Saturday, July 17, 2010

How I Lost Zero Pounds With Yoga (and hiking, biking and swimming)

(me and Monadnock)

Back in March I started attending yoga classes on a regular basis, 4-5 days a week. Then as spring unfolded I began biking again, and hiking. Now that summer is here I've added swimming to my weekly activities.

I would love to be able to tell you that the yoga (and other stuff) helped me release the "extra" 30 pounds I've been carrying for a few years. How I've been amazed at how the weight melted off and I've had to get rid of all my clothes and can hardly believe I'm the same person. How my arms look like Madonna's, my quads rival Lance Armstrong's and my abs look like some awesome abs on some amazing person.

But none of that actually happened. And shows no sign of happening. I have no dropped one blessed pound.

Yes, my arms are getting defined, my quads are showing shape (we won't talk about the belly) my strength has increased since that first day in class when I could barely hold my second warrior, I can do upward bow pose, my inversions are better, I sort of kicked up into forearm balance yesterday, my dolphin is swimming and strong, I hung on during the Level 3 class this morning where my teachers were students along side me, I felt amazing and strong during my hike last weekend.

But, folks, I'm still overweight. I'll pause while you gasp and wonder what I must be eating to counteract the hundreds and thousands of calories I'm burning every week. (It's actually the same as I was eating while I sat around and did nothing and didn't lose weight.)

So, that's what's happening here. Yoga and hiking and biking and swimming won't magically make the weight fall off you. They will kick your butt and make you cry and soar and want to give high-fives to people, but they will do nothing at all to the number on the scale. And that's ok with me.


3 comments:

roselil said...

Well since March is not really that long a period, and in the beginning surely muscle tissue will develop faster than fat tissue will disappear. On the other hand you didn't gain any weight since March, and that might have happened if you had not exercised. Just keep on practicing, enjoy your life - and one day, all of a sudden, your body has the weight it should have.

BTW what kind of yoga are you doing? I have a daily ashtanga practice and have lost 12 pounds or so over the years, slowly but surely, and my weight has stayed down and stable, whereas it was fluctuating in the years before yoga. So a little more patience, I guess.

laine said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
laine said...

Thanks for your comment. My yoga practice is mostly Iyengar style, although my teachers are of Iyengar and Ashtanga schools. My level 2 Saturday class is with the Ashtangi.