I need to lose A LOT of weight(like 100lbs), and I don't know where to begin. Can anyone offer advice?

Question

It seems like such a huge task that I can't focus on how to begin.

Answer 1

First you need to talk to your doctor. That is your best way to figure out the best way to lose weight. If you are looking to shed so many pounds you might ask to talk with a nutrionist. They can help you plan your course of action and will be very helpful on the support end. They help people like you all the time, thats their job and they enjoy doing it.

Remember being over weight is unhealthy and your putting yourself at risk for lots of diseases and future complications. But to lose that much safely you need to have medical help. Your family doctor is the first step, he/she can direct you best from there.

Remember you need to exercise at least 45 minutes to have effective weight loss. you should attempt 30 minutes of cardio where you bring your breathing rate up. Here you will need your doctor to approve just how high of a heart rate you can go safely. normally 75-85% of your max heart rate is what will get the pounds off. But you want to be safe and not over tax your heart. The doctor might recomend 50% which is just as good if you keep eating healthy and are dedicated. This way while you do cardio you will have a target heart rate to stay in to get the most out of the exercise.

Also know that every pound is 3500 caleries. You need to burn that many a week less then what you consume to lose any weight. Thats buring 3500 caleries less then what you consume to lose one pound! Think about it...
Make sure you get nutrion and take in a healthy amount of caleries.

I suggest keeping a journal. Attach a picture of someone who is your goal size. At the end of each night write in how many caleries you had or what you have eaten. Also when you exercise mark how long you did and how many caleries you burned. you can get a book that will tell you how many caleries you burn at your current weight doing certain exercises. If you weigh more your body is carring that extra weight in the exercise, helping you burn more then someone who weighs less then you. Thats a positive thing... it makes losing those first pounds easier! You can also get a computer program that will tell you how many caleries you consumed.

When you look at lables on the food pick ones that are low in saturated or trans fat. Mono and poly are good fats and are ok to have in your food. Also get foods that have less sugar. Sugar is a simple energy source and gets stored as lipids and fat. Stay away from the sweats. It's hard I know but now a days you can buy things with out sugar. ( I dont endorse sugar substatutes though)
Drink water instead of pop and natural juice if your going to drink juice. Also stay away from alcohol because it has caleries too.

Most importantly talk to your doctor. I am not a doctor and in no way an expert on this matter.


also lots of people will respond with fad diets. Do not follow them. Make your diet personalized and realize cutting out all carbs is dangerious. Every food you eat is an energy source and the only energy source your brain uses is carbs. Don't deprive your brain.... When you eat carbs though you need to make sure they are whole grain and complex. These don't store as fat so easily and are easier for you to burn. If you like white bread Wonder makes a good whole grain wheat bread. Some wheat breads aren't whole grain and are just as bad as white bread then.


It sadens me to see people recomending pills for you. The main thing to realize with herbal medicine is that they do not need to be FDA approved. You are buying things that have not undergone long term studies and do not have any regulations on what can be put in them what so ever. They could literally put anything they wanted into the pill and it would be with in the law. DON'T try them. If they do work the weight won't stay off and then you'll be oobles of disapointed. Also they aren't safe. Not one of them is retulated...

Answer 2

Set smaller goals for yourself. If you think about it as a "huge task" you will overwhelm yourself and get frustrated. I followed Weight Watchers - - one of the things that I liked best was the fact that they encouraged your first goal to be losing 10% of your total weight. They also state that you should try to keep your losses to 2 lbs a week. That way you are losing the weight safely and you'll be less likely to put the weight back on.

Decrease portion sizes -- weigh everything. There are a few different sites on the net that will show you what a portion size really is. Be prepared -- you might be surprised. I was. Yup -- weight watchers is one. Drink a lot of water. Have a glass of water and some soup before each meal. This will make you feel fuller before you eat.

Find an exercise or activity that you enjoy. Enlist a friend or two (even a dog if you have one) and go for a walk. I always wanted to try Karate as a kid, but was too intimidated by all the guys in the classes. I started it in my late 30's -- I love it and can't believe how fit I feel. Is there anything that you enjoyed as a kid that you'd like to try again: biking, swimming, rollerblading, etc.

Good luck!!! Take it one step at a time -- You can do it!!! If you have a "bad" day -- let it go -- remember there is always tomorrow.

Answer 3

My friend, I have lost 30 pounds in 8 weeks by doing 2 big things. First I started a nutrition plan that a friend of mine lost 38 pounds on then I went to a site called freetrainers.com. You enter your physical information and the site will give a free 8 week weight training routine. Mix that with the nutrition plan and you'll lose weight too. Here's the gist of the plan.....

Breakfast (5AM) - 2/3 Cup Nonfat Yogurt with blueberries and 1/3 scoop Protein powder.

Snack (9:30AM) - 1 triangle Laughing Cow Light Cheese, 1 Apple.

Lunch (11:30-Noon) - Chicken Breast and vegetables or Salad.

Snack (2:30-3:00) - 1 Triangle Laughing Cow Light Cheese, 1/3 protein bar.

Dinner- (5ish)- Steak, Pork chop, chicken breast, fish etc with Salad and vegetables.

Mix this with a lot of water & exercise and you'll lose weight.

It's suggested that you give up caffeine also.

The nice thing about this is that you never are hungry because you have the snacks.

Good luck.

Answer 4

Hi! I am not going to give a long list of detailed ways to lose weight. I have a goal of 50 lbs that I would like to lost by June 2007. I have lost 15 lbs so far (since the end of August). By chance I found a wonderful website, it is www.sparkpeople.com and it is full of articles, message boards, and people just like you and me. You can complete a full profile, it will give you nutrition goals based on the information you enter, exercise goals, a place to track your daily food, exercise, and other personal goals since extreme weight loss is really a whole life changing event. The site is completely free and how much you use it is completely up to you. It has endless resources and I have found it to be a great help and motivator. (And there are plenty of people in every category of weight loss, from 5 lbs to 200 lbs that are willing to share their goals, challenges, and experience.)

Hope that you can make the first step...it's hard but when you get into a routine it becomes easier everyday. A nutritious diet and exercise are the two main components!

Answer 5

There is no healthy way to lose that much weight quickly. Best advice: drink lots of water. Start small, by walking around the block today and going a little farther tomorrow. Cut your portion sizes down. You'll eat everything that's on your plate, no matter how big your portion is. I've also been told that Weight Watchers is great, but I've never tried it myself.

Answer 6

Weight Watchers would be great for you. You seem overwelmed and I know the feeling. They are great. First they give you a smaller goal to meet. 10% of your body weight and then the next 10% ect... It just seems so much more palatable that way. Also group support great and other diets are sometimes so restrictive. Weight watchers is very healthy my friend lost 30 lbs and over 100 cholesterol points and her ratio is much better. They have great tools to help with eating out and such and I've been eating a lot of good food.

Answer 7

Hi,
I've tried all different diets, and the weight loss is only temporary. I finally tried diet pills on the market are made from Hoodia. I saw this stuff on ABC News. It's all natural and safe, and it works! My wife took it for a month and dropped 20 pounds. I took it for a month and lost about 13 (but I didn't exercise).

I bought the natural hoodia from this website: http://www.alllsite.info/free-diet-pills.php . I checked the web site address so I can post it here and I saw they're running a promotion now to get a free 2 week sample for only $4.97! I'm going to order this supply for my wife and give it to her for Christmas =)

Answer 8

You might think about trying this book called "The Movie Star Diet" by Steve Simmons. It helped me lose thirty pounds in 2 1/2 months when I didn't think anything would work. My goal to begin with was only 20 lbs! It has a really easy plan to follow and an excellent workout as well. Break it into small goals. Like losing three pounds by next Friday.

Answer 9

Not trying to make a shameless plug BUT I needed to do the same thing and went to LA Weight loss. I've lost 75lbs so far!!! If you cant afford that, then honestly, as is the case with LAWL, you need to reduce your daily caloric intake so that you are burning more than you are eating. Pair that with excersize and you'll start to notice a difference in just a few weeks.

Answer 10

I am a weight-loss coach, and I have found that these programs are the best.
I tell everyone to go to this website because I know it will work for anyone. You need to go there too. I got on one of the programs not to long ago, just to try it out and I have lost several pounds and inches, so I know it will work for you. The products are safe and all-natural. Most of all they are the most healthiest (my opinion). Check out the website. Fill out the contact page. Someone will get with you and discuss with you all you need to know, and how to get started ASAP ! Good Luck to you.