Saunas & Sodium

Dahllywood
Dahllywood Posts: 642 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hey gang,

These past 5 days have been an overall celebration of my graduation from college, and that means a lot of eating out, BBQs, beer, and SODIUM. That said, I've been working out and staying under most of my macros, but the sodium levels have been off the charts.

To attempt to compensate, I've been using the sauna to get some extra sweat after my workout. Will this help with excess sodium outside of my regular workouts? Cheers

Replies

  • Dahllywood
    Dahllywood Posts: 642 Member
    buuuump
  • reyopo
    reyopo Posts: 210 Member
    I'm sure if you were to ask whether the sauna burned calories you'd get a thousand responses! Ha! I don't really know the answer, but I'd say: avoid excess sodium for the next few days as you probably are, drink lots of water (more than you normally would), take a ton of Vitamin C...and all of this COMBINED should compensate for the excess sodium. If you were to consume extra sodium and sweat a ton in a sauna WITHOUT doing these things, you'd be in for some serious water retention/dehydration and electrolyte imbalance...but I'm sure you know that.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,371 Member
    I'm never quite sure how good saunas are for you. I always feel like crap whilst I'm in one and afterwards, but for the purposes of your question, won't your kidneys sort out the expulsion of excess sodium, assuming you're drinking enough?
  • GasMasterFlash
    GasMasterFlash Posts: 2,206 Member
    I would go with a hot tub or jacuzzi instead. After leeching the excess sodium into the water, you could use it to make a nice broth.
  • Stasha17
    Stasha17 Posts: 28
    Just make sure you stay hydrated you should be fine.
  • SeeEmRun2012
    SeeEmRun2012 Posts: 94
    I'm sure if you were to ask whether the sauna burned calories you'd get a thousand responses! Ha! I don't really know the answer, but I'd say: avoid excess sodium for the next few days as you probably are, drink lots of water (more than you normally would), take a ton of Vitamin C...and all of this COMBINED should compensate for the excess sodium. If you were to consume extra sodium and sweat a ton in a sauna WITHOUT doing these things, you'd be in for some serious water retention/dehydration and electrolyte imbalance...but I'm sure you know that.


    AGREED!
  • HopeG911
    HopeG911 Posts: 2
    Hi I'm new here..just wanted to add a thought. While you are doing all the other things the last post mentioned you can also increase your potassium (with banana's sweet potatoes, dates, raisins, low fat dairy, or seafood). Although your kidneys have probably already started flushing out the excess soduim, the potassium may help. And, yes..extra water.
    Congratulations on finishing college!!

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