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:
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Helping your body burn more calories
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Increasing your energy levels
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Clearing your lymphatic system
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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:
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Athletes and sportsmen who need to weigh a certain amount for a match or competition, such as body builders, powerlifters, fighters, wrestlers, and jockeys.
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Models, actors, dancers, and performers who are wanting a thinner appearance temporarily.
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People who want to fit into a slightly tight outfit for an event.
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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:
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Extreme thirst
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A very dry mouth
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Dizziness / Headaches
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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:
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Pregnancy
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Kidney disease
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Diabetes
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Cardiovascular diseases
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CONCLUSION
Weight loss is just one of the many benefits associated with infrared sauna use, and when done in conjunction with a calorie restricted diet, sauna use can be just the push you need to reach your goals. Be sure to drink plenty of water before and after your sauna sessions for your own health and safety. If you would like to know how much weight you can lose over the long term with regular sauna sessions, wear a heart rate monitor or high quality fitness watch to track your calorie loss closely.
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Love it use it dearly. only thing wish had half glass door half wood ,live in north east lose a lot of heat through door.
The DYN-6106-01 Elite sauna from My Sauna World was at a fair price and fit the tight space that I had available. Ordering was great with assistance for questions answered quickly. The sauna was package better than most shipments. It was heavy off the truck, but each section was manageable with 2 people. Assembly was easy. It works nicely. It would fit one big guy or two skinny people. Bluetooth works great.
Very pleased with the sauna and the customer service from sauna world! The conventional heater along with the infrared provide much faster warm up times than other brands. Additionally, I can generate a little steam by spraying water onto the hot rocks of the conventional heater. I use it 4 times per week. Sauna World was quick to respond to my installation and operational questions.
I haven't even built this sauna yet (Rainelle), but I have to give an ENORMOUS shoutout to Adora and especially KELLY for their help on this one. This was a big purchase for us, and these ladies went way out of their way to make it work out for us. The first sauna that showed up was badly damaged in shipping, and from what it sounds like - that is not typical. At all. So Kelly helped us to get it squared away, and it took what could have been a horrible customer experience into a fantastic one. Give this woman a raise!
We really like our sauna! Quality of the sauna seems decent. The quality of the accessories was not! The back recliner was all busted up out of the box.
My wife and I would occasionally sit in the sauna at our gym after a workout. It was hot but a little gross. I can't tell you how many times we bailed on the gym sauna session because someone else was playing their phone too loud, someone was breathing like they were gasping for air, someone decided to be shirtless in public, someone is weird or any number of other reasons. Loved the sauna feeling but HATED the gym sauna.
We bought a sauna for our home and installed it in our basement to escape the gym sauna experience. We absolutely love it! We sauna daily. Without the angst and frustration of hoping to avoid an awkward gross experience at the gym sauna.
If you are considering a sauna purchase, spend a little extra and get the WIFI enabled heater. This is the best way to make sure you get the benefit of owning a sauna. The app on our phone is easy to use. Just click the on/off button on the app and set your temperature to your desire. I like 171. My wife likes 153. Once it hits the temperature, the app will let you know. You can even turn on your sauna while you are on the way home from the gym. The WIFI version and the app make all the difference in usability and enjoyment of your investment. If we did not have the app and the WIFI version, we probably would probably skip 2/3 of the sessions we currently take.
The sauna is well made. Wood quality is excellent. Very few knots and blemishes. Hillsboro Almost Heaven saunas are a great choice for quality components, solid electronics, easy to use controls and an enjoyable sauna experience.
This is a standard kit sauna. I made several modifications but I am very satisfied with it so far. I have a few shingles left to install tomorrow and then will move onto to interior. MSW has been easy to work with and I recommend them.
I really love this sauna. I use it about four times a week to help me wind down before bed and calm my ego. Customer service at MySaunaWorld was great.
Assembly took me roughly 8–10 hours total over two days, and I’m not a particularly handy person. The step by step instructions video was straightforward and easy to follow.
I paired the sauna with the HUUM Drop 9 heater (the largest HUUM Drop), and it performs very well. I hired an electrician to install it (about $900 extra). It easily heats the sauna to 190°F plus. I personally like it around 180°F, which it reaches in about an hour. Also, you can pour water over the hot rocks to make the air hotter and steamier. Make sure to mount it low so that it can heat everything above it. (I mounted mine 6” from the ground to the base of the heater.) I love that I can start heating the sauna from my iPhone, even when I’m not on my home Wi-Fi.
I got the double-bench configuration going across the back of the sauna which lets two people lay down. The area around the lower bench is cooler which is nice to have different temperature seating options.
The sauna looks fantastic, smells great, and feels solid. I would recommend this sauna to a friend.
We love our new Almost Heaven Pinnacle barrel sauna!
Delivery was perfect, the assembly was a breeze, and the sauna fits perfectly in our space.
The only regret we have is not to have made this purchase 10 years ago!
I had been thinking about installing a sauna for quite some time. I kept going back and forth between framing one in or a prefab that I assemble. I spent several weeks going over the various websites looking at designs for both and writing out the pros/cons for each. After much deliberation, I reached out to My Sauna World to purchase an Almost Heaven Greyson.
It came way sooner than expected which was a good thing, so I had to arrange for my electrician. I assembled it very easily, with my wife holding just one panel, and then I ran into a problem. The last wall was short. It took a lot of head scratching and measuring and remeasuring as well as back and forth communication with both My Sauna World and Almost Heaven. It turned out that I had been sent 2 glass panels that were the same dimension when the 2 glass panels are actually designed with different dimensions. The new panel was sent out without question, and the rest of the assembly went easy.
I will say that the folks at My Sauna World were extremely responsive and did a great job as liaison back to the manufacturer.
Overall, I had a really positive experience, and we are very happy with the Greyson with the Harvia Spirit 8kW stove.
We also have the duckboard flooring (that is a must) sitting on top of the concrete floor. The back and leg rest are also recommended.
Note: this is advertised as a 3-4 person but in reality it is a good 2 person. And lastly, I grew up with sauna my whole life, starting with my grandpa’s wood burning sauna. This non insulated Greyson type will not get up to the same temperatures, but it does get the job done. Very pleased with the product and do recommend (to frame one in my self and buy a pre-cut kit would have cost a few thousand more overall)
Their customer service is refreshing in a world where most companies fail miserably with service. They should teach customer service to other companies and government agencies. We have only tested the actual product to make sure it works, but along the way, we had multiple questions and the replies were quick and helpful. The sauna was easy to assemble.
Frankly, I was stunned at the quality of this product. Equally stunning is how easily everything fits together. It’s well and I’m looking to an improved lifestyle.
Back rests are a nice size and fit perfectly in my Lugano 3-person sauna. They are very comfortable (especially considering they are wood) and make sitting in the sauna an even more pleasant experience. To think that they were added in free to my purchase of the sauna is hard to believe. Very pleased with customer service from My Sauna World.com !
Well built, good quality, reliable, and matches my barrel sauna very well
I purchased this since it was significantly more affordable than from the brands website. It arrived quickly and is function perfect. It's easy to install and looks great. I had issues with water leaking into the sauna before that used to annoy me. Now it stays completely dry and the wood also is protected from damage and weathering.