How would you lose 220 lbs

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  • Oma827
    Oma827 Posts: 114 Member
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    You have valued your health, and that is a major step forward! Now it is important to honor that, every day.

    For your health - your new habit is to pre-plan meals and get the right ingredients. I committed to parking at the far end and walking every aisle of the store, every visit. That gives me a few extra steps.

    For your health - your new habit is to enjoy moderate portions, logged in, and if they don't fit your calorie goal: move a little more til they do fit.

    For your health - your new habit is to stimulate your heart gently (cardio), do push-ups with your hands on a doorframe at first (resistance) and find a stretching video or show to participate in at home (flexibility). It's free to clasp your hands and stand up/sit down on the bed (hold just above the bed) - that's a squat, for beginners!

    MFP peeps are encouraging and practical and in the same boat. Check in every day and update us!!!
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    edited November 2017
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    The same way I'd lose 22 lbs. One day at a time at a reasonable and safe pace. It takes as long as it takes.

    What I wouldn't do is go all crazy bananas. Plenty of people do that and end up back here starting over. That I will not do!
  • lyndsfattofit
    lyndsfattofit Posts: 33 Member
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    Set yourself smaller goals, this week/month I want to lose 10lbs etc once you hit that reward yourself with something that's not food (I'm terrible for doing the whole I'll have a cheat day when I lose x), a new kindle book, some fancy bubble baths etc or even just a day relaxing. Write them all down and update every month or week. I've added you I've got 100lbs to lose (for the second time) so Ive got experience on how to deal with large weight losses etc. :)
  • evilpoptart63
    evilpoptart63 Posts: 397 Member
    edited November 2017
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    Start slowly, baby steps :) focus on losing 10 lbs, then hitting 350lbs, ect. Keeping your eye on mini goals will keep you from feeling too overwhelmed about it. Also, if you try to do too much at first it will feel like a punisment and its easy to get burned out. Setting weekly goals helps...ex: week 1, just aim to accurately log everything you eat so you have a baseline, week 2: set a calorie goal (not too strict...you dont need to stay at 1200 cals!. 2lbs/week should still give you a good amount of calories) And try to stick with it...maybe week 3, aim to walk 3 days ect....You dont have to do those specific goals, pick something you feel is reasonable and go from there! Its easy to get to the point that your unhappy with your appearance and want to drop weight FAST but Im sure the weight didn't creep up within 2 months and its going to take some time. Slow, steady, consistant effort usually gives better results than hardcore super intense effort that fizzles out (yo-yo dieting!!) Celebrate every little victory and appreciate the efforts you are putting into your body. Good luck ❤
  • emcclure013
    emcclure013 Posts: 231 Member
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    Like others have said - start slow, be honest with yourself, and you can do it! You don't need to exercise (at all) to lose weight. Does it help? Sure, but at your weight just eating less will be more than enough to help you start losing weight. Get a food scale, log everything that you eat honestly, and you'll see results. I started at 265 and I'm down 45lbs in just over 4 months. The only purposeful exercise I do is walking, but you don't even need to do that! Do what you can - every little bit helps! We all have bad days now and then, but if the good days outweigh the bad ones, you're making progress. Feel free to add me as a friend if you like. I'm always here for support!
  • laur357
    laur357 Posts: 896 Member
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    If the amount of weight you'd like to lose is daunting, break it down into chunks. Losing 5%-10% of your body weight can help enormously with health and mobility. Celebrate your first 5% loss - around 18 pounds - then evaluate what's working, how you feel, and explore anything you'd like to add.

    You don't have to change everything at once. You can simply manipulate your calories so you're eating at a deficit and learn to read food labels and track correctly for a few weeks. Then add more walking for a few weeks. Then make some light resistance exercise 2-3 days a week a priority for a few weeks (try a resistance band, wall push-ups, sitting until your butt hits the chair then standing back up, carrying a gallon of water or bag of kitty litter around the house).
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    the same way you lose one pound.

    just repeated.
  • gabriellejayde
    gabriellejayde Posts: 607 Member
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    Besides the great advice that everyone else gave, my advice would be to tell yourself, every day, just to get through that ONE day. that's your goal. get through that one day sticking to whatever plan you've laid out for yourself. and if you don't stick to it exactly (like if you go over your calorie goal or you give in to a temptation to eat something you shouldn't), your entire day is not blown ... just continue on with the rest of the day trying to stay as close to on track as possible.

    I've found that when it's been especially tough, I tell myself that there's only a few more hours left in the day and when I wake up, it'll be easier (and I can have a nice breakfast). The next morning always feels easier.
  • Aaron_K123
    Aaron_K123 Posts: 7,122 Member
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    I guess I'd start the same way I would start if I had 30 pounds to lose, by taking a hard look at what habits got me overweight and then thinking about what actions I could take to alter those habits in such a way as to be in a caloric deficit with the minimum spent effort to do so. Typically being overweight comes down to not paying close attention to the number of calories one takes in so a reasonable solution is to set some time aside to meal-plan, come up with some recipes for meals you can make in bulk and then cook up large batches freezing away some and keeping others available in the fridge. Then just rely on those meals for your daily needs and avoid heavy snacking. As for what to make for many people switching to lower carb higher protein is more satiating for the same amount of calories so simply increasing the protein content of meals by replacing things like rice with things like lentils or beans can make a big difference. But that is up to you and your own tastes, what matters is getting control of how many calories you are taking in and being consistent with that over time. Making sure you have established a reasonable caloric deficit and then just building up the habits that allow you to hit that goal with minimal effort.

    As for exercise that is harder to say, having that much extra weight I imagine is limiting in what you can do. It is not necessary to exercise for weight loss though, although it is eventually something you'd want to consider doing for improved health. As for what you might be able to do I suppose going for a walk around the block in the mornings or when you have a free moment might allow you to start making time for building up better habits.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,686 Member
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    I know it seems overwhelming to think of how long it will take to lose 200 pounds. However, the time will pass regardless. You have a choice of whether you want to spend the time eating more healthy and taking care of yourself, or eating more junk, sitting on the couch, and getting fatter. A year from now, you could be 100 pounds lighter, or 100 pounds heavier. You get to choose which.

    Logging the food you eat is a revelation. Some foods have a lot more calories than you realize. Finding which foods fill you with fewer calories takes some experimentation, since we are all different, but it can be very satisfying. Figuring out which foods you really love to eat vs. the ones you eat just because they are there can also be interesting. Several years ago I discovered that I don't actually like most of the french fries I ate at restaurants. They simply don't taste that good. So I started asking for vegetables or salad instead and was both happier and healthier. You can eat the foods you really love, just smaller portions or not as often if they are really fattening. I still eat ice cream, but I measure it now; I don't fill a bowl to overflowing.
  • deputy_randolph
    deputy_randolph Posts: 940 Member
    edited November 2017
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    To be honest, your first goal should be to stop gaining weight.

    The next long-term goal should be 220lbs weight loss. That's a large amount to lose and probably overwhelming if you look at it as 1 goal.

    You should break that down into smaller chunks; like, 12lbs in 6 weeks Then probably divide the weight into monthly and YEARLY goals. It is going to take over a year to lose that amount, so you should set realistic expectations and a realistic timeframe.

    ETA: You don't NEED to weigh 140lbs; you just need to weigh less than 325lbs. That might help you reframe your thinking and help breakdown your weight loss into more manageable goals.
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
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    Tina Marie, you're gorgeous.
  • tinamarie6624
    tinamarie6624 Posts: 182 Member
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    LAWoman82, Thanks. I will be 51 at the end of the year and I am so much better than I was at 49. I am always very serious when I say that if I could make this journey that anyone can. I also seriously didn't know what I was capable of back then. I would dismiss anything without trying. I am a completely different person now, I am Tina 2.0 now and I love her!
  • Judymnelson
    Judymnelson Posts: 16 Member
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    Start with 1lb a week. Its all math. Eat less calories and lose weight. Check you BMR under the APP Heading. Thats how many calories it takes you just to breathe and function so go under that amount of calories a day and you will lose it slowly. Thats what it takes to change your food choices to healthy eating. My husband is 430. He has lost 7 lbs lately by changing his portion size and eating less calories. Good Luck!
  • LAWoman72
    LAWoman72 Posts: 2,846 Member
    edited November 2017
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    tinamarie6624 wrote: »
    LAWoman82, Thanks. I will be 51 at the end of the year and I am so much better than I was at 49. I am always very serious when I say that if I could make this journey that anyone can. I also seriously didn't know what I was capable of back then. I would dismiss anything without trying. I am a completely different person now, I am Tina 2.0 now and I love her!

    You're 51????

    You lie. You like like a lying liar.

    Day-um. (jealous)

    BTW...that pic looks like Big Bear.

    Anyway, thank you for the inspiration on this thread.

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