The Unused Room In Our House

There was a small room in our old house that we never used in the three years we lived there.

I had every intention of a nightly, weekly or even a monthly steam, but that basement sauna didn't get used once. I'm taking zero, zilch, nada enchilada. I shouldn't be surprised because despite the couple that sold us the house ooohing and aahing about their fabulous sauna, it was clearly untouched. I thought for sure the distinct spicy warm cedarwood smell would lure me in for the best in at-home detoxification, improved circulation and relaxation, but not so much. 

Maybe I didn't want to slap on a swim suit or was too lazy to go downstairs even in the buck with a towel, but for whatever reason, I never made it happen. Maybe it was the fact that I almost passed out during a hot yoga class (yup, I'm a yoga teacher and don't love hot yoga) so even the thought of doing something remotely similar wasn't motivating. 

Lately, the sauna world is all a twitter about the weight loss and anti-aging benefits of regular sauna use. Enter Kim K wearing a sauna suit twice daily so she can shed some pounds in order to wear the dress Marilyn Monroe wore in 1962 when she sang Happy Birthday Mr President. 

This isn't what our culture should be promoting, supporting or celebrating. While she received some backlash for her crash diet, others promoted her twice daily workouts and restricted diet (aka no carbs for a month) as the "healthy way" to lose weight. While I don't get her allure, millions of young men and women look up to her and listen to her every word and probably think, hey, if she can starve herself and make that weight loss happen, I can, too. Many people succeed at short term weight loss, but it's the long term weight loss and doing so in a way that's safe for your body both mentally and physically that has never been proved. 

Weight loss of any kind hasn't been shown to make people any healthier and actually the opposite is  true. Repeated weight loss, aka weight cycling, can be more detrimental to your health than if you would've stayed at your original body size sans dieting. 

I'm glad I never used that sauna. In my dieting days I might've been all over it as one more secret to the weight loss or weight maintenance puzzle, but thankfully those days are over. I felt no guilt in letting that cedar room sit empty. In hindsight, it would've been the perfect place to store winter coats and sweaters. 

I hope you can read a story like Kim K's crash diet and let it enlist more disgust then hope. 

I hope you enjoy a sauna if that's your thing and take a hard pass if you think it's the next secret to a slimmer, younger you. Because, I've got news....your body is constantly aging and you're getting older (and wiser) by the minute.