Running on a treadmill is an effective form of cardiovascular exercise when performed consistently. In addition to helping you build your endurance and metabolism, running on a treadmill, along with consuming a low-calorie diet, can help you control your weight. Adding a sauna suit to the mix does increase the amount you sweat, but any weight-loss that occurs is only temporary. Wearing a sauna suit while exercising also has risks, including dehydration and overheating. Consult a doctor before wearing a sauna suit.
Weight Loss
You lose weight when you expend more calories than you consume. The most effective way to do this, according to the Cleveland Clinic, is through eating a low-calorie, nutrient-dense diet and exercising regularly. It takes an expenditure of 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat, and the most weight you should lose is 1 to 2 pounds a week. Cutting calories from your daily diet and running on a treadmill at least five to six days a week, for 45 minutes at a time will allow you to lose the 1 to 2 pounds safely and effectively. Adding a sauna suit will not increase the number of calories you expend, but it will cause you to lose water weight, amounting to a temporary loss in weight.
Sauna Suits
Sweating is the body's way of lowering its core temperature when you overheat. Once your inner temperature is hot enough, sweat glands are signaled and release fluids onto the surface of your skin. Normally, the sweat evaporates, cooling your body. When you wear a sauna suit while exercising, your sweat cannot evaporate and you get even hotter, which makes you sweat even more. The subsequent loss of weight is in the form of water and other fluids. Once you eat or drink something, the weight quickly returns.
Typical Uses
Despite its inability to contribute to long-term weight loss, some athletes wear a sauna suit as part of their training regimen. Wrestlers, boxers, rowers and other athletes who compete by weight class wear sauna suits while exercising to lose several pounds the night before being weighed in. The loss of water weight does not diminish their overall body mass, but does allow them to compete in a lower weight class possibly, giving them a potential advantage.
Considerations
Running on a treadmill while wearing a sauna suit has its risks, particularly if you are running at high speeds or for long periods of time and sweating a lot. Dehydration and overheating are the main concerns. According to Columbia University Health Services, even a 2 percent drop in body weight caused by fluid loss produces significant changes in your body's response to exercise, and further loss can lead to confusion, dizziness and confusion. A more severe loss of fluids can result in coma or death. The National Collegiate Athletic Association banned the use of sauna suits in 1997 after two wrestlers died while wearing them as they were exercising to make their weight goals. Even if you are only going to walk on a treadmill, consult your doctor before wearing a sauna suit, particularly if you have health issues or are on medication.
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