Steam up: how do baths and saunas affect weight loss?

Steam up: how do baths and saunas affect weight loss?

Some people believe that extra pounds can be “melted”.

Russian banya, Finnish sauna, Turkish hammam – steam procedures can be selected for every taste. Many people like to relax after a busy work week or just to please themselves. It would seem that what could be better than a hot bath after a hard workout? In addition, it is believed that increased sweating accelerates the process of weight loss. But is it really so? Let’s find out together with World Class trainer Ekaterina Nekrasova.

What happens to the body when you steam?

Although the principles of work of different types of baths – saunas, thermae, hammams – are different, they affect the body in approximately the same way. In a hot room, the body temperature rises, and to prevent overheating, the body begins to sweat. Approximately the same thing happens when you do a lot of physical activity.

Sweating is a tool the body uses to maintain a comfortable temperature. During vigorous exercise or in hot weather, you get hot and you sweat. The sweat evaporates from the surface of the skin, which cools the body.

Why doesn’t this help me lose weight?

Many people think that in the bathhouse fat deposits are “stoked” and come out with sweat, thereby accelerating weight loss. However, this is not true. Such procedures allow you to remove accumulated harmful substances from the body, as well as water. Together with the liquid can “come off” and a few pounds, but they will return as soon as you start drinking again.

Ekaterina: Bath and sauna remove toxins and toxins with sweat, but no more.

Why doctors do not recommend going to the sauna after training?

As the coach notes, doctors do not recommend visiting baths, saunas and other similar places immediately after exercise. The fact is that during training – especially intense or with heavy weights – there is a significant load on the cardiovascular system, in particular – on the heart. The body has experienced a kind of stress, and the heart muscle needs time to rest.

If you go to the sauna straight from the gym, you give additional load on the heart. In a hot room, venous pressure rises and the heart beats faster. Therefore, such procedures are not beneficial for the cardiovascular system and may even be dangerous.