Hot Yoga question

kagome5555

Hey all

I just had a question for those who have perhaps been practicing hot yoga for longer than I have. I started doing hot yoga about a month and a half ago. I usually go 6 times a week for 1hour. I take a wide range of class including deep stretch, boot camp, flow and fusion.
I feel great, but I haven't lost any weight. In fact, I've gained weight since I started. I'm not eating any more than I usually do. I'm just getting a little discouraged because I've never exercised this much in my life, yet I'm not seeing the pound come off. I've heard that some people don't lose for a long time while practicing yoga and that eventually, the pounds just start coming off.

Has anyone had a similar experience or have any advice for me? I really enjoy going to class, so I'm not gonna stop going. I'm just wondering what I can do to start losing weight again!

Thanks!

fannyfrost

Have you checked to see if lost inches. Sometimes you gain muscle and scales shows that you are up, but your size is smaller.

Also check, you may be undereating for your activity level.

kagome5555

Haha I guess I should have taken my measurements before I started. At first, I felt like I was slimming down at the sides, but I'm pretty bad at eyeballing whether I've lost/gained weight unless I see it on a scale.

Maybe I'm not eating enough. I guess I'm kinda scared of eating since I'm not seeing the scale number go down. It's pretty vague how many calories you're supposed to burn in hot yoga. Some say sites 1000, others says 300...

Jett_05

I've been a yoga instructor for 8+ years now and I still advise people not to expect yoga to be there end-all-solution to weight loss. The centering and peace of mind really help to make you more conscious of your dietary choices and increasing bodily awareness. Also I have many clients who come in with various aches and pains that keep them from pursuing an exercise routine -or- they exercise regularly but as such deal with various muscle tensions. Yoga is a wonderful addition to the weight loss routine. Keep in mind the orginal roots of yoga asanas (the postures) was to get into padmasana (lotus posture) with a still mind and steady breath, free of pain, and ready for meditation. These sages were strict vegetarians who ate very little due to their climate and social position. The asanas were not -necessarily- meant to help us fit into size 6 jeans. Not to say it isnt integral however!

You will definitely burn calories via vinyasa yoga but hot yoga just makes you loose a bunch of water weight. I'm not a strong proponent of hot yoga actually. Since the popularization of hot yoga, there has been a surge of yoga related injuries. Hot yoga followers believe they can get a deeper stretch because the extreme heat facilitates elasticity in the muscle tissue however this deep stretching can easily cause tears because muscles that are stretched beyond 20 to 25 percent of their resting length and begin to damage. This causes some intense tearing (more than just the "good" micro tearing). The extra heat can be allusive and cause people to think they can get a deeper stretch but the after effects might just cause reduced range of motion.

If your looking for a "work-out" look into vinyasa style yoga or a personal favorite: Ashtanga Vinyasa. Also - get familiar with surya namskra (sun salutations) . It's a wonderful cardio/strength exercise that also is very "warming". The idea is you are raising your own body temperature.

PureAdamic

Heat does not cause a significant calorie burn.

So if you are sitting in a hot room vs sitting in a cold room there is little to no difference.

If you are doing sun salutations in a hot room vs a cold room there is little to no difference in the calorie burn you experience.

ITS SCIENCE!

chatnel

I would of thought you would burn more calories in hot yoga as your body working harder to cool you down?

I know my heartrate seems to increase more than in regular yoga but it's too sweaty in there to wear at HRM.

Azdak

I would of thought you would burn more calories in hot yoga as your body working harder to cool you down?

I know my heartrate seems to increase more than in regular yoga but it's too sweaty in there to wear at HRM.

Heart rate increase due to thermal stress is not the same as heart rate increase during aerobic exercise. The increase is driven by different physiologic mechanisms. One (aerobic) is associated with increased oxygen uptake and increased calorie burn; the other (thermal stress) is not.

HRMs are not accurate when used under conditions of thermal stress because the HRM can't tell the difference between the two conditions described above. HRMs are programmed under the assumption that the heart rate increase is occurring during aerobic exercise conditions.

mahanaibu

I thought you actually burned more calories in a cold room as your body uses energy for thermal regulation.

It does feel like something of a cheat not to burn more calories in the heat. My hikes in hot weather feel so much harder! Like I did twice the work.

CollieFit

Maybe I'm not eating enough. I guess I'm kinda scared of eating since I'm not seeing the scale number go down. It's pretty vague how many calories you're supposed to burn in hot yoga. Some say sites 1000, others says 300...

There isn't a cat's chance in hell you're burning 1000 cals in hot yoga. I did last week's 75 min class with a HRM and it was just under 300. I'm 5'6" and currently 155lb. It's about on a par with Iyengar & Pilates but less than Ashtanga.

CollieFit

I would of thought you would burn more calories in hot yoga as your body working harder to cool you down?

I know my heartrate seems to increase more than in regular yoga but it's too sweaty in there to wear at HRM.

Heart rate increase due to thermal stress is not the same as heart rate increase during aerobic exercise. The increase is driven by different physiologic mechanisms. One (aerobic) is associated with increased oxygen uptake and increased calorie burn; the other (thermal stress) is not.

HRMs are not accurate when used under conditions of thermal stress because the HRM can't tell the difference between the two conditions described above. HRMs are programmed under the assumption that the heart rate increase is occurring during aerobic exercise conditions.

Interesting. Thank you. Won't bother with the HRM in future. :drinker:

Still don't think Hot Yoga / Bikram burns as much as Ashtanga Vinyasa, just from a "perceived effort" perspective.

FrenchMob

Have you checked to see if lost inches. Sometimes you gain muscle and scales shows that you are up, but your size is smaller.

Also check, you may be undereating for your activity level.

Please stop perpetuating this nonsense. She is NOT gaining any muscle from doing hot yoga.

KANGOOJUMPS

well said jett

chatnel

I love hot yoga