Saunas do not "sweat away fat"

[eedon]

So at lunchtime someone in the sauna asked what I was doing in there as I was slim and a sauna is to sweat away fat.

I was a bit taken back. And just replied its for my skin.

They don't really help with fat right? I've seen the same people for years in there and they are not getting slimmer.

Surely you lose water rather than fat? Are they stupid or something?

Aha! This rings a bell. I knew a waitress who worked in a local greasy spoon cafe and struggled mightily with her weight, with little success. During a conversation one day she told me that she was unable to lose weight because the greasy atmosphere in the cafe was absorbed into her skin and made her fat. Perhaps a sauna would have helped.

Your colleague is wrong. Sweat away fat indeed. Absolute bollocks.

Bollocks. A sauna causes the loss of water, salt, ions.
No need to wonder why someone working in a greasy spoon can't lose weight - if they eat a lot of the food there

What if you pricked your skin all over with a fork, does it work then ? Might sort out dry skin, too.

Like sausages?

I was hoping that there might be a secret formula held within this thread, whereby I could just sweat off my outer layer of lard...
Never has a mumsnetter been more disappointed

Sweating and overheating forces your body to work harder, your heart to pump faster and so, this therapeutic activity can indeed be helpful for weight loss. Sauna increases your circulation; makes you sweat and helps you shed salt and water, thereby allowing you to lose extra weight.

Here’s an equation you can use to estimate out how many you’re burning:
Number of calories burned in 30 minutes of sitting (specific to your bodyweight) x 1.5 (possibly x 2) = calories burned

For example, a healthy male of 185 pounds burns 42 calories in 30 minutes of sitting. To find the number that this same individual burns while sitting in a sauna, multiply those calories by 1.5 and 2 in order to get an estimate. In this case, the individual would burn roughly 63 to 84 calories. That’s a huge difference from the 300 to 1000 estimate!

So most of these people spending 20 mins in there just about burn off a banana. Think I might tell them the next time they say I don't need to sauna.

Ah, yes, good equation, Eveysdad, but some of those calories are used to maintain body temperature so you'd use up slightly less in the heat of a sauna than, say, sitting in a fridge

eedon, people are talking bollocks.
You don't sweat out fat - water and salts, that's it.
Good for all sorts of things including blood pressure, cardiovascular risk and, yes, for some people skin.
Also quite pleasant, I find. You sauna to your heart's content.

Of course they dont, they take away water it will make you feel thinner until you eat or drink more to replenish the loss.

www.webmd.com/diet/20140122/could-turning-down-the-thermostat-help-you-lose-weight

so you'd use up slightly less in the heat of a sauna than, say, sitting in a fridge

I'm going to open a spa where you can sit in a fridge and then come out and have a massage where someone pricks you all over with a fork.

I can just hear the fat all sizzle away!

I am sure I read somewhere about these cold slimming 'cures'… - madness!

Ha maybe its the cold shower that melts away the fat

The people at my gym like to turn off the air cons when they're working out so that they sweat more. I'm assuming they think it makes them lose weight faster? Hasn't worked for me.

However, the winter I worked outdoors, just sitting outside in a booth, I lost a lot of weight, probably because I was always shivering and fidgeting to keep warm.

Yep think the cold works as you can't stay still, works for me in cold water!

Yes, surely you'd burn more calories sitting in a fridge because your body would expend energy trying to keep warm?

The person judging me would burn more calories walling to the gym the 2 miles rather than driving,not that I'm judging back..