Yoga and weight loss

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meaganraney1138
meaganraney1138 Posts: 3 Member
edited April 2021 in Fitness and Exercise
Does yoga really help people loose weight or should I stick with my exercise bike?

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  • L1zardQueen
    L1zardQueen Posts: 8,754 Member
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    If you are in a calorie deficit it will.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    If your goal is losing weight, an exercise bike will burn more calories in a given amount of time than doing yoga will.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
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    How it might help your goals depends a lot on the yoga itself. Certain styles focus on strength poses and can help you build muscle.

    Overall, my suggestion would be to continue to use the bike sometimes and to try yoga other times.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I will say do both. I have OA and doing light yoga first thing in the morning helps me limber up and I do my regular exercise after. That means I can push my exercise a bit more because I have less pain. So, for me, it's very useful.
  • skinnyrev2b
    skinnyrev2b Posts: 400 Member
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    Yoga can build muscle/prevent you losing muscle as you lose fat - but really it's more a flexibility/injury prevention tool (and a meditative/spiritual exercise if that's your bag).
    The bike will help improve your lower body strength and cardio fitness.
    Both will cause some calorie deficit (depending on effort etc) but the best way to lose weight is in the kitchen...
  • tmbg1
    tmbg1 Posts: 1,282 Member
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    I have lost 35 pounds and my main modes of exercise are walking and yoga. The yoga has made me more aware of and in tune with my body so it has helped me know when I'm full and has helped me mentally manage my eating. The stress management of yoga has helped me stop stress-eating too. So for me the weight-loss help has been the mental aspect of yoga plus the muscle tone.
  • nehaad88
    nehaad88 Posts: 159 Member
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    I think yoga does more than just burn calories. It is known to reatore hormonal balance. I have experienced it first hand. I believe weight loss is more than just calories, it is also about determination discipline and hormones. So I suggest you to couple the 2. Keep cycling as your primary exercise and add yoga as a supplement.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    meaganraney1138 wrote: »
    Does yoga really help people loose weight or should I stick with my exercise bike?

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    Nobody is limited to a singular exercise...different exercises will work different aspects of fitness and health.
  • springlering62
    springlering62 Posts: 7,463 Member
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    I do yoga, power walking, Pilates, weight training and exercise bike, usually at least three or four of these per day. (Retired empty nester, so lucky me.)

    Each serves its purpose, and each serves to “reinforce” the other.

    Yoga’s balance and focus helps with the weights. (I do Universal and ashtanga vinyasa flow.)

    Weights builds strength which has helped with arm balances.

    Pilates core work helps with everything.

    Bike and walking help with cardio and endurance.

    Mixing everything up means no one things goes stale.

    There’s no law that says you have to choose from either/or.

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