Many of us crave convenience. If there’s a task we want to complete, and there’s an easier way of completing said task, more often than not, we’re going to take it. In the case of losing body fat, however, the only true proven method is to stick to a calorie deficit diet and to exercise regularly.
But, as we said, we’re always in search of convenience. Speaking of which: one method some fitness junkies have turned to is to wear a bin bag over their clothes when exercising, whether it be in the gym or out running on the roads, in order to lose water weight.
These fitness junkies include the master of maintaining a low body fat percentage, Salt Bae. We’ve also seen social media personality Gianluca Vacchi do it. But apart from these mavericks, it tends to be something only done by people wanting to lose weight fast and unsustainably, like fighters before a weigh-in.
Taking to Instagram to share a new series of images on his story, Salt Bae can be seen training in what is essentially a bin bag. His, though, is more of a well-fashioned bin bag style shirt, complete with elasticated arm and neck cuffs. Training and exercising whilst wearing a bin bag type garment isn’t a new phenomenon. In fact, athletes of various levels (boxers, in particular) have been using the method for years – Bradley Cooper even dons one in the hit movie Silver Linings Playbook, wearing one over his grey tracksuit while out for a run – but its actual benefits seem to be pretty slim.
Many hold the belief that using a bin bag or any other kind of sauna suit, as they are known, can aid with ‘actual’ weight loss. However, various publications, including Livestrong, and Military.com, claim they only help people to lose water weight. This is why they are commonly used by boxers or MMA fighters, for example, as they can shed the water weight in order to meet a certain weight class.
But, since it is just water weight being lost, that same weight will go back on as soon as you eat and drink water to rehydrate. And rehydrate you must, because wearing a bin bag when training will cause you to produce excessive amounts of sweat.
As Livestrong states, “Your body uses some of its water stores to regulate body temperature. This is achieved through sweat production. Wearing a trash bag short circuits part of your body’s cooling process.”
“The trash bag prevents the sweat from evaporating, signalling the body to keep producing sweat in the hopes of lowering your body temperature. In this manner, the trash bag causes weight loss from water loss.”
“Weight loss attributed to water weight is only temporary and is also dangerous to your health. Gains can be expected once you rehydrate or eat. Because water is vital to many different body systems and functions, it’s not recommended to attempt to lose weight in this manner.”
Healthline also chimes in on the lack of any real benefit to wearing a sauna suit or bin bag when training, but adds there are a number of risks, as wearing on can have negative effects on: “thermal regulation, cardiovascular function, renal function, hydration, electrical activity, electrolyte balance, muscle strength, muscle endurance, body composition.”
These negative effects could potentially lead to “hyperthermia, dehydration and rhabdomyolysis, the break down of skeletal muscle.”
However, shedding water weight can help you to look more ripped, which we presume is Salt Bae’s reasoning. Bodybuilding.com says people who assume they have a layer of fat covering their abs, “could in fact be primarily ‘subcutaneous fluid’, otherwise known as ‘water weight’.”
“A lot of bodybuilders get very lean, and achieve vascularity in areas such as their arms and legs, yet still cannot get their lower abdominal muscles to appear. This is usually due, not to fat, but to fluid and excess sodium ions being deposited in the lower abdominal region, thereby masking the well-sculpted muscle that lies underneath.”
And, one way to help shed this water weight to reveal your washboard abs is to sweat. “Water retention is not simply ‘water’,” Bodybuilding.com adds, “but sodium ions trapped underneath the skin. This is why your sweat tastes salty.”
“A trick to use is to sit in a sauna and keep drinking water. In the beginning, your sweat will taste salty, telling you that you are retaining sodium. After a while, your sweat will begin to taste like water.”
Other, perhaps safer methods to help shed water weight and sodium ions, are to drink more water to help continually flush out your system, limit your intake of salt, and to eat more fibre.
So, while we so often encourage everyone to follow Salt Bae’s workouts and training advice – he is ridiculously ripped, after all – his latest endeavour should perhaps be best avoided.
You can check out some of Salt Bae’s most brutal workouts in the video below