in the sauna.  The problem is that you only burn calories with your heart, because of the heart muscle. If you were to exercise for that half hour of sitting down, you’d burn a lot more calories.

Can the Sauna Remove Toxins?

People say that a sauna can actually rid your body of toxins in your blood. When you sit in a sauna, you increase the rate of circulation in your body.  You also sweat and remove salt from your cells through this.  Detoxifying does work to kick-start the weight loss process when you are in a rut.  However, you do need to have a healthy diet as well as a good workout routine to make the most of this jump start.

How Else Does a Sauna Help with Weight Loss?

Sitting in a sauna is a good way to destress. You can get rid of all your tension, leading to a lower chance of stress eating. Another benefit is that you allow your muscles to heal faster in a sauna, reducing how much pain you feel after your workout. This increases the chances of you not quitting the gym and helps your body get ready to work out again sooner.

You can’t lose weight by sitting in the sauna.

A sauna can help supplement your other weight loss routines.  This helps with your healthy lifestyle.  A balanced diet and exercise is still the best way to lose weight and keep it off.

RUDY ADVICE:

Take the time to work out every other day, at the very least, and sit in a sauna to relax afterward.  You should see and feel a difference in your weight loss progress!  And Rudy tells us what happens to our bodies after sauna here.