I Have Joined a Cult

Ok, so we WLS folks (mostly) have to work to truly embrace exercise. It sucks to try to move a 260+ pound body. But, I gotta tell you - I've found it. I've officially joined the cult of the lovers of Hot Yoga - formally called Bikram Yoga. What is this, you ask? Well, it's 26 postures of yoga done in a room heated to 105-110 degrees. Hotter than the blazes of hellfire. Yes. But there is this thoughtful discipline about it - you want to do better, and the instructors don't hesitate to say "looks good Jenn, just bring your hips forward a little" or something every class.

So how did this happen? My pal ck asked me to go with him...for, well, months...and one Sunday morning a few weeks back, I was feeling pretty beaten down after a difficult Saturday night. So, I figured, why not try it when I already feel like shit, right? Well...now, I'm running around like an evangelist: I found hot yoga! Join me!

So you say, "I hate being hot!" Me too. HATE IT - hello, I live in the Pacific NW for a reason! But now, I cannot imagine do yoga in a cold room. So, I went back that following Monday and bought the unlimited month with a goal of going 3-4x/week, I've gone 9 times this month already. I cannot describe why I'm in love with it, other than to say you sweat buckets and feel the same as you do after running 5 miles - but without struggling past the mental block of simply not really liking it. For me, with running, the challenge really is to just not hate it the whole time. Hot yoga, the challenge is to take it to the next level and I love about every minute of it.

Oh, and did I mention, at ~180 lbs (yes, yes, still........ug), in the 90-minute session I burn 1225 calories. No shit people. Talk about a good return on investment! Outside of sprinting, there isn't much that will bang out that many calories - heart rate gets up for a good chunk of it. And again, I like it!

I'm hoping it will kick me back into weightloss gear, as I cannot for life of me figure out what I'm doing wrong. That said, you cannot drink alcohol and do this yoga the next morning - so I've reduced my liquid calories in that arena significantly. Plus, I've axed out all sugar and liquid calories (except for a little wine with dinner here and there) ....again. Trying to just be super-mindful. Sadly, it is amazing how calories start creeping back in and while I've not gained a stitch, I'm not moving down either. So, between sweating 3 pounds off most days, and re-commiting to the 10 Lap-Band commitments, let's hope for some progress!!

Hope you all are well!