Has anyone lost weight by primarily doing yoga?

[RLA]

Has anyone lost weight by primarily doing yoga?  Just curious! 🙂

[Inga]

no, ask anyone... losing weight is about diet, walking and yoga are great for firming up though. 

[Ladyeliz]

I didnt. I have been taking hot yoga classes, 4 times a week, for a year and Ive actually gained weight. smileysad Think its because I gave up focusing on strength training and cardio. Its great to sweat out toxins and gain flexibility though.

[tallson]

I practice yoga three times a week and I don't think it has much effect on your weight.  All exercise including yoga is good for your general health. I think true sustained weight loss can only be achieved through lifestyle change with eating habits. If you google Amazon for "diet" books you will come up with over 50,000 hits. Obviously there are many different opinions and most are espoused with a religious-like fervor. IMHO, some kind of low carb diet which avoids sugar in any form, highly refined /processed carbohydrates, starches and perhaps exclude grains is a good direction.

[runnergirl318]

How much weight would you like to lose?  Do you currently practice yoga?  

[JenniLacey]

I doubt it. Losing weight comes down to how many calories you're eating. Even if you workout at the gym for a few hours a day and burn a total of 3000 cals for the day, then eat 3500 cals... you're going to start gaining weight.

It doesn't matter what exercise you do. If you eat more or the same amount you burn. You're not going to lose weight. You could not exercise at all and eat less calories than you burn and *lose weight*.

Cardio just helps to burn a bit in the day so you can either eat more and still lose weight or lose weight a bit faster had you not done it but really, it's not that much more. Cardio, yoga, strength training should be what they are meant for; fitness. You do cardio to improve endurance and cardiovascular health, you do yoga to improve flexibility and strength, you do strength training to gain muscle/strength and all the other wonderful disease preventing benefits regular exercise provides.

You eat a certain amount of calories to lose weight.

And if you're using yoga for weight loss you're not going to be burning many calories compared to cardiovascular activities. You'd burn double or triple with some moderate to high intensity cardio.

[gerrymcd]

It depends what you mean -  if you mean does yoga burn calories?  The answer is an hour long class burns about the same as walking for an hour.  So, if you do a class every day you will probably burn an extra 1,500 to 3,000 calories a week (depending on the type of yoga).  If  you keep your diet exactly the same, in principle you could loose 20 or more lbs in a year.  But, the problem in calculations like these is the 'keep your diet exactly the same'.  Upping exercise usual increases appetite.  Its all to easy to give yourself little post workout treats -- if a yoga workout is 250 to 400+ calories an hour this can be negated by eating a muffin or a 'power bar' on the way home. 

[RLA]

Thanks for all the input!  I was just curious because I have recently been doing more yoga at home.  I basically just do what I feel like.  Sometimes it's easier yoga dvds focusing on breathing and sometimes its harder yoga dvds focusing on building stregth.  I will say it is the first time in a long time where I have been excited to exercise so I think I have found what works for me! YAY!  I have felt better, tighter, and I think my skin looks better.  I started adding in walking dvds to get my heart rate up more and lose a few pounds but I think if I could get to a point to do the harder yoga where it is constantly flowing and changing positions, I really see no reason to need any other exercise besides walking/jogging a few times a week.  It seems to me real yoga will make you pretty strong!  

[Inga]

strong? Yes. You didn't ask if it would make you strong, LOL

[zoebray]

Yoga is an exercise it allows you to lose weight by burning your fat. Yoga Burn Reviews journey in itself, and it would be best if you see it like that. It strengthened me emotionally, mentally, and definitely physically. I learned difficult yoga poses after which I realized I can possibly do any physical task. Yes, it was daunting, yes I thought of giving up many times, yes it started taking a toll on me initially, but would I have reached back to 60 kgs from 75 kgs today, if I had given up back then? I am back to being 60 kgs now. And I am happier than I ever was. I see it as an achievement.

[anabiamay]

Practicing these poses for 20 minutes every day will show you some incredible and positive changes to your body. These are wonder poses to get rid of that extra fat and reduce weight:-

1- Upward dog
2- Surya namaskar
3- Chair pose
4- Plank pose
5- Child's pose

I learned it during Yoga teacher training in India and witnessed some major weight loss. These are very simple poses and really effective as well. Try them. This has workout really well for me. I used to practice these poses for 15-20 minutes every morning before running to work.

[JuanFitbit]

Hi @anabiamay , a warm welcome to the Community! Thank you for sharing this. 

I'm not a big Yoga fan, but a lot of my friends are. I'll recommend them, the poses you  mentioned above. 

Besides your Yoga training, have you changed anything on your daily routine (food, exercises, etc) to keep your weight?

All tips are appreciated!

[Debbie001]

Yes - absolutely.

Yoga can totally help you shed pounds if that's your goal.

Yoga burns calories when done the right way, that's for sure!

If you are serious about losing weight and getting fit, you might want to implement a 60-minute power yoga and/or vinyasa flow practice at least five to six days per week.

This yoga weight loss program was easy to follow and worked flawlessly for me.

Each class is easy to follow, but is varied and enjoyable. Dynamic Sequencing means you'll always be challenged regardless of your current level.

If you want to follow my example, think about coupling your practice with a whole foods diet for optimal results.

Good luck!

A