In recent times, more people have asked the question, “Will Pilates help me lose weight?” While one could easily respond with a simple “yes,” there seem to be variations to the extent to which Pilates for weight loss is achievable. Pilates workouts often come with a host of benefits which go beyond losing weight. Science has shown that people who deal with chronic back pain and a bad posture can hope to find relief from Pilates exercises. More than these, however, to lose weight with Pilates, a person has to understand how Pilates affects the body and how much time one needs to see results. This post considers Pilates for weight loss and the possible results you can expect within a month or more.

What Does Pilates Really Entail?

Despite how simple Pilates looks, it goes a long way in building lean muscle which therefore increase the rate as which calories are burned. In fact, the intentional workouts ultimately result in better metabolism and brighter muscle tone and higher muscle endurance. It is essential to add that Pilates goes beyond the physical body. This workout combines the body with the mind and ensures that a person becomes conscious of their meal choices, eating times, and need for regular exercises. Yoga and Pilate share some similarities in that they focus on breathing and mindfulness. As a matter of fact, a study supports the relationship between Pilates and mood improvement. Owing to the fact that Pilates does not encourage overeating after a workout, as most workouts do, you get to watch how much food you consume. This workout routine works best when paired with a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle. Thus, you are likely to enjoy the following benefits:

• Stress management becomes easier with Pilates. Weight gain is closely tied to stress and high levels of cortisol. When cortisol levels and insulin levels are high, the blood sugar levels go up and a person experiences more sugar cravings. However, engaging in Pilates workouts once or twice a week can help to reduce stress.
• Pilates help in burning more calories. The more calories you burn, the more aware you become that you are actually losing weight, and the more committed you are likely to be to the weight loss plan. Such body awareness is the consequence of Pilates in your workout routine.
• A study on the benefits of Pilates found that Pilates improves balance and strength in people who are likely to suffer physical fall. It strengthens the core and corrects the body posture. Other studies found that Pilates eases pain especially in people who deal with low back pain.

Having considered the various benefits of Pilates on other aspects of the human health, it is vital to narrow the impact down to weight loss. To achieve weight loss with Pilates, you need to understand that there is no magic involved. For many people, the goal is to lose weight fast with Pilates. But this is slightly impossible as Pilates is not a high-intensity workout which causes you to sweat a lot. It requires a long period of time and commitment to a healthy diet. So, how can you begin to lose weight doing Pilates?

How Pilates Helps You Lose Weight

First, accept the fact that Pilates cannot help you lose weight fast. Pilates for weight loss is a patient process that requires more than workouts. This body-mind practice can help you achieve results that altogether add up to building your dream body.

1. Pilates tones the muscles around your midsection, giving you a leaner outlook and creating the impression that you are leaner than when Pilates was not a part of your workout regimen. Try adding roll-ups and leg circles to your routine to encourage the growth of lean muscles.
2. With Pilates, you develop the physical strength to engage in exercises which help you lose weight. Weight loss exercises are often difficult for people with a lot of extra weight. However, Pilates for weight loss boosts flexibility so that you can gain the muscles needed for losing weight.
3. Body balancing is another way Pilates helps you lose weight. By becoming aware of how your body moves, you gain the motivation to engage in more cardio aerobic exercises focused on movement.
4. Since Pilates influences your mind as well as your body, this workout can create the positive attitude to keep moving and lose weight. Ultimately, you will burn more calories and observe a healthier life. If you choose to commence a Pilates routine as a beginner, it might take you two weeks or 16 days to lose a pound of fat. And such an outcome is tied to a daily practice of Pilates workouts.

How Many Calories Will Pilates Help You Burn?

There is no question about the fact that Pilates will burn some calories. But the big question is: how many? Generally, it takes burning 3,500 calories to lose a pound. But with Pilates, three factors are vital:

• What is your weight before you commence Pilates?
• Are you in a Pilates mat class or Pilates reformer class?
• Do you practice heart-pumping Pilates?

All three factors will help you determine the amount of calories that you will burn. But it’s also true that Pilates exercises that increase your heart rate are bound to help you burn more calories faster. Again, the more calories you burn, the closer you get to losing weight. Nonetheless, there are some things Pilates cannot do for you.

What Pilates Cannot Do for You

1. Pilates do not lengthen your muscles. While it’s true that practicing Pilates every week may make your muscles appeal longer, your genetic composition is actually the major factor here. What Pilates does is to strengthen the deep muscles in your back and abdomen so that you naturally want to stand taller.
2. Pilates without cardio exercises cannot help you lose weight quickly. Cardio activity has been proven by this study to produce reduced fat mass. walking, jogging, dancing or even training on the elliptical for half an hour daily can add up to your weight loss success. Nevertheless, if you cannot afford to engage in cardio aerobic exercises every day, you might want to move from beginner Pilates to advanced Pilates. Side lift, for one, is one of the intense moves that can produce weight loss rewards, especially if you do them up to five times a week for 45 minutes to an hour.
3. Pilates does not help you lose fat in your belly area. For one thing, Pilates does not target a specific area of the body the way high-intensity exercises do. What you get with Pilates is a gradual reduction in calorie, which if properly observed, may have come from your tummy area. Pilates is known to strengthen core muscles and muscles in your abdomen; but it hardly focuses on the fat tissue on your stomach.

How Often Should You Practice Pilates for Weight Loss?

When trying out Pilates for weight loss, you might be eager to see results pretty early. However, for beginners, it’s recommended that you practice once or twice a week. At the beginner level, a 50-minute traditional Pilates mat class should burn about 175 calories. As you get familiar with the Pilates workouts, you can consider combining cardio aerobic exercises with your Pilates routines. Try strength training workouts where you use weights, benches, dumbbells, and other gym equipment. You could also consider the advanced classes that integrate boxing (Piloxing) and yoga (Yogalates). Such alternation allows you to get all the benefits and experience this workout in different dimensions. In fact, they could contribute to a faster weight loss achievement. Yet, try not to overdo it so that you do not end up with a tear or an overtrained body. Overtraining will most likely push you back to point zero and leave you feeling like you achieved nothing. Hence, be sure to choose a routine that supports intervals and rest.

Will Pilates Help you Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals?

Overall, this post has discussed the various possibilities involved in practicing Pilates for weight loss. While Pilates is an excellent exercise for strengthening core, improving balance, and attaining flexibility, losing weight with Pilates is a gradual process. Pilates for weight loss is more achievable when you combine cardio exercises such as swimming and running with Pilates. It’s true that the traditional Pilates exercises are similar to yoga and they won’t get your heart pounding fast in your chest. But with additional aerobic moves every day of 4 times a week, you can begin to notice reduction in calories and a brighter appearance. If, however, you choose to practice Pilates alone, be prepared to do the tougher workouts regularly and committedly. Doing Pilates every day may be a strenuous process but it’ll definitely be worth your time and effort if you weight loss is your aim. Don’t forget to maintain a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle. If the various studies mentioned earlier are right about Pilates being no magician, you might want to incorporate the other needful variants of the weight loss equation for maximum results.