As we approach the darkest months of the year, we naturally begin to contemplate resolutions. For decades, the most popular goals have involved fitness and weight loss. Can you imagine sleeping better, feeling lighter, and falling in love with your body in the New Year? It’s time to make pilates part of your plan.
You’ve heard pilates can help with pain and low energy, but is pilates good for weight loss?
The answer is an emphatic yes!
If you follow a well-designed weight loss plan, pilates is a near-perfect support tool. It provides quick and effective body sculpting. Likewise, you’ll tap into an incredible fat-burning framework. Before you know it, you’ll be smiling at your reflection and shopping for a newer, smaller wardrobe.
Are you ready to embrace the benefits of the ProPilates lifestyle? There’s no need to wait until an arbitrary date. You can experience the benefits of pilates exercises for weight loss immediately. Continue reading to learn how it works and why.
Is Pilates Good for Toning and Weight Loss?
Technically, weight loss is about good nutrition and the state of your nervous system. Still, adding pilates comes with some perks. It can help you tone your body while you lose weight. This helps to avoid the “skinny-fat” phenomenon.
There are a few important factors to consider if you hope to meet your weight loss goals.
Practice on an Empty Stomach
A key to losing weight with pilates is timing. For weight loss, we advise practicing pilates first thing in the morning.
Ideally, you should do this before you eat. Your body will burn the fat stored in your muscles. As a result, you will look leaner and longer.
Choose the Right Pilates Exercises for Weight Loss
Pilates activates your Full Body Movement System with every exercise. If you choose the right routine, you can burn a lot of calories in a single class or session!
When it comes to pilates and weight loss, we advise incorporating equipment. Mat pilates is great, but it doesn’t engage your muscles in quite the same way. Ideally, use heavy leg springs to add additional resistance.
This offers a very unique method of conditioning. You have the opportunity to use your muscles when you contract your muscles during concentric contraction. You engage them again when you start to return to the starting position during an eccentric contraction.
Let’s look at an example. When you push your feet against the foot bar on the Pilates Reformer, your leg muscles contract and use fat as fuel. On the way back, when you start to bend your knees, the springs give you the opportunity to slow down. You end up using your butt muscles to return to your starting position.
Your Technique Matters
If you’re just starting out, it can be wise to book a few private sessions with an experienced teacher. They can help identify and fix bad habits and positioning before they become an issue. Your instructor can also help you optimize your practice to engage more muscle groups. As a result, you can double or triple your calorie burn per session.
Pilates Is Part of a Lifestyle
Many pilates practitioners see wonderful weight loss results when they truly commit to their practice. It’s important to remember that pilates is only one part of your lifestyle change, however. It’s rare to see visible weight loss results without making other lifestyle changes, too.
Likewise, you will need to maintain these new habits to maintain your new body. Diet is not enough.
Consider making one small but significant change at a time on your journey to a lighter, more energetic you. Over time, each new routine will become a habit. As you begin to see results, it will become easier and easier to fully commit. When you love what you see in the mirror, the process becomes incredibly motivating!
Here are a few changes to consider when you’re beginning your weight loss journey with pilates:
- Notice Your Diet: Investigate what you currently eat. You might consider keeping a food diary. Spend some time noticing your habits before you make any changes.
What foods make you feel bad? What foods make you feel strong and energetic?
Over time, you’ll understand the portions and foods you should be eating. The transition will be slow but seamless. The goal isn’t to follow a diet but to figure out what sources of energy your unique body needs to thrive.
- Commit to Better Sleep Hygiene: There is a link between weight loss and quality sleep. Tiring yourself out during pilates will help with this!
Your metabolism kicks into high gear in the evenings. Commit to turning off your screens earlier and avoiding the news before bed. Ideally, aim for eight uninterrupted hours. If you can’t manage that, more is always better.
- Make Hydration a Priority: Your body runs on water. Every single system of your body works better when you’re hydrated.
Buy a new bottle and set daily hydration goals. You might run to the bathroom a lot in the beginning. Over time, your body will adjust. Plus, when you begin pilates, you will need to replace a lot of sweat!
Embrace Your Ideal Body With ProPilates
ProPilates is a warm and welcoming community. Our members and instructors go out of their way to help you meet your goals. You will receive the instruction and encouragement you need to push through any challenge.
It’s amazing how quickly you will find yourself on the path to energy and life-fulfillment. And, yes, pilates is good for weight loss, too!
Pilates is more than a class. It’s a lifestyle—and it’s within your grasp.
Learn about our clients’ pilates success and transformation stories to get inspired! We can’t wait to welcome you to our community.
