The number of people weighing over 200 pounds has increased quite a bit over the past 20 years. If you are a person that wants to know how to lose weight when you weigh over 200 pounds, you have come to the right place.
I have weighed over 200 pounds in the past and I have also lost and regained weight a few times in the last 15 years.
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The one upside to all this is being able to look at the times of weight loss and weight gain and evaluate what is going on that allows me to eat healthy or what contributes to binge eating behaviors.
Periods of weight gain always have a few things in common and the same can be said for periods of weight loss.
And these things really have nothing to do with food. Eating is just a result. It is more about what makes it difficult to make healthy decisions.
Taking life one day at a time and realizing you cannot solve the problems of the world is a good start towards making the necessary changes that will allow you to get to a healthy weight no matter how much you weigh now.
If your weight loss goal is large (like losing weight when you weigh over 200 pounds), the plan should be simple. Nothing like having a difficult task being made more difficult with a complicated plan.
Breaking the ultimate goal down into manageable pieces can make it easier. Doesn’t “I need to lose 2 pounds a week” sound easier than “I need to lose 100 pounds”? But if you look at the two statements at the end of a year, the accomplishment will be the same.
How to Lose Weight When You Weigh Over 200 Pounds
Here are some of the things I did to lose weight when I weighed over 200 pounds.
Have A “Why”
I had a reason for wanting to lose weight. And I wanted things in my life to change more than I wanted to keep eating the way I was eating.
For me, it was about having energy. I wanted to start a business and I could not do it feeling like I was half asleep all day.
The number of carbs I was consuming was killing my energy level as well as limiting my ability to think clearly. Your why could be your health.
Maybe you want to be able to play with your kids without getting tired after an hour. There could be any number of reasons, but you will find you will be more motivated to get healthy if you have a reason.
Take the Focus Off Dieting
When I am going through a bad stretch and have gained weight, I take the focus off of “dieting”. I hate the word as well as the process that goes along with it.
For me, once I take the focus off of food and start looking at the rest of the chaos (we all have it), the needle on the scale begins to move.
Stop counting calories and following crazy exercise routines expected to burn mega calories. Slow down and focus on reducing stress and making healthy choices 80% of the time.
Use exercise as a motivator and not a crutch – Exercise can be deceiving. It is a great compliment to a sensible weight loss plan.
But thinking it will substitute for an out of control diet, will have you gaining weight rather than losing it. I did not concentrate on a structured high-intensity workout plan.
I used a very simple plan. I walked. And I walked outdoors so I could get the benefit of fresh air and the serenity of being in a nature preserve area.
The exercise was more about how it made me feel than the calories I was burning. After a 3 mile walk, I feel motivated to stick with a plan that allowed me to make smart decisions for weight loss.
Set Goals
Interestingly enough, my goals had nothing to do with losing weight. I knew that being able to achieve these goals would require me to change the way I ate.
I decided to eat less and leaner in order to have more energy as I said above. I did not set a weight loss goal. If you are going to set a weight loss goal, make sure it is attainable.
The best thing you can do to keep yourself motivated is to achieve a small goal early on.
Start Journaling
Journaling is not something that has to be detailed or take a long time. If you take 10 minutes each day, you should be able to get your feelings down on paper.
I start with an affirmation, a descriptive feeling and a gratitude statement. I also answered one question that really made me think about what I wanted.
It is these questions that will help you truly get to the root of what causes a person to eat emotionally.
Looked at Root Cause Behaviors
What are root cause behaviors? What truly causes a person to gain weight? And what changes that allows a person to lose weight?
Why is it easy sometimes and other times no matter what you do the weight is stuck? I gained insight by looking at the times in my life that I gained weight as well as the times that I lost weight.
Bottom line…the times that I gained (or could not lose), I felt overwhelmed and paralyzed by stress. Most of it had to do with things going on at work.
The times I was able to lose weight, serenity and minimal stress were the greatest factors. I truly believe that living a simpler life contributed to being able to lose weight.
Try reducing stress and living more simply and losing weight should be easier.
Simplified As Much As Possible
Anywhere in my life that I could eliminate or minimize “noise”, I did. Getting rid of things…clothes, furniture, paper files, unsubscribing from email lists and many other things I did not need.
And I do this regularly. If I am not ready to part with it today, I will revisit it again in 6 months.
It drives my husband crazy when I start getting rid of stuff, but I feel it is part of the continuous improvement process for me. Lighten the load and focus on what is important.
Made a Vision Board
I love visual things, so I made a vision board with everything I wanted to do when I got thinner and healthier.
This can be anything that will motivate you. Create an online album, clip from magazines, get creative. If you are not a visual person, write about your perfect day or do both.
Wore a Bracelet with a “Believe” Charm
This is what I used to make it through the rough spots. I guess you could call it a good luck charm. When I looked at it reminded me of why I was making the changes.
This may not seem like much, but it did a lot to elevate my mindset when it came to staying on track.
Learned a New Skill
I invested some time in learning something new. It does not necessarily have to be something new. It can be something you have a passion for that you had forgotten about.
I used to draw and I was pretty good at it at one time. Drawing was something I had not done for many years and started doing it again.
Find something you have always wanted to do (or an activity you would like to rekindle) and put some time into it each week. They say it only takes 20 hours to learn a new skill.
That is just one hour a day on weekdays. Think about what your life could be like if you took the time to learn something new each month.
Pick out something new and dedicate one hour a day to it over the next 30 days and see how you feel. I look forward to picking out my new activity each month.
This month I am working on learning Notion. I think next month it will be an iPhone photography course.
Final Thoughts – How to Lose Weight When You Weigh Over 200 Pounds
Losing weight when you weigh over 200 pounds will take time and keeping it off will take a lifestyle change.
Managing stress and slowing down are two things that are absolutely key to losing weight no matter how much you weigh.
For me, the more I balance my living the easier it is to lose weight (or maintain it). If I become obsessed, it seems to be that much more difficult to shed the pounds.
Take a deep breath and plan to take things one day at a time. Set some small goals that can be attained quickly so that your level of motivation is high.
Don’t beat yourself up over less than perfect days. We all have them. It is what you do to recover from the bad days that is important.
Remember, you did not gain weight all in one day and you will not lose it overnight. Losing even one pound a week will have you 50 pounds lighter at the end of 12 months.
If you can embrace the process and stick with it you have the ability to live a life that knows no limits.
