Tip of the Week: Losing Weight with Bikram

Yes, you can burn anywhere from 600 to 1200 calories during one Bikram class, depending on how hard you work. If your focus is on losing weight, here are some tips to help aid you in your success.

1. Believe in Yourself

To permanently change shape and achieve weight loss by practicing yoga also means to shift some of your thought processes and beliefs. For example: "When I eat fatty food, it goes straight to my hips" may not be as empowering as "I easily burn up all the food I eat".
 
Some beliefs are simply self destructive -- around self esteem or low self worth. Yoga will help you banish these -- sometimes consciously, sometimes they just go away with a regular practice.
 
2. Regular Practice

You'll need to practice Bikram Yoga at least 3 x every week.

Less than this won't establish the new body patterns you need to stimulate all the other changes. 5 or 6 yoga sessions every week will get you there super-fast!

3. Eating Regime

What is most important is a balanced diet and one which concentrates on proper food combining. Luckily, a regular yoga practice (3 or more vigorous classes a week) will kick-start your metabolism and lead to quite natural changes in the foods that you desire.

You will also become more conscious of what you eat and how it affects you as your own capacity to notice and calibrate your own body improves. Change does not have to be chaotic, hard or dramatic. With a regular practice, your body will discard "old" food behaviors and conserve those that support your emerging shape and identity.

4. Stop counting the lbs. Throw away the scales. Don't count calories.

And do:

• Concentrate on dress size and waist size changes.
• Notice how any previously "pudgy" areas become sleeker.
• Watch your skin develop "the Bikram glow" as we call it.
• Notice your eyes becoming brighter (and sometimes cleaner and whiter looking).
• Some people see their skin change color -- from grayer (poor circulation) to pinker (good circulation).