Well, not exactly! Doing Pilates alone will not help you lose a significant amount of weight.
Pilates works to strengthen your core, deep lying muscles and to stretch tight muscles. This can help to improve your posture which can make you look slimmer. Even though Pilates is a full body workout and increases lean body mass (muscle), the amount of calories burned in a class will not have a dramatic effect on weight loss.
The good news is a combination of Pilates with a healthy diet and daily activity can work!
Alongside your Pilates class here are some important changes you could be making:
Eat a variety of single ingredient foods – Meat, poultry, fish, veg, fruit. Basically if it used to swim, run, fly or was grown. Avoid processed packaged foods with an ingredients list as much as possible.
Drink 2-3 litres of water a day – Not counting tea, coffee, fruit juices or squash. Being even just slightly dehydrated can cause tiredness, loss of concentration, poor skin and sluggish digestion.
Daily activity – Walking is the best type of exercise you can do. Aim to walk at least 30 mins a day. Not only are you burning calories but you are getting your daily dose of vitamin D, exposing yourself to light (which helps with regulating sleep) and can help reduce stress levels.
Relaxation – Always being on the go can disrupt your hormones, in particular cortisol (our stress hormone). If cortisol is constantly elevated it can lead to weight gain.
To help keep cortisol levels in check try to spend time every day doing something you enjoy away from the computer, tablet, phone and tv. It could be time reading a book, having a bath, meditating (try an app like Head Space), cooking – even if you can only manage 5 minutes.
Bed by 10pm on weekdays – It’s not just the amount sleep you are having that is important. Going to bed at 10pm allows the body time to repair & rejuvenate. Take time to wind down before bed so it’s easier to sleep – switch off the tv, tablet, phone. Read a book, have a bath or swap to lower lighting.