HOW MANY CALORIES DO YOU BURN

IN AN INFRARED SAUNA?

There are numerous advantages to relaxing in a sauna for 30 minutes a few times a week, not least of which is the ability of the sauna to aid in weight loss. Some of the benefits of spending time in a sauna are directly linked to the body’s ability to burn calories, release toxins, and increase your metabolic rate.

Many of these benefits are provided by both traditional and infrared saunas, and either will aid you in reaching your weight loss goals, should you follow the tips below. However, having an infrared sauna in your home will give you a number of extra benefits, including not having to leave the house, and not having to book sessions or fit into someone else’s schedule. 

If you like both types of saunas, and cannot decide on a specific type for your home, you could consider a hybrid, such as the Almost Heaven Hampton 2-Person Hybrid Sauna to get the best of both worlds, and to increase your chances of reaching your weight loss goals.

HOW DOES A SAUNA HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT?

There are 3 specific ways in which relaxing in a sauna will help you with your weight loss. Namely, detoxification, metabolic rate increase, and loss of water weight. Below is a description of how they work.

DETOX

Every day, our bodies are exposed to any number of chemicals, toxins, and heavy metals from our food, skin care products, make-up, pollution, and even the water we drink. It is important to help our bodies deal with these toxins efficiently, and one of the best ways to do that is through sweating. 

Going to the gym for a workout is a good way to get a sweat going, but you could also spend a half hour relaxing in the sauna for a similar effect. A third option would be to combine the two by doing hot yoga in your at-home sauna, to boost the sweating and strengthen your joints and muscles at the same time. 

Detoxifying your body helps you lose weight by:

• Helping your body burn more calories

• Increasing your energy levels

• Clearing your lymphatic system

• Decreasing inflammation

INCREASING METABOLIC RATE

Sitting in an infrared sauna has a similar effect on the body to a high-energy workout. By warming up your body from the inside out, the sauna increases your core temperature, which causes your body to dilate your veins to regulate that temperature increase.

This, in turn, causes your heart rate to increase to carry more oxygen and move the blood through your body more efficiently. A faster heart rate can speed up your metabolism by up to 30%! This ensures you burn more calories than you usually would at rest.

WATER WEIGHT

If you are looking to lose a few pounds very quickly for a weigh-in, or to fit into an outfit at short notice, losing some water weight can be a temporary fix. Sweating in an infrared sauna will cause you to lose some of your body’s hydration, and you can lose up to 5lbs of fluid in a session if your body is well-hydrated.

Be aware that if you go right back to drinking normal amounts of water, or more, after your session, the weight will come back very quickly. This trick is only useful in certain situations, as you are not losing body fat or actual weight – just some of your body’s water. People who do this are usually:

• Athletes and sportsmen who need to weigh a certain amount for a match or competition, such as body builders, powerlifters, fighters, wrestlers, and jockeys.

• Models, actors, dancers, and performers who are wanting a thinner appearance temporarily.

• People who want to fit into a slightly tight outfit for an event.

• People who need to weigh a little bit less for an insurance application or claim.

SO HOW MANY CALORIES DO WE BURN IN AN INFRARED SAUNA?

Our bodies burn calories all day to provide the energy that keeps us alive and functioning. Whether we are sleeping, sitting still, or doing a high-intensity workout, we are burning calories – it is just the number of calories that differs. If we are sleeping or sitting still, we are burning a base amount of calories, and this number will be different for every person, depending on age, height, weight, and body fat percentage. 

When we exercise regularly or live active lives, the amount of calories we burn in a day increases. How we lose weight is by burning more calories in a day than we consume. An infrared sauna, like the Health Mate Therapy Lounge Infrared Sauna, can help you to accomplish this by increasing the number of calories you burn at rest while you are sitting in the sauna. 

Be aware, however, that losing a few extra calories while relaxing in a sauna will have no effect if you are consuming significantly more calories every day than you are burning. Using a sauna to aid in your weight loss goals will only work if you are also eating and drinking less calories than you are burning. 

Some sources estimate that one can burn up to 600 calories in an hour-long sauna session, while others say it is as low as 50. It is very difficult to know the truth of this, and it will differ from person to person, but you can use a heart rate monitor to track your own calorie burn throughout the day, as well as during your sauna sessions.

Here’s a good average to start with: in the sauna, you should burn between 1.5 and 2 times the number of calories you would burn at rest. Once you have calculated your resting metabolic rate, divide it by the number of hours in a day, and then by the amount of time you will spend in the sauna. Multiply that number by 1.5 for the minimum amount of calories you will burn in the sauna, and by 2 for the maximum. There are many resting metabolic rate calculators online so that you can find out the base rate for this calculation. 

As an example, if a woman is 30 years old, weighs 150lbs, and burns 31 calories in 30 minutes at rest, she would lose between 46.5 and 62 calories per half-hour session, while relaxing in her Golden Designs Geneva 1-2 Person Low-EMF Far Infrared Sauna.

BE CAREFUL OF DEHYDRATION WHILE USING A SAUNA FOR WEIGHT LOSS

There are endless benefits to using an infrared sauna, and any number of sauna options to choose from that will suit you, your family, and your home, but it is essential that you know how to safely use your sauna for weight loss before trying to do so.

Using your home infrared sauna incorrectly could be harmful to your health. Be sure to prepare your body, mind, and sauna properly before going into your sessions.

One of the biggest risks associated with sauna use is that of dehydration. In a sauna, you sweat a lot, which means all that fluid is leaving your body. Water is essential to life, and if you lose too much of it, there will be serious consequences to your health. 

When you use a sauna on a regular basis, and if you are not specifically trying to lose water weight for a reason, you should ensure that you are quickly replacing all the water you are losing by drinking plenty before and after your sessions. The symptoms of dehydration that you should be aware of are:

• Extreme thirst

• A very dry mouth

• Dizziness / Headaches

• Low need to urinate

There are also a number of conditions that can cause dehydration to occur more quickly, and to have more intense effects. These include:

• Pregnancy

• Kidney disease

• Diabetes

• Cardiovascular diseases