Is alternating yoga and walking for 30 minutes every other day enough to lose weight?
by Khin Soe
QUESTION Is it possible to lose weight alternating walking for 30 -45 minutes and doing yoga every other day enough to lose weight? Is diet necessary to add to the routine? ANSWER It really depends on the person and their fitness level. If a person is very fit, as measured by heart rate indexes, this exericse will not help them lose weight. If a person's fitness level is very low and also if their nervous system has been stressed for a long time, with a lot of sugar and stimulants and lack of sleep, this type of exercise is perfect for them. One all our nervous systems do is to adapt. In fact, in about 2 - 4 weeks your body will adapt to any new stress placed on it. So if a person sat of the sofa all the time and started walking and doing yoga, they would be increasing the stress placed on the body. But if that stimulus stays the same the nervous system will adapt to that and go back to storing fat. The "problem" (if you really want to call it that) with aerobic exercise like what you are describing is that to get more weight loss benefit out of it, you have to increase the amount of time you do it. That will defeat the purpose for a lot of people. Also once the exercise is over the fat burnging stops. Only intense, anaerobic exercise done in spurts of high intensity will cause fat burning over several days. And the exercise session should last for less than an hour. You can read my "Best Exercise To Lose Weight" for more specifics. The greatest weight loss benefit from exercise comes from hormonal restoration, provided it is done correctly. I hope this helps! Cheers! Yegyan |