Weight Loss For Obese People vs. Smaller People

Weight loss for extremely obese people is very different than weight loss for someone who may only need to lose 20 pounds. There are so many different myths and guides for weight loss, but a lot of them don't distinguish between a person who may only want to drop two dress sizes and a person who wants to drop ten. Depending on your size, you may want to do things a little differently than a smaller person. I am not a weight loss expert, just an overweight person on the same journey as thousands of other Americans. The following are a few points that I've learned throughout my journey.

Obese people lose weight faster than smaller people

It's a fact that the heavier you are, the more weight you lose during your first few weeks of diet and exercise. If you've ever watched The Biggest Loser, you'll see that the contestants are all dropping double digit numbers their first few weeks on the ranch regardless of their gender. One contestant even lost a whopping 34 pounds in one week (he started at 526 pounds and lost a total of 264 pounds during his time on the ranch). This is because the heavier you are, the harder your body has to work to burn calories. So if you can, push yourself to the max at least the first few weeks of exercising and you will drop an unbelievable amount of pounds. You also need to change your eating habits. It would be pointless to do all that exercise if you're still eating the extra large number 7 from McDonalds everyday.

If you are obese, see a doctor before beginning any exercise regimen

Obese people are prone to having more health problems than smaller people. A lot of people can dive right into a diet and exercise regimen with no physical or doctor's checkups. But if you're obese, you need to go to the doctor to see if you have any limitations. If you have bad joints, high blood pressure, or anything else that could get worse from exercise, you need to know because an injury could completely stop you from working out. An obese people should get a full physical and probably see a dietician to make sure there aren't any abnormal things going on with their body.

Obese people have a hard time doing the same exercises as smaller people

I know from experience that it is not easy for an obese person to do mountain climbers, jumping jacks, stair steppers, and a lot of other exercises that seem to force you to try to defy gravity. But that doesn't mean that obese people can't exercise just as hard as smaller people. The best thing that an obese person can do is some type of weightlifting/training. It's a fact that the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn. So an obese person can do a lot of weight training mixed with a day or two of cardio and that can go a long way for weight loss. Working out in a swimming pool is also good because it's less strain on the joints.

Weight isn't the only thing that an obese person battles

Everyone knows that obese people needs to lose weight to fix their physical image and their health. But obese people often have a mental and emotional battle to fight that smaller people don't have to deal with. A lot of obese people don't exercise because they are uncomfortable with what they think that other people may say about them. They also tend to demonstrate self-destructive behaviors such as not eating in front of others even though they may be extremely hungry and hiding food for later or binging later. An obese person must be very strong mentally and emotionally during their weight loss battle. It helps if they have supportive people around.

Obese People Can and Should Eat More Than Smaller People While Dieting

Obese people can eat more food on a diet than smaller people can and still lose weight. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first reason is that an obese person burns more calories during an average day than a smaller person (which is why they lose weight faster than a smaller person, see the first section). Since obese peoples' bodies have to work harder to move them in just about any activity from cleaning the house, to walking, to even breathing, obese people burn more calories. Therefore an obese person could eat a few hundred (only a few!) calories more than a smaller person and still lose weight. Of course, they can't keep that up when the lose some weight. They'll have to adjust their diets accordingly.

Another reason that obese people can eat more food on a diet than smaller people is the fact that their stomachs are larger than smaller people. In a sense, you can say that obese people have stretched out their stomachs by overeating. So if an obese person eats the same meal as a small person, they'll still feel hungry. This may cause them to binge later. Gastric bypass surgery is based on this concept. In this surgery, the doctors basically make the stomach smaller so that the person can eat less food and feel full. This eliminates the hunger feeling for obese people so they can lose weight comfortably.

Obese people have advantages and disadvantages when it comes to weight loss versus a smaller person, but it is more important for an obese person to lose weight than a smaller person. Being obese can be very dangerous to a person's health. For this reason, it's important that people educate themselves as much as possible. Losing weight isn't the same for everyone, and size makes a big impact on how a person would go about setting up a weight loss regimen for themselves. So if you are on a weight loss journey, do as much research as possible, talk to doctors, dieticians, and physical trainers, and make sure you are doing things that will be tailored to your body size.