When it comes to losing weight and getting fit, you have plenty of options. Specifically, you can focus on your diet, exercise, submit to surgery, use special weight loss products or serums, and much more. For instance, the hot tub is one example of an apparatus that is commonly used to aid in weight loss.
Nevertheless, what works for some may not work for others, and just because it may seem plausible doesn’t make it true. That said, the following is an overview of whether or not a hot tub can help you lose weight.
Can a Hot Tub Help You Lose Weight?
For every person who has had a positive weight loss experience, you will find countless others who are overly skeptical and critical of the methods they use. The hot tub is no exception. Since so many people use it for fun and recreation, it seems hard to believe that hot tubs can actually be used to facilitate weight loss. Nevertheless, many experts assert that hot tubs can do just that.
Specifically, research suggests that spending an hour in the hot tub is akin to 60 minutes of moderate physical activity. Although the research is still in the preliminary stages, it seems that hot tubs help people lose weight because they produce heat shock proteins, which may help control blood sugar control and, thus, may be used as an alternative to working out.
This phenomenon is also known as ‘passing heat,’ or raising your body temperature, which can help lower blood sugar levels and help those who suffer from conditions such as diabetes and other related conditions.
This phenomenon may also affect proteins in the body, which can also help regulate blood sugar. This is helpful for those with type 2 diabetes, who tend to have lower levels of heat shock proteins.
Moreover, it can also help with inflammation. Those who participated in this study also reported an anti-inflammatory response, which is highly similar to what happens to the body after working out.
How a Spa Can Help You Lose Weight
To take it a step further, hot tubs can help you lose weight both directly and indirectly. Although we have delved into some of the more scientific aspects of how spas can help you lose weight, let’s look at some of the more practical aspects of this matter.
Healing from Injury
One of the more practical ways spas can help you lose weight is that they can help you heal from injuries preventing you from working out on a regular basis. As many of us are well aware, diet and exercise are two of the top methods of losing weight and keeping it off. However, it often becomes impossible to be active enough to work out consistently when the body becomes injured.
Nevertheless, investing in a hot tub can be an amazing way to promote healing of the body. Here how:
- Temporary Pain Relief: One of the top benefits of spas in terms of weight loss is that they can provide temporary relief from pain and injuries. Therefore, if you have an injury that prevents you from working out consistently, sitting in a hot tub before and/or after working out can be enough to allow you to get through your exercise routines.
- Improved Circulation: Moreover, spas can also help improve circulation. This is because hot tubs cause blood vessels and capillaries to dilate, allowing the blood to flow more freely. When you experience increased blood flow, more blood flows to the injured areas, promoting faster healing. Therefore, sitting in a hot tub after workouts and whenever you are feeling pain can be an easy way to heal your injuries.
Stress Reduction
One indirect way that hot tubs can help you lose weight is that it promotes stress reduction. As many now know, stress can wreak havoc on the body, causing an array of adverse effects.
In particular, stress contributes to the creating and storing of the stress hormone, known as cortisol, which is one of the most toxic hormones for your body to produce when you are trying to lose weight.
This is due to the fact that the production of this hormone literally puts the body into fight or flight mode. If this issue persists, it can become next to impossible for the body to lose weight.
Here are the three ways the stress hormone can prevent the body from losing weight:
- Unhealthy Cravings: One way cortisol can prevent the body from losing weight is by triggering unhealthy cravings. In particular, it can cause many people to crave unhealthy foods such as those of high-sodium and high-fat foods, as these are often used as comfort foods and can help us mentally and physically cope with stress. These foods can cause rapid weight gain, which can be very difficult to lose.
- Increased Body Fat Content: If your body is constantly feeling overstressed, this could lead to abnormally high cortisol levels. Since cortisol can trigger the body’s fat storage response, it can cause the body to store more fat in the abdominal region, an area that is often difficult to tone, even without the extra belly fat. Therefore, if your body is producing a large amount of cortisol, you may notice that your midsection does not look slimmer, no matter how good your diet is or how often you exercise.
- Hindering New Muscle Growth: Lastly, cortisol can prevent the body from building new muscle. This is because cortisol can also reduce testosterone levels. When the body is able to build muscle, this means you will be able to burn calories much faster; thus, resulting in more rapid weight loss. However, when you have an elevated level of cortisol, your body may struggle to build muscle, which means you will lose weight at a much slower pace. Additionally, this can extend the healing and recovery process after exercise, which can make it difficult to work out regularly or with high intensity.
Getting Better Sleep
Lastly, hot tubs can make it possible to get better sleep. Although it may seem counterintuitive, sleep is actually essential to weight loss. So, if you suffer from sleep issues or are otherwise sleep deprived, it may be very difficult to lose weight.
This is because being sleep-deprived can also cause an array of issues for the body. These issues include negatively affecting your hormones and other systems of the body. When your body is out of whack in such a way, losing weight becomes an even more arduous task than it already is.
Luckily, by investing in a spa, you will be able to get a better quality of sleep for the following reasons:
- Lowering Cortisol Levels: Since insomnia boosts cortisol levels, taking the time to soak in the spa regularly can have the opposite effect. In other words, hot tubs can relax the body and mind, making it much easier to fall and stay asleep. So, if you are finding it difficult to get to sleep each night, soaking in the hot tub can fix this issue.
- Lower Levels of Ghrelin: Since insomnia can cause a boost in ghrelin, which is a hormone that triggers hunger, it can make it hard to stick to an eating schedule. However, by soaking in the hot tub to reduce stress and anxiety, you may get a better quality of sleep, which will result in less resistance to weight loss.
- Fix the Mitochondria: Sleep deprivation can cause issues in the mitochondria, which are the powerhouses of the cells. When this part of the cell begins to shut down, it can cause the body to process less sugar. Over time, this can cause weight gain by making the fat cells 30% less capable in terms of processing insulin.
- Lower Serotonin Levels: Since chronic insomnia can cause increased serotonin levels, it can also trigger people to crave foods that are high in fat and carbs. Over time, this type of unhealthy diet can cause weight gain as well as a host of other mental and physical health issues. However, by soaking in a hot tub on a regular basis, you may be able to keep your serotonin levels low and skirt such issues.
Shop Hot Tubs in New Jersey
Has the information in this article been helpful? If so, please find more tips and tricks by visiting our blog. Either way, here at National Pools and Spas, we go above and beyond to provide our customers with useful products and information.
If you are ready to use a spa to help you lose weight, contact our experts today. We would be happy to provide you with lots of product choices and information that will allow you to optimize the benefits of your new spa. Moreover, our products are cost-effective, eye-catching, and provide you with a comfortable way to relax, unwind, and hopefully lose some weight.
Contact us today for a quote and more information!
