[HeatherP]

I'm interested if there's such a thing as Yoga for weight loss. Does anybody here do Yoga? I'm going to start a fairly moderate-strain program, and I'm hoping that at the very least it may help reduce my insulin dosages.

[Shalyndria]

Well, I did Yoga a grand total of once. I just found that it wasn't strenuous enough for me. But i think that if you need to lose weight, anything helps. And yoga is good for spiritual health and posture and balance.

I do Pilates. Religiously. It's about my all time fave actual exercise cause it doesn't feel like exercise. And it is centered on toning, so if a person needs to lose weight, I think it couldn't hurt. It is somewhat similar to yoga as it has positions that you hold thus helping with balance and posture. I just find it ten times harder. First time I did it I had sore muscles that I'm still sure don't exist.
It focuses on your "Powerhouse"- the area two inches above your pelvis and two inches below your ribs. Every position you hold is done with the powerhouse. So it's a killer ab workout. I mean, situps have nothing on this thing.

[Gina]

i do yoga...and yes its good for losing weight...but you also have to make sure that you eat right and drink plenty of water also...if you want to lose weight you can also walk 30 minutes a day also it works just as good as any aerobic workout!! and you get to check out pretty scenery as you go...

[fishy]

"if you want to lose weight you can also walk 30 minutes a day also it works just as good as any aerobic workout!!"

In fact it probably works better. If you excercise at the high levels typically associated with aerobic workouts your body will burn carbohydrates in preference to fat -- it treats the excercise as a dramatic event that is likely to be over relatively quickly and so burns short term fuel that can be converted to energy quickly (ie carbs, the simpler the better).

If you go for a brisk walk (or other low intesity activity such as cycling) the body treats this as something that could potentially go on for a while and so tends to burn its long term fuel reserves (ie fat) and tries to retain the short term fast acting carbs in case there is some kind of emergency.

My experience of Yoga would indicate its not the best for weight loss. All I know about Pilates is that its was impossibly fashionable with my Gay friends last Summer and its the thing to do if you like well toned young men in shorts.

Fishy

[Mick]

I've done various Yoga techniques for 35 years. Asanas (postures), prahanyam (breathing), mantra yoga, yoga sutras, and action yoga (karma yoga), and various focused awareness things. I studied with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the Alps for 6 months in 1975, becoming a teacher of Transcendental Meditation. I've found Yoga (of all sorts) is one of the best treatments for diabetes. I was only 12 when I got diabetes in 1965. Today, I'm healthy, stable, strong and joyous, thanks to my yoga practices. They aren't necessarily a direct weight-loss king of deal. I also do several hours a week of intense aerobic exercise--cycling 15 miles, running 4 or 5... But my entire life--how I deal with stress, how I am able to focus my awareness, my degree of self-control--these all flow as a direct result of my yoga practices. Of course, I still take my insulin, test my blood 5-8 times a day, closely scrutinize every bit I put in my mouth... and I do this tedious difficult work joyously and with appreciation BECAUSE of the stability, energy and peace that my lifetime of meditation and yoga has provided.

Namaste,
Michael

[lgvincent]

Gina and fishy, I saw your posts and I just wanted to say that I walk an hour a day, just about every day, at about 13 to 14 minutes per mile, but I haven't lost any weight. What am I doing wrong? I do go into insulin shock at times, but that's about all I've gotten out of it.
Hey! It's raining! It's rained here only about once since late July. Hope it rains a while.

[Alysse404]

If you've been exercising every day and haven't seen any weight changes, you may want to change your exercise a little bit. Maybe alternate and walk 4 miles one day on a hilly terrain (or if you use a treadmill, use the incline as much as you feel comfortable for a half mile at a time). Also, if you add weight training to your routine, I think you'll begin to see more results too because after you lift weights, it has a lingering effect on your muscles for hours afterwards that help to up your metabolism and build your muscles. I was at a plateu with my weight and body muscle, but once i started changing things up, I started to see more changes. Best of luck!

[fishy]

If you are walking 4 miles a day you are burning calories (if not we'll plug you in and solve the world's energy crisis ) so if you are not losing weight you are probably compensating by eating more.

Its terribly boring but if you want to lose weight then you either need to do more excercise or reduce the amount you eat.

Hope this helps.

[HeatherP]

Thank you all for your responses. I guess the thing I'm looking for is being able to excercise in a controlled environment. The last couple of years, my husband and I walked three miles a day most every day. The problem is that during the winter/rainy season the track we liked best got mucky and impossible to walk, not to mention the cold. And this summer we just haven't gotten back into the habit - plus it's been a really hot season. I'm thinking that any activity is better than none, and it certainly can't hurt. Thanks!

[lgvincent]

HeatherP, I enjoyed talking with you. Have a good week! I'll try the chat room on Wednesday, I just hope my computer will work. Your mailbox is full so I had to use this to respond.
Best wishes!

Lowell