Yes, Pilates can be good for weight loss — and it can be a fantastic addition to your fat-loss journey.
If you’re trying to lose body fat, feel stronger, look more toned and become more confident in your body, Pilates is absolutely worth considering.
And perhaps one of the best things about Pilates is that you don’t need to already be fit, spend hours in the gym or exhaust yourself with punishing workouts before you can benefit from it.
Pilates gets your body moving, challenges your muscles and develops strength, control and mobility — all while contributing to a more active lifestyle.
But there is something important to understand:
Pilates works best for fat loss as part of the bigger picture.
So, if you’re wondering whether Pilates can actually help you lose weight, what it can do for your stomach and body shape, whether Reformer Pilates is better, and how often you should do it, keep reading.
Pilates and Weight Loss: The Quick Answer
Can Pilates help with weight loss?
Yes. Pilates is physical activity and can form part of an effective fat-loss routine.
Can Pilates help you look more toned?
It can help develop muscular strength, endurance and control. Combined with overall fat loss, this can contribute to the stronger, more defined appearance many women describe as “toned”.
Does Pilates burn belly fat?
Pilates can strengthen your abdominal and trunk muscles, but you cannot specifically target belly fat through abdominal exercises.
Is Reformer Pilates good for weight loss?
Yes. Both Mat and Reformer Pilates can have a place in a broader fat-loss and fitness routine.
How often should you do Pilates?
For many women, two to three Pilates sessions per week can be a practical way to include Pilates within a broader exercise routine.
What works best alongside Pilates?
A combination of Pilates, resistance training, cardiovascular activity, everyday movement and nutrition that supports your goals provides a more complete approach to fat loss.
Now let’s look at why.
Does Pilates Help You Lose Weight?
Yes, Pilates can support weight loss.
Pilates is physical activity, so your body uses energy while you exercise. Practising Pilates regularly also adds more movement to your week and can help you establish a consistent exercise routine.
And there is research supporting its potential role in weight management.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 11 randomised controlled trials involving 393 adults with overweight or obesity found that Pilates training was associated with reductions in body weight, BMI and body-fat percentage.
The researchers also cautioned that larger, better-designed studies are needed. This means we shouldn’t interpret the results as proof that Pilates automatically causes weight loss or that everyone will experience the same changes.
What the research does tell us is that Pilates can legitimately form part of a fat-loss plan.
And there may be benefits you notice long before you reach your goal weight.
What Can Pilates Do for Your Body?
For many women, losing weight isn’t really just about seeing a smaller number on the scales.
You might want to:
- lose body fat
- feel firmer and stronger
- feel better in your clothes
- strengthen your stomach and core
- develop stronger legs and glutes
- improve your body awareness
- move more easily
- improve your overall fitness
- feel more confident in your body
That’s why simply asking “How many calories does Pilates burn?” doesn’t tell the whole story.
Pilates uses controlled movements to challenge muscles throughout your body. Depending on the exercises and type of class, you may work your abdominals, back, glutes, legs, shoulders and arms while developing greater control over how your body moves.
So while weight loss might be what initially brings you to Pilates, feeling stronger and more capable can become an equally important reason to continue.
What We See in the Studio
Teaching Pilates has reinforced for us that progress isn’t always about doing the most advanced exercise in the room.
For someone beginning Pilates, simply learning how to control a movement, understanding where they should be feeling an exercise and becoming more comfortable with the movements is progress.
As your ability develops, exercises can be modified or progressed to continue challenging you.
That’s one reason we encourage women not to judge the success of their exercise routine purely by what appears on the scales.
Strength, control, confidence, consistency and how your body feels when you move are valuable forms of progress too.
Can Pilates Help You Look More Toned?
Yes, Pilates can contribute to a stronger, more toned-looking body.
Pilates can challenge your muscles and develop muscular strength, endurance and control.
When this is combined with reducing overall body fat, developing the muscles underneath can contribute to the stronger, more defined appearance many women describe as looking “toned”.
But there is an important distinction.
You can’t choose exactly where your body loses fat by exercising a particular area.
Doing hundreds of abdominal exercises won’t specifically remove the layer of fat covering your stomach.
What Pilates can do is challenge and strengthen your abdominal and trunk muscles while your overall nutrition, activity and exercise routine support fat loss across your body.
And progress may show up in ways that have very little to do with the scales.
Your clothes may fit differently.
You may feel stronger through your middle.
Your movements may feel easier.
An exercise that once seemed impossible may become something you can control.
You may simply start feeling stronger and more confident in your own body.
Does Pilates Burn Belly Fat?
This is one of the biggest questions women have about Pilates.
Pilates cannot specifically target belly fat.
It can challenge your abdominal and trunk muscles, but exercising your stomach doesn’t tell your body to take its energy specifically from the fat sitting over those muscles.
So those Pilates abdominal exercises aren’t literally melting belly fat.
What they are doing is developing strength and control through your trunk.
Combine that with overall fat loss, regular movement and appropriate nutrition, and the way your body looks and feels can change over time.
Is Pilates the Best Exercise for Weight Loss?
Here’s where we need to separate two different questions.
“Is Pilates good for weight loss?”
Yes.
“Is Pilates the exercise that burns the most energy?”
Not necessarily.
And that’s okay.
Pilates doesn’t have to be the highest-calorie-burning exercise in your week to be worthwhile.
Successful fat loss isn’t determined by one exercise session.
It’s influenced by what you consistently do over weeks and months.
If Pilates is an activity you enjoy, it gets you exercising regularly, helps you become stronger and makes you want to keep moving, that has real value during a fat-loss journey.
The Best Exercise Plan for Fat Loss Includes More Than Pilates
You don’t need to choose between Pilates, walking, cardio and strength training.
In fact, combining different forms of movement can create a much more complete exercise routine.
For a woman wanting to lose body fat while becoming stronger and fitter, a week could include:
Pilates + resistance training + walking or cardio + plenty of everyday movement.
Each plays a slightly different role.
Pilates can develop strength, control, mobility and body awareness.
Walking and cardiovascular exercise contribute to your overall activity and cardiovascular fitness.
Progressive resistance training can help develop and maintain muscle.
And all the movement you accumulate throughout your normal day counts too.
Australia’s current 24-hour movement guidelines encourage adults to undertake a variety of physical activities.
For adults aged 18–64, the recommendations include:
- moderate-to-vigorous physical activity for 30 minutes or more on most days
- muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days per week
- functional activities targeting mobility, balance and coordination on three or more days per week
- several hours of light-intensity physical activity each day.
In other words, you don’t need one type of exercise to do everything.
Your body benefits from variety.
Is Reformer Pilates Good for Weight Loss?
Yes, Reformer Pilates can also be a great addition to a fat-loss exercise routine.
A Pilates Reformer uses springs to provide resistance and assistance while you perform different movements.
Exercises can be adjusted and progressed as your strength, confidence and ability develop.
But you don’t necessarily have to choose between Mat Pilates and Reformer Pilates.
They offer different training experiences, and both can have a place in a well-rounded exercise routine.
Mat or Reformer — Which Do We Recommend?
At Bodi Boutique, we offer both Mat Pilates and Reformer Pilates because we don’t believe one needs to replace the other.
Mat Pilates teaches you to control your own body through different movements and can be surprisingly challenging as exercises progress.
The Reformer gives us another tool. Its springs can provide resistance or assistance, and exercises can be adjusted as your ability develops.
The best choice isn’t necessarily whichever version of Pilates looks hardest on social media.
It’s the type of training that suits your ability, your goals and where you are starting from — and that you enjoy enough to keep doing.
Learn about Pilates & Reformer Pilates at Bodi Boutique
How Often Should You Do Pilates for Weight Loss?
There isn’t a magic number of Pilates classes that suddenly causes fat loss.
For many women, two to three Pilates sessions each week can be a practical way to make Pilates part of a broader exercise routine.
You could combine those sessions with walking, resistance training, group fitness or other cardiovascular activity throughout your week.
But the right amount for you depends on your starting point, other exercise, recovery and lifestyle.
What We Recommend to Beginners
If you’re starting from very little exercise, you don’t need to suddenly train every day.
One of the things we want women to develop is a routine they can actually maintain.
Beginning with an achievable number of sessions gives you time to learn the exercises and become familiar with Pilates without feeling as though exercise has suddenly taken over your entire life.
You can always build from there.
Going from doing very little to attempting an intense workout every day might feel incredibly motivating in week one.
By week four?
Maybe not so much.
Consistency beats the “perfect” exercise program you can’t maintain.
Do You Still Need to Think About Nutrition?
Yes.
If losing body fat is your goal, nutrition matters.
Over time, fat loss requires an energy deficit — meaning your body is expending more energy than you’re consuming and therefore needs to draw upon stored energy.
Pilates contributes to the activity side of that equation, but no exercise can completely compensate for consistently consuming more energy than your body needs.
That doesn’t mean you need to starve yourself or jump onto the latest restrictive diet.
It means Pilates should be viewed as one part of your fat-loss strategy, alongside eating habits that support your goals.
Exercise and nutrition don’t have to compete with each other.
They work together.
Why Pilates Can Be a Great Choice for Women Starting a Fat-Loss Journey
Perhaps you haven’t exercised consistently in years.
Maybe conventional gyms make you uncomfortable.
Maybe high-impact workouts don’t appeal to you anymore.
Perhaps you’re already exercising but want something different.
Or maybe you’ve spent years looking after everybody else and you’re finally ready to start doing something for yourself.
One thing we’ve learned from teaching beginners is that you don’t need to arrive already knowing what you’re doing.
That’s the point of coming to a class.
You don’t need to be flexible.
You don’t need to be thin.
You don’t need to have a strong core.
You don’t need to understand all the Pilates terminology.
And you certainly don’t need to look like the Pilates instructors you see on social media.
Exercises can be taught, modified and progressed as your ability develops.
Over time, movements that initially require enormous concentration can become more familiar.
Your strength can improve.
Your control can improve.
Your confidence in exercising can improve.
And suddenly exercise isn’t only something you’re doing because you want to lose weight.
You start noticing what your body can do.
And that can be an incredibly powerful shift.
Will Pilates Alone Make You Lose Weight?
Pilates can contribute to weight loss, but if fat loss is your main goal, we wouldn’t recommend expecting Pilates to do everything on its own.
The scientific evidence on Pilates and body composition is encouraging in some areas, but it isn’t definitive.
The systematic review and meta-analysis discussed earlier found reductions in body weight, BMI and body-fat percentage among adults with overweight or obesity.
However, it did not find a statistically significant effect on waist circumference or lean body mass, and the researchers noted that the overall quality of evidence was low to moderate and that larger, better-designed trials are needed.
That’s why we’d rather give you the complete picture than promise that doing two Pilates classes a week will magically transform your body.
Instead:
Use Pilates as part of your strategy.
Move regularly.
Build strength.
Include cardiovascular activity.
Eat in a way that supports your goals.
Get enough sleep and recovery.
And give your body time.
How Long Does It Take to See Results From Pilates?
There isn’t one answer that applies to everyone.
Your starting fitness level, how frequently you train, the type of Pilates you’re doing, your nutrition, your other exercise and your individual body will all influence your results.
And remember that fat loss isn’t the only result worth noticing.
You might notice changes in your movement or exercise performance before you see a significant change on the scales.
Notice when an exercise becomes easier.
Notice when you’re ready for a more challenging variation.
Notice your balance.
Notice your strength.
Notice how your clothes fit.
Notice how you feel walking into class compared with when you first started.
Those are results too.
So, Is Pilates Good for Weight Loss?
Yes.
Pilates can absolutely be a worthwhile part of your fat-loss journey.
It gets you moving, challenges your muscles and can help you become stronger and more confident in the way your body moves.
But you don’t need Pilates to be the exercise that does everything.
For women wanting to lose body fat while improving their overall fitness, combining Pilates, resistance training, cardiovascular activity, everyday movement and supportive nutrition gives you a much more complete approach.
And perhaps that’s one of the best things about starting Pilates.
You might walk through the door because you want to lose weight.
But somewhere along the way, you may discover that feeling stronger, moving better and becoming more confident in your body feels every bit as important as the number on the scales.
Ready to Try Pilates in Millmerran?
If you’ve been thinking about starting Pilates but haven’t been sure whether it’s for you, you don’t need to wait until you’re fitter, stronger or more flexible.
You can start where you are.
At Bodi Boutique in Millmerran, our small-group Pilates and Reformer Pilates classes are designed to help you develop strength, movement skills and confidence as you progress.
Whether you’re completely new to Pilates or ready for your next challenge, you can choose from Beginner Pilates, Intermediate Pilates, Pilates Flow and Reformer Pilates.
Explore Pilates & Reformer Pilates classes in Millmerran
Your fat-loss journey doesn’t need to revolve around punishing your body with exercise.
Find movement you enjoy. Get stronger. Keep showing up. And let Pilates become one part of building a body that feels good to live in.
Move Well. Look Well. Feel Well.
About the Author
Jazz — Bodi Boutique
Jazz is a qualified fitness and Pilates instructor and the owner of Bodi Boutique, a small-group fitness, Pilates, Reformer Pilates and wellness studio in Millmerran, Queensland.
Through Bodi Boutique, Jazz works with women across different ages, fitness levels and exercise backgrounds, with a focus on making movement approachable, progressive and enjoyable.
