Increase Your Metabolism With a Sauna After Thanksgiving
Want to make it through the holidays without gaining 10 pounds? Don’t resign yourself to wearing only pants with elastic bands, only to make losing those holiday pounds your New Year’s resolution. We have a secret weapon to help you do it. We’re not saying you can eat all the holiday treats you run into with no consequences, but we do know how you can increase your metabolism with a sauna.
Fire Up Your Metabolism
When you use a Finnleo® Sauna, you’re probably only conscious of the deep relaxation you’re feeling. However, your body is actually getting in a workout that’s similar to mild-moderate aerobic exercise. Your heart rate increases, blood circulation speeds up, and you burn calories. Blood vessels open up and your blood pressure lowers. Your immune system is boosted … We could go on, but suffice it to say that everything from your skin to your muscles to your brain benefits from regular sauna sessions.
One of those benefits is that your metabolic rate increases. To get an idea of the benefits to your metabolism, first, calculate approximately how many calories you burn in a sauna.
The Most Enjoyable Calorie Burn Happens in a Sauna
How many calories you burn while using the sauna depends on your current basal metabolic rate (BMR). To get an estimate, check out this BMR calculator. So, for example, a 40-year old man who is 5’10” and weighs 185 pounds would have a BMR of about 1,835.
BMR, sometimes called resting metabolic rate, is the number of calories your body burns at rest. In the example of our 40-year old friend with a BMR of 1835, that means if he just laid in bed all day, his body would need 1,835 calories to function.
Now that you’ve used the calculator to find your BMR, here is the formula for calculating the average calories burned in a sauna per hour: BMR x 1.5 ÷ 24. That means the gentleman in our example would burn 114.69 calories an hour. Of course, that’s too long for a sauna session, so let’s break that down to 57.34 calories for a 30-minute session or 28.67 calories per 15-minute session.
We hear you, 57 calories in 30 minutes isn’t a number to write home about. But remember, those are calories burned when you’re at rest, enjoying a nice, relaxing sauna bath. Plus, and here’s the kicker …
The Benefits Don’t End When You Leave the Sauna
Studies have shown that consistent sauna sessions have a lasting metabolic effect. In this study, participants saw their metabolic rates increase by 25% or more. When you increase your body’s metabolic process, you’ll burn more calories — not just when taking a sauna bath, but at rest, when you work out, and as you go about your day.
So in other words, make a sauna a regular part of your life and you can safely eat a couple of extra Christmas cookies this season!
Do you have any other questions about the amazing benefits of saunas, or would you like to take a closer look at a Finnleo Sauna in person? Let’s talk!
