Is The Sauna Good For Weight Loss?

Saunas and steam rooms are extremely popular and for good reason. Their use results in a lot of health benefits as well as being very useful for relaxation. A lot of people believe that one of the best reasons for using them is to lose a bit of weight due to the increased heat but is that fact or purely fiction. Well as it turns out, it’s a bit of both.

Some of the main benefits from using them include relaxation, de-stressing, soothing aching muscles, detoxing the body and cleansing the skin. Cleansing of the skin occurs due to the dry heat in a sauna that can open pores. Steam rooms use moist air so should not be used for cleansing skin and may even have the opposite effect.

The weight loss that happens in a sauna is mainly water weight, which you usually tend to put back on once you begin drinking liquids again. The higher temperatures cause your heart rate to increase in a way similar to exercise and the sauna may be able to help you burn some extra calories, but this won’t be a significant amount.

Using the sauna to lose water weight is a very popular practice by athletes, such as boxers or MMA fighters, who will need to reach a certain weight for a fight weigh-in and need to drop a few extra pounds quickly.

The best way to lose weight quickly if you have a deadline such as an impending holiday, photoshoot, etc would be to mainly focus on HIIT circuits and ensuring your diet keeps you in a calorie deficit until the deadline date. A few sauna sessions in the last few days may be beneficial but sufficient liquids will still need to be consumed in order to prevent dehydration.