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Ways to Lose Weight When You're 380 Pounds

Apr 12, 2011 | By Ed Donner
Ways to Lose Weight When You're 380 Pounds
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Talk with your physician about your weight loss plans. Discuss dietary goals, strategies and exercise. Get a complete physical before starting a new exercise program or stringent diet. Meanwhile, aim to lose 1 or 2 pounds per week. This is the amount recommended by many health and fitness experts, including MayoClinic.com and the American College of Sports Medicine. Avoid crash diets. They are unsustainable and most people regain most of their weight as soon as they stop dieting. Instead, gradually change your lifestyle, steadily improving your diet and increasing your activity.

Goals

Set goals each day and each week for what you will do to contribute toward your weight loss. To lose between 1 and 2 pounds a week, eliminate 500 calories from your daily intake and exercise for 30 to 60 minutes every day. Weigh yourself at least once a week around the same time of day. If you don't already have a scale, look at the weight limit of the scale before you purchase it. If you can't find a scale that goes up to 380 pounds at your local department store, check online. If you go a week or two without losing weight, scrutinize your diet and activities, and find new ways to trim calories during the coming week.

Trim Your Diet

You lose weight and keep it off by creating sustainable changes in your lifestyle. To start, eliminate at least 500 calories worth of empty-calorie foods. A 20-oz. soda contains as much as 250 calories. If you drink two sodas a day, cut them out your first week and you will have achieved your first week's goal. Other foods to target for elimination include sweet, snack, fatty, fried and fast foods. Processed foods tend to have a lot of simple starches and added sweeteners, so steadily eliminate them from your diet. Read package labels and start eliminating foods that have high calories but little nutrition. As you learn about foods to avoid, keep them out of your grocery cart and cupboards. You can't eat what you don't have.

Upgrade Your Foods

You can still eat well and celebrate dining, but you will have to upgrade the leanness and quality of your food. Replace fatty meats with skinless turkey and chicken breast. Substitute whole grain products and brown rice for processed white bread and white rice. Load your dinner and lunch plates with nutrient-rich, low-calorie salads and vegetables. Don't add cheese or butter, and use small amounts of dressing.

Downsize Portions

Fill at least half your plate with greens, vegetables and fruit, but otherwise, reduce your serving size. Many people with excess weight take more food than they need to maintain a healthy weight, reports the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. Amend your portion distortion by using measuring cups to portion out your servings according to recipes' and labels' recommended serving size.

Exercise

Increase your activity. Aim to do 30 to 60 minutes of cardio exercise, such as walking or biking, most days of the week. If you are out of shape, start by walking. Walk fast enough that you breathe heavily and sweat. As your fitness improves, increase the pace and duration of your exercise. Increase your workout a few minutes every few days until you reach the capacity to walk 60 minutes daily. Add strength training two or three days a week to boost your endurance and metabolism.

References

Article reviewed by Christine Brncik Last updated on: Apr 12, 2011

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