drea

After reading all your encouraging stories and words, I thought I would add my own story.

I’ve been overweight for a long time and in the last few years it went to where I felt was out of control. I finally decided that something needed to change in my life when I reached 235 lbs.

I had tried so many diets and health clubs in my life and had always heard the words “life change” used. I knew then I needed a life change. When people ask me now about my diet, i just say I’m not on a diet, I’ve changed the way I eat for the rest of my life.

I started this new outlook in Jan of 2006 and I am currently at 175 lbs. At the beginning of this new outlook on dieting I tried again to find a routine at a health club and I did better than I ever had before but still, I kept losing interest. I got a bowflex at home and concentrated completely on lifting and just doing crunches. This was working even better for me, but I still easily found excuses all the time for not doing it and I never looked forward to doing it.
In Feb of this year my friend told me about Bikram and together we tried it. I cannot begin to explain how amazing an experience it has been. Having spent my entire life dreading working out, and hating heat here was this yoga that you sweat like crazy for 90 minutes and I was enjoying it! I was looking forward to it even.

When I started the yoga I had already lost a considerable amount of weight and saw lots of changes in my body, and so did my husband. But the changes since I started Bikram yoga have been overwhelming. Physically and mentally. The way I feel about myself, the way I feel inside, the way I look, the way my clothes fit. My husband notices it too, he keeps telling me how different I am inside and out since I started yoga. I love it, and he loves what its done for me and my confidence and how I feel about myself and everything around me.

I think the key for me and for my weight loss is doing what feels right for me. Like my eating, I am not on a diet, I still enjoy good food I just take it easy. I still eat chocolate everyday, and I still enjoy all the foods I love. I have not cut out anything. With the yoga I feel the same way. It feels good to me, I love the way it makes me feel I want to keep doing it. I never want to push the yoga to a point where I feel like I am doing a chore where I am doing something I don’t want to be doing. I hear all these people talking about taking the 30 day challenge. That isn’t me, I can’t do that. I’ve been struggling with exercise my entire life, if I try to push myself now to go every single day and push myself like crazy i will stop going. I am trying at this point to maintain 4 times a week, which for me is a lot.
When I started lifting weights, the booklet that came with my bowflex said the same thing. It said to lift every other day and don’t push yourself to where you won’t come back. It worked with my diet, it worked with the weight lifting, and for 4 months now its worked with my yoga.

When I started the yoga I even noticed I gained some weight back, I believe I gained muscle and I also became hungrier with yoga and have worked at finding that balance again with my eating. But I see now the benefits of yoga is so much more than the scale. There is so much more to it that yoga helps like no other exercise has ever helped me before.

Well, thanks for encouraging me to post on here with your stories. I have been lurking for some time now and always get helpful info from here.