If you have ever tried to log your sauna time into MyFitnessPal, you’ve discovered that there’s no exercise option for it. So how do you log your sauna time into MyFitnessPal?
Logging your sauna time into MyFitnessPal is easy – you can add sauna time to MyFitnessPal by going to your app, clicking the plus symbol on the bottom, and clicking on the exercise option. The second way is by manually adding to the calories earned section.
If you want to learn more about tracking your calories while using the sauna and if you do burn calories while in there, Keep reading!
Do you need to track sauna time in MyFitnessPal?
Yes, you do need to track sauna time in the MyFitnessPal app. Even if you only burn 30 calories, it is worth monitoring them. While you won’t reach your fitness goal by sitting in a sauna alone, it can help.
We know that we burn calories just by sitting, so it makes sense that Sauna bathing is beneficial in lowering an individual’s BMI. Just four ten-minute sauna sessions can have a positive impact on reaching your weight loss goals. You have to remember that if you’re going to implement this in your weight loss goals, you should do it a few times a week. Experts recommend skipping at least a day in between each sauna session.
Researchers believed that time in the sauna would decrease your blood pressure; recent studies have shown the opposite is true. Sitting in a sauna increases your heart rate and blood pressure, similar to a short moderate workout. Experts also discovered that spending time in the sauna improves your heart health.
How many calories can a person burn during a sauna session?
The number of calories you lose while using a sauna varies depending on your gender, height, and weight. You would simply figure out how many calories you burn a day while sitting and then multiply it by 1.5. Typically a female burns around 1,400 a day while a male will burn 1,600.
For an entire resource devoted to this topic, check out my article on how many calories you can burn in the sauna after 15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes!
Figuring out the exact number of calories you burn can be difficult. There are a few ways you can measure the number of calories you burn. You can:
- Use an activity tracker or app that estimates how many calories you burn by activity for you. These are not always accurate and vary depending on what product you’re using.
- If you are using a workout machine, you can put your weight, height, and gender information in it, and it will calculate it for you.
- A MET values chart can estimate how many calories you burn while doing a specific activity. This is based on METS X 3.5 X BW (KG) / 200 = KCAL/MIN. This formula seems a bit complicated, huh?
- A heart rate monitor is one of the best ways to measure how many calories you’ve burned. Your heart rate indicates if you are burning fat or carbs. To calculate your maximum heart rate during a workout, you need to take the maximum heart rate (220) and subtract your age. An example of this is if you are a 29-year-old male, you simply remove. 220-29=191. This means that your heart rate shouldn’t go above 191. To burn fat, he’d want his heart rate to be 70 percent of 191, roughly 133 BPM.
If you are looking for the most accurate way to track how many calories you burn, measuring your heart rate is best. One of the main reasons people don’t reach their goal weight is they overestimate the number of calories they are burning and underestimate the number of calories they are eating.
Keeping track of your heart rate allows you to know if you are burning fat or carbs. It also lets you know if you are overworking yourself or not working hard enough. Plus, it will make figuring out how many calories to log into MyFitnessPal accurate and straightforward.
Do you need special equipment to monitor heart rate during a sauna session?
To log your calories burned into MyFitnessPal, you’ll first have to find out your heart rate. Since MyFitnessPal is only an app, you’ll need to pair it with another device. There are a few different types of heartbeat trackers you can choose from. They are as follows:
- Fitness trackers are suitable for measuring your heart rate and are highly accurate. The two that are the most accurate are the Apple Watch 3 and the Fitbit Charge 2.
- Chest straps are heart rate monitors that wrap around your chest with small electrode pads directly placed on your skin. Once you start sweating, the pads pick up the signals from your heartbeat and send the information to the transmitter.
- Wearable heart rate monitors are similar to fitness trackers, other than they only measure your heart rate. Some newer ones can transmit information by Bluetooth, making it easy for anyone to sync their heart rate to their smartphone or tablet.
The main thing to remember when choosing a heart rate monitor is that you only want to use either ECG or LED. If you are a hardcore athlete, you may want to opt for the chest strap ones. If you are looking to monitor your heart rate for health and exercise reasons, then the wearable heart rate monitors or the fitness trackers are great.
How to add a sauna session to MyFitnessPal
I’m sure by now you’re thinking okay enough with all of the information on how to log my sauna time into MyFitnessPal? There are a few different ways you can do this, depending on how you decided to figure out the number of calories you burned. Below you will find step-by-step instructions for the three main ways you can log in to the information.
Figure out how many calories you burned:
The first thing you need to do is figure out exactly how many calories you burned while in the sauna. As discussed above, there are a few different ways you can do this. If you are using the fitness app, it determines the calories for you. If you use the MET values chart or monitor your heart rate, you’ll have to do the math.
Once you know the calories, it’s time to log them into MyFitnessPal
- Step one – Login to MyFitnessPal
- Step two – Hit the plus button located at the bottom in the center.
- Step three – click on the exercise icon
- Step four – click on the cardio
Cardio – click on my exercises tab, then the create exercise. This allows you to add in the description.
- Description – Sauna
- Calories burned – how many calories you figured out in the previous step
- Start time – when you started.
Summary:
While a sauna bath isn’t going to burn as many calories as a high-intensity workout, it will do some things you may not be aware of. It is an excellent way to sweat out toxins and improves your heart health. Combined with a healthy diet and exercise routine, it can aid in your weight loss journey.