How to Cope With Obesity
If you're moderately overweight, a simple increase in exercise or decrease in calories will help you return to your desirable weight. If you are obese (more than 100 pounds overweight) you are at increased risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke and arthritis. Despite advances in weight loss surgery and medication, you will ultimately have to increase exercise and decrease calories to make even medical intervention successful. Since almost everyone these days is well aware of the dangers of obesity and basic knowledge of how to prevent it, the problem lies in the ability to modify life-long patterns. By using these steps, you can learn how to cope with obesity.
Things You'll Need
- Access to nutritional information
- Comfortable shoes and clothes for exercise
- A support system of your choosing
Instructions
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How to Cope with Obesity
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First, plan for your success. Put all your intelligence into formulating a plan that will gradually change your daily habits and your overall attitude toward food and exercise. Consider how often and how long you will exercise. Determine a realistic eating plan that includes plenty of water, fruits and vegetables.
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Be realistic. Make sure your goals are achievable. You can set goals for HOW you will lose weight (walking 30 minutes a day) or organize your goals around the outcome (losing 20 pounds by Christmas, for example). Do not plan to lose more than 1 or 2 pounds a week, since losing more rapidly means losing fluid and muscle tissue.
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Find rewards other than food. Do other positive things that you enjoy, like meeting a friend or playing a game. Don't use unhealthy food as a prize for finishing a project or working hard. Train yourself to look forward to exercising your body instead of dreading exercise.
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Make up your mind to refuse unhealthy food and rich desserts, one day at a time. Shop for healthy foods you like and enjoy wholesome meals with friends and family.
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Keep a food and activity diary, so you can reinforce good habits and see the real volume of food you are consuming. Many people find it helpful to record their daily food intake at lunch time and adjust their evening meal accordingly.
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Tips & Warnings
Write down your plan and review it every day. When you fail, don't waste a second feeling guilty or rationalizing, but get right back to your plan as soon as you can.
Find support of any kind: online, through a friend, from an organized group like weight watchers or overeaters anonymous. It is most helpful to have support for exercise.
If you need to lose weight very fast because of a medical condition, check with your physician about bariatric surgery or appetite-suppressing drugs. Remember, though, that unless you change your behavior, medical intervention will eventually fail.
