Our style of yoga is perfect for weight loss, if that’s your aim. Our flowing style with strong isometric holds will challenge and shape your body, building muscle and helping you lose those pesky inches.
Making big lifestyle changes? We are here to help and advise on diet and exercise, motivation and behaviour change. If you have a wedding to go to, a beach holiday planned or if you just want to tone your body, we can help. Our classes are thoughtfully designed to help you reach your fitness goals much more quickly, and our friendly group will support you through your journey.
Aways been an emotional eater? We can help you identify your triggers. Our tips on how to make mental and lifestyle changes will help you lose weight and keep it off.
A common mistake is to reduce your calories too much. Most specialists confirm that only around 1 to 2 lbs loss a week is sustainable. Anything more may eventually work against you. So many people crash diet and lose weight fast only to find it returns in abundance. Sometimes called yo-yo dieting, this means you can lose weight but can’t keep it off in the long term.
Your body tries to protect you from famine in very sophisticated ways. Firstly it slows your metabolism. You enter starvation mode with everything geared towards survival. Jobs the body normally performs are jettisoned while resources are diverted to core parts of the body – heart, lungs etc. Your skin, hair, bones, teeth and nails may suffer if the body perceives it is starving for any length of time.
Extreme calorie restriction makes it more likely you will lose weight quickly, but without a well-tailored exercise programme, it is likely that your muscle mass will be lost first. As soon as you return to your normal style of eating, the weight is likely to return. Without an exercise regime, any weight regained is disproportionately stored as fat, ready to face the next ’emergency’.
That initial muscle mass loss should never be the aim. As we age, we need to maintain as much muscle mass as we can. Muscle doesn’t just tone and shape our body, it helps support our bones and makes us stronger and more resilient. Muscle mass actually increases your basal metabolic rate, which means your body needs more calories at rest. In the simplest terms, this means you can enjoy more food while maintaining the same weight.
Losing weight is a fairly simplistic formula really, energy in versus energy out. If you get the balance right, you maintain weight. Get the balance wrong and you either lose or gain weight.
So please don’t feel you need to cut your calorie intake radically. A better goal is to reduce your calories by 300 – 500 a day, make healthy food choices and move around that bit more. Then be patient. Gradual weight loss will not only help get you in shape, but will change your lifestyle and eating habits so you keep the weight off.
This information reflects our views about exercise and nutrition. Please consult your doctor before making changes to your lifestyle such as going on a diet or embarking on an exercise programme.
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