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Mar
10
Reader Q&A: The Sauna, Weightloss Miracle or Pointless Waste of Time?
Filed Under Reader Q&A, Weight Loss
Question
One of my readers wrote in with:
I have a friend who swears by the weight loss properties of the Sauna. He says he goes in and comes out feeling (and weighing) lbs lighter. I told him he’s just sweating the weight off but he says that’s exactly the point and says I do the same thing when I exercise. So is the sauna the same as exercise?
Answer
No, absolutely not. A sauna is NOT the same as exercise.
What Is Sweating?
Sweating is the body’s way of trying to cool down. The human body needs to maintain a relatively even temperature. If it gets too warm, it tries to cool off by sweating. Part of this cooling off mechanism is sweat. When we sweat, glands in our skin are letting water from our bodies flow out. The evaporation of the water uses some of the heat energy which in turn helps our bodies cool down.
Why Do We Sweat When We Work Out?
Easy, because exercise warms our bodies up and in order to stay cool, we sweat. However, sweat is just the side effect of the exercise.
Why Do We Sweat When We Sit In The Sauna?
Easy, because it’s really really warm in the sauna and our bodies are trying to cool down.
Well, That Sounds The Same As Exercise
Not really. With exercise, our bodies are warming up because of something we’re doing. We’re being active and burning energy to workout. This causes our temperature to rise which in turn causes sweat. However, it’s the exercise itself which burns calories and gives us the positive effects of physical activity. With the sauna, we’re not doing anything. We’re just sitting there baking in steam. The heat of the sauna causes our bodies to overheat and this in turn causes sweat. There’s no energy burn here, no calories being used.
But I Weighed Myself and I Weigh Less After The Sauna
Sure, and I weigh about 6lbs less after a long run. That’s just water loss from sweat. Drink some water and it will all come right back. Remember, the sweat you lost is primarily water, with a bit of salt. You didn’t really burn any energy in the sauna. At least the run burned some calories along with all that sweat.
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Sitting in the sauna is no replacement for exercise. It may make you sweat, but that’s just a reaction to an outside influence rather than the result of physical activity. That kind of weight loss will last about as long as it takes you to drink a glass of water.
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Comments
5 Responses to “Reader Q&A: The Sauna, Weightloss Miracle or Pointless Waste of Time?”
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That weight is indeed water weight that will be gained back as soon as you rehydrate yourself. When MMA fighters have to make weight for a fight, they can drop up to 20 pounds of weight in a day. They become severely dehydrated.
The bottom line as the article stresses is that weight lost while in the sauna is a temporary fix, and in order to lose weight it takes some work!
Maybe it doesn’t work for weight loss but I have fond memories of the sauna at my Finnish girlfriend’s grandparents cabin years ago - jump from the sauna to the lake and back. And then beat yourself with branches. Fun times.
[...] 60 in 3 debunks sauna weight loss myths. [...]
This is how “Biggest Loser” contestants lose weight - they dehydrate in the saunas available to them. I was reading an article in TIME magazine where they admit to it, and one guy put on like 30+ pounds in a matter of a few days just by drinking water after he left the ranch.
This is just a lazy “dieting” technique. If you need to shed a couple of pounds for a big event, the results may allow you to fit into the outfit, but by the end of the event, it’s kind of doubtful you’ll still fit into it comfortably.
at the end of the day, we all know that its only water we shed in a sauna but if its the difference between making the weight and not making the weight then its worth it. just rehydrate when you step off the scales.
big deal