Jelly Roll claims this key item helped him lose 200lbs — but what do experts think?

Jelly Roll has been on a long weight loss journey, and he is eager to share what has helped him through it.

The “I Am Not Okay” singer has always been candid about weighing over 500 pounds, and now that he has lost 200, he’s equally as candid about how he has done it.

In addition to healthy eating and frequent exercise, there are several habits that have made it easier, among them: saunas.

Speaking with People earlier this month ahead of running in the 2 Bears 5K at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California in May, Jelly, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, revealed that he recently lost another 70 pounds.

He then shared: “I’ve been really kicking [expletive], man. I’m doing two to three miles a day, four to six days a week,” adding: “I’m doing 20 to 30 minutes in the sauna, six minutes in a cold plunge every day. I’m eating healthy right now.”

“I was thinking, I plan on losing another 100, 100-and-something [pounds]. If I feel this good down this weight, man, I can only imagine what I’m going to feel like by the time I go on tour,” he further said.

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Though the concept of a sauna can be traced back to as early as 2,000 BC, at-home saunas have become increasingly popular in recent years, and more recently, infrared sauna blankets have become an even easier way to partake in the habit.

Benny Rehwald, a sauna specialist and founder at Topture, says of using saunas to aid weight loss: “While saunas aren’t a replacement for exercise, they can be a powerful complement to a wellness routine.”

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He further explains: “The heat stimulates cardiovascular activity, boosts circulation, and promotes recovery, all of which support overall health. The elevated heart rate and sweating can contribute to modest calorie expenditure, making sauna sessions a useful addition to a calorie-deficient strategy.”

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“We also shouldn’t overlook heat’s natural appetite-suppressing effect. Some studies support what many already notice anecdotally: we tend to eat less after a sauna session, similar to how appetite often decreases during hot summer days,” he also pointed out.

As for the benefits of the increasingly popular infrared saunas, and their calorie-burning abilities, Topture states: “Infrared saunas, which use infrared heaters to emit infrared light experienced as radiant heat, are believed to offer enhanced calorie-burning benefits compared to traditional saunas.”

“This belief is grounded in the way infrared heat penetrates more deeply into the body’s tissues, potentially increasing core body temperature more efficiently and stimulating a more pronounced sweating response,” it further notes.