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| I have been to 20 classes of Bikram and am loving the yoga and the challenge. I am almost 37 years old and have never done yoga before until now. I have seen many benefits: calmness, a feeling of well being, increased energy, and increased strength.
I am currently 30 pounds away from a healthy weight for my height and I would like to lose 50 pounds. Lately I have not been doing any other form of exercise besides yoga, except for the occasional walk or bike ride.
Oddly, Bikram yoga has made me more accepting of my body size but also more aware of it's state of fatness. I am eager to lose the weight. I love the yoga so much that I want to be a normal size so I can do more postures properly (sometimes the girth gets in the way). I have always felt like I was the largest amongst my friends and coworkers but I am one of the largest in the yoga room. I am 5'10" and have a BMI of 29.4.
In the past I have done running, weight training, and aerobics and have lost a lot of weight, only to put it back on.
I would like to start jogging and walking again and lift some light weight. I am worried that I will be sore from lunges and such and it will affect the yoga. Has anyone had experience with this? Did it affect your yoga? How should I add in more cardio and weight lifting?
In the last 30 days I have completed 20 days of yoga and have noticed a slight shift in my eating habits for the better but on the days I don't practice I have been known to consume a lot of food. On the days I practice I am often very hungry at night and eat too much. I am hoping for balance with my nutrition. Have you found that Bikram (or yoga in general) achieves this balance in food intake?
Thanks so much for reading and any advice you may have. |
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| Welcome, Lori, and congratulations on taking the first step on what I hope will be a wonderful journey!
A thought jumped to mind when reading your post (irt balanced nutrition), which is that when it comes to diet, it's a lot easier to ADD something rather than take something away.  For example, I might commit to adding another fruit to my daily food consumption (and really enjoying it!), instead of denying myself anything.
As a result of doing Bikram, I definitely consume more water. For someone who has never enjoyed drinking plain water except when parched, the practice has gotten me into that healthier habit. It feels natural now, in balance with what happens in the studio.
As for other forms of exercise, why not simply do anything that you enjoy? |
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| I lost 100 lbs. doing pretty much just the yoga 6 days a week for exercise, and it was plenty. I also cut out sugar. Now, I still do mostly yoga for my exercise but I also hike a little on weekends, bike a little and take a walk every day on my lunch hour. Oh, and I also do pushups every morning and evening to get a little upper body work. The key for me was patience. Eventually, the weight came off and my numbers at the doctor became excellent. Just keep going to class. The rest will take care of itself. At least, that's my story. |
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| I lost 60 lbs. in about 9 months doing Bikram, and Bikram alone, 7 days a week. Also, I was vegan and cut out refined carbs, and I only drank water/tea (no soda, juice, etc.). Now I eat fish and eggs, occasionally drink juice, and eat refined carbs pretty regularly! Still practice daily, though, and no other exercise (other than walking the city). Good luck to you! |
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| hotlikebikramyoga and veggiepose, thanks for sharing your experience with Bikram. Wow, what an inspiration! Thanks for the good wishes.
joysweat, I completely agree that I should do activities I enjoy. This is very good advice. Thank you.
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 399
 
Location: Oregon | For a while I was doing a modified low carb diet when I was first really actively practicing Bikrams. Eventually, I just didn't need it. I noticed that my stomach was tightening up, and I was more aware of feeling full. But sh!t, I've got a lifetime of eating 2nds and large portions. Habits are still there. So give yourself time. Also, I'd recommend against falling into the thinking you need to go 5-6-7 days a week. 3-4 days a week, coupled with a jog/walk on the off days should be fine. I lost 25 lbs that way over about a year. And I've pretty much held it off. |
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| The only thing that I want to add here is that the point of Bikram is to make the rest of your life better. Thus, I would not choose my other activities based on how they might change my Bikram practice. Instead, I'd pick them based on whether I enjoyed them and whether they were good for me.
Personally, I think running and jogging are pretty bad for the bones, joints and connecting tissues. Over time, runners just tend to break down. So I wouldn't do that anymore. (For the record, I have run 50-70 miles/week at several different points in my life. Back then, there was nothing quite so calming as a nice 15 mile run, despite the wear on the knees).
If I were going to add another exercise to Bikram, it would either be cycling or swimming. Probably cycling, but that's basically close to a first love anyways, so it's an easy call. |
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| Do what you love not what people tell you is good for you. |
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| So much good advice!! Do what you love, do what makes you feel good, take your time, and focus on adding new, healthy foods instead of depriving yourself of bad ones....
Lori, your attitude is AWESOME.
The only thing I can add here is that I always think it's a good idea to hide the scale. Forget the numbers for a bit. Just focus on building good habits and feeling good.
You've been to 20 classes so far. A general rule I've heard for Bikram is that it takes 2 or 3 months of regular practice to see dramatic EXTERNAL changes. Right now, there are a million changes happening in your body that you can't see. There are a lot of good things building up for your future. I practiced every day for a while in the beginning and didn't see much of a difference in my body (though I was already fairly thin). Then after maybe 10 weeks, I woke up one day and all my pants were loose. Boom. Just like that. I looked in the mirror and went "Holy CRAP, when did this happen?!" It was really fun. But it takes a few months of hard work before you can see changes "overnight," so just stick with it! |
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| I agree with the other posters--your attitude is great, Lori. I think it's a great idea to pair Bikram with another exercise to achieve the desired weight loss. Over the summer, I committed to training for a half-marathon (I'd never run before), and when I hit a wall there (started having migraines after each run!), I started doing Bikram Yoga again, and it has given me wings. Without the running, I don't think I'd have the muscle development in my legs and core, but without Bikram, I wouldn't have the flexibility, concentration, and lung capacity to run faster than I ever thought I could have. As a result of doing both, I'm stronger than I've ever been and have lost about 10 pounds. I'm now at a weight I feel good about! |
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| Thanks so much for the responses and support. I totally concur that I should do something I enjoy. I'm still working on that. I haven't added any extra activity yet. I am still working on maintaining a balance with my food intake. On the days I do Bikram I feel like my nutrition is better because I am eating for fuel.
I'm still loving Bikram yoga and went every day last week. I missed three days this week (vacation) and can't wait to get back to the yoga. I'm off for a class now. Thanks, everybody! |
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What other form of exercise can I add to my Bikram?
