Here are important considerations for when you have a lot of weight to lose.
Whether you have 10 pounds or 100 pounds to lose, all of us who struggle with food and eating issues face many of the same challenges. Changing your eating habits is tough.
Still, there are some unique struggles for those of us who are carrying many extra pounds. Read on to find help and hope if you need to lose a large amount of weight.
- What is A Lot of Weight to Lose?
- I Lost 100 Pounds and You Can, Too (Before and After)
- How to Lose 50, 100 or More Pounds
- 1. Start with the basic truth of weight loss.
- 2. Cut through the weight loss overwhelm.
- 3. End emotional eating
- 4. Give your journey time.
- 5. Let go of guilt and shame.
- 6. Consider what your fat is doing for you
- 7. Create accountability
- 8. Exercise for the right reasons.
- 9. Stop binge eating.
- 10. Accept being seen
- 11. Don't give up
What is A Lot of Weight to Lose?
What does “a lot of weight” mean? While it varies by person what defines an overwhelming amount of weight to face, in this article I’m writing for people who have 50, 100, or 200 or more pounds to lose.
When you are this heavy, life changes in significant ways such as:
- Moving through everyday life is harder – often painful and exhausting.
- Clothes shopping becomes difficult and you may not be able to find clothes in regular stores.
- You don’t fit comfortably into an airplane or theater seat.
- You go to a party or other event and wonder if you are the heaviest person in the room.
- Exercise becomes more difficult.
- You think about your weight constantly. Food and your weight are tremendous aspects of your life.
- You’ve tried diets, lost some weight, but then always gain it back.
- Your private issues are public because people can see your weight when they look at you.
I can relate to all of these struggles and many more, because I spent much of my adult life 100+ pounds overweight.
Now that I’ve lost the weight and been maintaining for almost 20 years, I empathize with the struggles of living as a heavy person, but I’m also here to tell you it IS possible to lose the weight and become a “typical” person when it comes to your size.
You can overcome your food and eating issues.
I Lost 100 Pounds and You Can, Too (Before and After)
Long-term weight loss came from therapy. Once I had been doing therapy for awhile, I added the WW online program to give me the structure and accountability I needed. I added exercise after I had been losing weight for awhile.
Read more about my weight loss story here:
100 lb Weight Loss: HOW did you DO It?
100 lb Weight Loss: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Today, I run an online Christian women’s fitness and healthy eating program, Faithful Finish Lines, and I still follow the WW program because it works.
How to Lose 50, 100 or More Pounds
1. Start with the basic truth of weight loss.
No matter how much you have to lose, don’t lose sight of the basic truth of weight loss. The only way to lose body fat is to eat fewer calories than you burn.
That’s it. It’s not about menopause, exercise, choosing the exact right program (which doesn’t exist), going keto, plant-based or anything else.
There’s no miracle fixes here.
I use and love the WW points system, but I’m well aware that the reason it works is because the points system helps me reduce calories.
If you need help getting started on the basics, check out our 7 Day Jump Start Challenge that will walk you through setting up a simple program that’s right for you. (It’s free.)
2. Cut through the weight loss overwhelm.
I understand that just the idea of losing all this weight is totally overwhelming. Losing a lot seems like such a big task – and quite frankly, it is.
I’m not going to kid you. This post is not filled with happy-happy-joy-joy talk about how you can lose weight effortlessly. Your weight loss journey is going to be a lot of hard work and there are going to be painful times.
But, you are used to hard work and painful times. All of life is hard when you are overweight. Regular activities that are no big deal to someone who is an average size, like climbing stairs or fitting into a theater seat, are a big deal to you. So – we know you can do this thing. You might not feel like you can, but you can.
See more here:
Choose Today What You Will Choose for a Lifetime
3. End emotional eating
I’ve met people who are 100+ pounds overweight who have told me, “I don’t eat emotionally. I just really like the taste of food.”
I challenge this notion.
If you are 50, 100, or more pounds heavier than you should be, you have emotional issues with food. I love food too, but there’s a reason why I become so obsessed with it. Just like gambling, drugs, sex, or any other addiction, the pleasure sensation is serving a purpose of some type. The sooner you start to deal with this fact, the closer you are to long-term progress with your weight.
Read more here:
Food Addiction: How I Overcame It with God’s Power
Overcoming Emotional Eating: One Specific Strategy that Works
4. Give your journey time.
I realize the number of pounds you need to lose makes the task seem overwhelming. I’m sure you’ve often heard the advice to break it down into smaller steps, but we all still look at that big number.
Or, you calculate in your head, “If I lose 2 pounds a week, by xxx date I’ll be down to xxx pounds.” I did this constantly.
Here’s the thing – the time is going to pass anyway. You are either going to up or down the scale. Might as well be going down.
Don’t compare your journey to others, as tempting as it is. Your life experience, history, and body are unique to you. Are you making improvements? Are you steps ahead of where you were 6 months ago? You know if you are making progress or just kidding yourself. If you are making progress, put on blinders and walk your own weight loss journey path.
5. Let go of guilt and shame.
For most (and perhaps all) of us with a lot of weight to lose, you face a heavy load of guilt. You feel guilty for not achieving success with diets. You assume other people look at you as a lazy slob.
Moving through life is hard when you’re continually carrying guilt on your shoulders.
For years, I assumed that I deserved this guilt, and the only way to get rid of it was to lose the weight once and for all.
Let me challenge you to shift your thinking here. The only way I was able to overcome my eating issues was to let go of the guilt first. Then, I was able to lose weight and make it stick.
See more here:
Why You Can’t Guilt Yourself Thin
Overeating is a sin. Here’s how to overcome it.
6. Consider what your fat is doing for you
Ask yourself this honest question: What is your fat doing for you?
You might quickly say, “Nothing. It’s horrible! I hate being fat!” But not so fast. Being overweight IS doing something for you or you would not continue it.
All human behavior serves a purpose.
Once you recognize the purpose, you can figure out how to serve that purpose in a healthier way.
See more here:
When We Rebel Against Ourselves and What To Do About It
Why It’s So Hard For You to Lose Weight (and It’s Not What You Think)
7. Create accountability
If you are serious about weight loss, you need accountability. There are a rare few people who lose weight without it, but they are the exception. Most of us need some type of accountability. (By accountability I mean other people who know what you are doing and will talk truth to you when you stray).
I’m a fan of structure. Again, some people lose weight by simply making gradual changes, but most of us need structure or we really head off the path.
For me it was therapy and Weight Watchers. There are tons of great apps and programs out there, but research will show you that writing down what you eat is one of the number one ways to long-term weight loss success.
At our Christian women’s fitness program called Faithful Finish Lines, we have a membership that is the cornerstone of our program. I highly encourage you to check it out for additional accountability.
See more here:
Do You Need Exercise Accountability?
Christian Women’s Weight Loss with Faithful Finish Lines – free Facebook group
8. Exercise for the right reasons.
When you are a heavy person, exercise is hell. I don’t for a minute think the 100 lb skinny-minis who jump around in exercise classes understand this, but for your exercise struggles – I get you. Just getting from the car into a building is a chore (especially if there are steps!) let alone activities that make you sweat on purpose.
Diet is WAY more important that exercise when it comes to weight loss. Way more important. So always start with making diet changes and you can add fitness later. Fitness is absolutely important to being a healthy individual, but diet matters more.
I started with zero exercise and I lost the first 40 or so pounds without doing much. You might think simply walking is not worth the time it takes, but the heavier you are, the more calories you burn doing simple activity so take that small benefit and run (ahem walk) with it.
But – keep in mind that I’m giving you an easy pass to start small, but once you’ve been doing it awhile you’ll need to increase the challenge because your body adapts. This is okay though because you will be lighter and ready to do more.
When you are a heavier person who begins fitness activities, it’s important you take care of yourself. High quality shoes are an absolute must. You also need moisture-wicking exercise clothing in order to prevent chaffing, not just cotton t-shirts and sweat pants.
See more here:
Finding the Right Shoe for YOU
Were You Born With the Exercise Love Gene? – When You Hate Exercise
How to Exercise When You Don’t Feel Like It
9. Stop binge eating.
For most of my life, I was a compulsive overeater and a binge eater. I would easily eat thousands of calories in one sitting. Ice cream was one of my biggies, but I would often rotate between salty to sweet to savory and back to sweet again.
If you struggle with binge eating, I encourage you to consider getting professional help because this can be a tough issue to deal with, and the longer you’ve been doing it the harder it is to overcome. You CAN overcome it, though, I promise. I haven’t engaged in binge eating in a number of years.
Binging is super unhealthy for you. I know you know this, but I want to encourage you that if you binge, please consider getting some specific help for this issue because even if you attempt to lose weight, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to find success.
No diet will fix binge eating and in fact can make it worse.
When you start doing the math involved in binge eating, the reality is that a binge can lead to a pattern that looks something like this. You eat a really tiny amount of calories each day all week long, and it still doesn’t make up for the binge. Then, you get frustrated because you’ve been “good” all week and the scale hasn’t moved. So you say, “Screw this, if I’m not going to lose any weight anyway, I’m eating doughnuts.” And so the cycle continues.
I was stuck in these unhealthy thinking patterns for years of my life – and dieting can make it worse. That’s why it’s especially important to get professional help if at all possible.
See more:
Video – The Math of Binge Eating
Why Do I Binge Eat and How Do I Stop?
How to Get Back on Track After Binge Eating
10. Accept being seen
There’s this great irony of being heavy that sometimes people (consciously or not) gain weight in order to be invisible. Yet you are larger than ever before. You take up more space and there’s more to you. So how does that work?
The truth is that extra weight serves as a barrier or shield from the world. People might glance right by you because of your size. It might seem crazy that you are physically bigger than anyone else yet you are trying to hide the most, but can you relate to this line of thinking? I sure can.
When you think about being thinner, of course you want it more than anything, but you might also find yourself feeling anxious. This is honest fear and it needs to be dealt with or you will continually self-sabatoge your weight loss efforts.
You might also put unrealistic expectations on yourself without realizing it. I did a lot of this. “When I’m thin, I’m going to…” I built up a lot of these hopes and dreams over the years, but it had gotten to the point where I had built up this totally unrealistic expectation that when I was thin, I had to be this super woman. I had to learn to think different ways about the thinner version of me, and gradually self-sabotage ended.
Don’t feel like you have to tackle these fears immediately because the process comes in stages, but recognize these issues are there and plan to deal with them.
If you find yourself starting diets, losing 20 or 30 pounds, and then stalling and starting to regain the weight, this might be a big issue for you to face head-on with the help of a professional.
See more:
5 Ways You Self-Sabotage Your Weight Loss – and How to Stop
100 lb Weight Loss: What is Fear of Success?
11. Don’t give up
Above all, I want to encourage you not to give up. I understand that yo-yo dieting is bad for your health, so you might be tempted to throw in the towel and say, “Forget it, I’ll just die fat.”
Don’t give in to this kind of negative self-talk.
You don’t have to stay stuck in unhealthy ways of life. Each time you try, you learn just a bit more about what works for you and what doesn’t work, which increases your chances for success the next time.
You can do it, my friend. I believe in you.
Do you have a lot of weight to lose? Share about it in the comments below. We are here to support each other.
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Sue says
I just read this now in 2023. I have about 150lbs to lose. Everything you said is totally me. 🙁 I am so sad and so depressed about all of it. My roommate just told me last week that she thinks the key for me is getting professional help and I agree with her but now my question is how? Or where do I go to get professional help? Can you recommend anyone?
Thank you for your article and your honesty. It really validates everything I have been going through.
God bless you.
Sara says
Hi Sue, thanks for your message. You are not alone and we are in this together. Here is some information about therapy for weight loss – https://theholymess.com/100-lb-weight-loss-i-hate-therapy/
Tanweer says
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Kevin says
I have been overweight since childhood and I am now 200 pounds overweight. I have been on diets and lost some weight 40-60 pounds only to gain it back. I still have some lung issues due to having Covid last year. I lost weight with Covid but gained the weight and more back.
I somehow got encouraged tonight and started thinking of trying again but this time I’m taking it slow. I’m now 49 years old and I feel like I’m ready to finally lose the weight.
Sara says
Kevin, Good for you for taking charge of your health now! Going slow and making lasting changes is the best way to lose weight and keep it off for life. You are smart to approach it this way. Keep it up.
Robin says
I am 67 years old and still on the yo-yo dieting thing. I have gained and lost so much weight in my life but I never learned how to maintain and keep it off. I am also a binge eater, emotional eater and addicted to sugar and carbs. I am now a type 2 diabetic. I’m fighting for my life now and I still can’t keep the weight off. It’s frustrating. I am now doing this to glorify God. He gave me this amazing body that I have taken advantage of for years. NO MORE! I’m going to join the October challenge to get me started.
Sara says
Don’t give up, Robin! You can do this. I’m so excited you are joining us for the October challenge. I think you’ll see great results and get some really valuable information for how to lose weight and keep it off for life. See you there.
Mary Elizabeth Carter says
I just started my weight loss journey and your article went straight to my soul. I have been a binge eater for over 50 yrs. Thank you for an enlightening and encouraging article. 20 down, 50 to go. God bless you. He is helping me this time.
Sara says
GREAT job on your weight loss so far! I’m glad the article was helpful to you. Binge eating is a tough thing to overcome but it can be done. Blessings!
Kristy Wyatt says
Great post!!! I have a lot of weight to lose and this is so encouraging. (and convicting!)
Tammy says
Thanks I needed this at this moment!
Sara says
You are welcome! I’m glad it was a help.