It seems everyone is trying to drop a pant size or two or is trying to make their love handles disappear. People seem to be willing to try anything to get ahead in the game, including pills, expensive workout machines, and even machines that shock you into contracting your muscles. There are all sorts of supplements on the market and there are thousands of different diets being discussed and promoted in the media.
However, some people shun all of the complexity surrounding weight loss and just try to hit the gym occasionally to get a good workout, spill some sweat and get the heart rate going. Others take a similar approach; they go to the gym with the hope of shedding some pounds and working up a sweat. Instead of hitting the free weights, the punching bags, the exercise bikes, the treadmills, or any of the other dozens of tools for weight loss, the go straight to the sauna.
Saunas operate at temperatures of at least one hundred and five degrees Fahrenheit and are usually quite arid. Most people consider them a great place to relax the muscles after a workout, but some people think of them as a way to lose weight without the workout.
If you have ever spent any time in a sauna, you know that people sweat profusely when they are in there. In that respect, they do drop quite a bit of weight. It is quite possible to drop three, four and even five pounds in the sauna, depending on how hot it is, how much you weigh, how much you sweat, and how long you stay in there. The heat opens the pores and releases toxins.
This seems like an incredible way to lose weight for most people; it seems like an untapped resource. However, there are problems with viewing the sauna as a treadmill where you do not move. For one thing, fitness is more than just a number. It is also your muscle mass, your muscular endurance, your cardiovascular endurance and your flexibility. None of these are improved in a sauna.
The weight you drop is mostly water weight. When you stumble out of the sauna, parched and maybe even a little lightheaded, you will inevitably reach for your water bottle or the nearest water fountain and you will drink back as much as a pound of water weight immediately. Over the course of a few hours, you will drink your weight back up to where you started; in essence, you will have lost nothing but time.
Wrestlers have been using the sauna, combined with a crash diet, for years, to weigh in to a lower weight class to wrestle smaller opponents. After they weigh in, they begin to re-hydrate themselves and eat a healthy amount of food to get back up to weight.
So, no, the sauna is not an effective or advisable way to lose weight, as the weight does not stay off for long and it is not the type of weight you are looking to lose. Instead, a little exercise, cutting back on fatty, oily and sugary foods, and maintaining an active lifestyle are the best ways to shed some pounds.