How to Deal With Obesity

Medically reviewed by Luba Lee, FNP-BC, MS

Last Updated: January 22, 2022 References

Your doctor may have told you that you are obese and that you need to make lifestyle changes to bring your weight into a healthier range. Whether it's to live longer, to change your appearance, or to move around easier, you're ready to make those changes but might not be sure how to go about them. Or, you might want to learn more about loving yourself at every size. Learn to make necessary healthy lifestyle changes and employ tools that work for you.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Fostering Your Emotional Health

1
Love and accept yourself. You deserve to be happy and content with yourself, no matter what your size or what number you see on the scale. You are worthwhile, and you deserve encouragement, security, and love. Rather than feel badly about yourself, start your journey of dealing with your obesity by accepting yourself and allowing yourself to be loved.^{[1]
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- Ask yourself questions, such as: Do I want to lose weight? Why? Does being obese serve me in some way? Asking yourself these questions may help you identify any obstacles you may have.
2
Lower your stress. The body responds to stress by storing fat and lowering muscle mass, and that stored fat can lead to a variety of other health complications.^{[2]
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Research source} Some people also react to stress by stress eating, which is consuming foods to soothe emotions and alleviate stress.^{[3]
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Trustworthy Source

Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals

Go to source} Unfortunately, any relief gained by stress eating is temporary, meaning you may continue to stress eat. In addition, the long-term health effects of coping with stress with food far outweigh the momentary comfort it may provide. Lowering stress will have immediate mental and metabolic effects and may reduce mindless, high-calorie snacking.
- You could take up meditation, learning to calm your mind and control your breathing.
- Do you like to do crafts? Crafting has effects similar to meditation, lowering stress while keeping you busy.^{[4]
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- Take up a relaxing hobby, such as photography or gardening.
- Volunteering is a great stress reducer that has wonderful physical and emotional effects.^{[5]
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  Harvard Medical School
  Harvard Medical School's Educational Site for the Public
  
  Go to source} You can volunteer in person, at a retirement home, or online, as a transcriptionist for a museum, for example. You’ll help your community and lower your stress.
Talk to your friends and family about your goals and turn to them for encouragement, guidance, and reassurance. Face-to-face support systems allow you to look at the people you’re interacting with and they also encourage a certain level of personal accountability. Dealing with obesity is a personal process, but that doesn't mean you should do it alone.^{[6]
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Trustworthy Source

Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals

Go to source}
4
Set goals. If plans and diets seem a bit overwhelming, start with setting small, specific, achievable goals. When we set smaller goals, we tend to be more motivated to meet them, and that the success we feel spurs us on to set and achieve even more goals.^{[7]
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Trustworthy Source

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Research and education center within the National Institutes of Health

Go to source} Your goals should be forgiving, and don't forget to reward yourself (but not with food). Some examples of small goals include:
- Walk for 30 minutes four times per week
- Drink eight glasses of water per day — Being hydrated helps with weight loss and sense of satiety
- Pack your lunch and snacks every day
- Contribute to an online support group three times per week
5
Make a list of what you’re happy about. Research indicates that those who begin their day focusing on a few positive points in their life have an overall better mood, appear happier to others, and are much more positive thinkers. A simple way to do this is to make a list – jot down five or so things for which you’re grateful each day, which will shift your focus to the positive.^{[8]
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- Don’t feel committed to the number five. Remember that this list is going to change every day, and you want to keep it relatively short and simple so that you can thoughtfully consider each thing.
- In the beginning, this list may be a challenge. You might try listing one thing from each of the following categories: health, family, physical or emotional, living space, professional/academic. Of course that’s not a comprehensive list of categories, but it might give you a starting point from which to begin.
While obesity definitely has genetic and physiological factors, you can’t forget to consider its emotional components as well. There is evidence of a strong link between depression and obesity, for example. Also, some research also suggests that food addiction, a very real addiction, often serves to mask other emotions that are hard to deal with.^{[9]
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7
Exercise. In addition to supporting any weight loss efforts, exercise can be extremely beneficial for your mental health. Exercise can be an effective treatment for depression, anxiety, ADHD, and more. It helps reduce stress, improves memory, and can improve your mood.^{[10]
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Trustworthy Source

HelpGuide
Nonprofit organization dedicated to providing free, evidence-based mental health and wellness resources.

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- Even modest amounts of exercise can have far-reaching effects. The American Heart Association recommends walking at least 30 minutes daily, or aim cumulatively for 10,000 steps throughout the day. You can use a pedometer to monitor your progress.
- If you can't seem to fit it in, try breaking up your exercise into smaller chunks of time. Go for a 10 to 15 minute walk in the morning and then again in the evening.
- A little bit of exercise is better than nothing. Commit to doing a little activity each day and slowly start working your way up to longer sessions of exercise.
- You don't need to work out vigorously to receive the benefits. Moderate-intensity exercise is just as effective. Moderate exercise means you are warm but not overheated or sweating profusely and that you can still carry on a conversation with someone (though you should be breathing a little heavier than normal).
- Once your body gets used to regular exercise, add in light weight-lifting workouts. Lifting weights helps to build your muscles, which burns more calories and can even help you control your appetite.
8
Accept setbacks. You’re a human being living a complicated life, and sometimes things don’t always go according to plan, and dealing with obesity is no exception. No matter what setback you face, accept that it happened, consider reasons why it may have happened, how you might handle the situation next time, and let go. Tomorrow is a new day.^{[11]
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Trustworthy Source

Mayo Clinic
Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals

Go to source}
- If you make a plan to lose weight, for example, and you have a day of less-healthy food choices, cut yourself some slack. Look at the situation as objectively as possible, don’t be derailed, and get back on track right away.
- You might decide that you will love yourself no matter what your size, but you have a day that you just feel unattractive and crummy. Think about what has happened to get you thinking that way, reflect on your list of positives, and rely on your support network.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Making Better Food Choices

1
Keep a food journal. Often we have no idea how many calories we consume in a day, especially if we are prone to snacking or eating larger portions. Research has shown that keeping a food journal — a paper or electronic system in which you record every bit of food and liquid you intake — makes us more aware of and accountable for what we put in our mouths.^{[12]
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- Keeping a food journal helps you find areas for dietary improvement, such as late-night snacking or skipping breakfast.
- A food diary makes you pay attention to portion sizes.
- It may also encourage you to bring meals with you rather than eat out.
- Research has shown that people who use food journals lose more weight and keep it off longer.^{[13]
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2
Portion your food. Not surprisingly, it’s easy to not have a good grasp on what correct food portions are. Unfortunately, that leads to overeating. Definitely look at the package for the suggested serving size, but also use your best judgement. You can also find more general guidelines from governmental agencies, such as the USDA.
- Because restaurant portions are usually huge, one trick when you’re eating out is to ask for a to-go box when the server brings your food and box up half of the meal before you begin eating.
- One serving of an apple is about the size of a tennis ball.
- A serving of chicken or lean hamburger is approximately the same size as 2/3 of a playing card.
3
Plan your meals. Most nutritionists will tell you that planning your meals is vital to losing weight. Planning your meals has a few benefits: it takes the guesswork out of what you’ll eat during the week, saves you money since you won’t be eating out, encourages you to make consistently better food choices throughout the week, and makes you more aware of what you’re eating at every meal. We are busier than ever and often don’t have time worry about what to eat. Meal planning takes the guesswork out of it since you just refer to your list every day.^{[14]
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- If you like to write things down, consider putting a magnetic dry erase board on your refrigerator that has space to fill in what you plan for each meal.
- There are many free meal-planning templates on the internet. Download and customize one to meet your individual needs.
- Make a meal-planning notebook or digital folder in which you store your list and your recipes.
4
Cut sugar and saturated fats. Saturated fats can raise your cholesterol and increase your chances of heart disease. Sugar can lead to weight gain and diabetes, and lowering your intake of both can have immediate and long-term health effects.^{[15]
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Trustworthy Source

National Health Service (UK)
Public healthcare system of the UK

Go to source} Look at labels and choose options lower in sugar and saturated fats. Eat low-glycemic, high-protein foods, which help you to control your blood sugar and decrease cravings that sabotage weight loss. Make healthy substitutions, also, so that you don't sacrifice flavor or texture. Some examples of good substitutions are:
- Instead of mayonnaise, try hummus on sandwiches.
- Use plain, unflavored yogurt instead of sour cream.
- Trade your white bread for whole wheat or sprouted bread.
- Instead of white sugar in your coffee or tea, consider using honey.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Finding Resources

1
Ask your medical doctor for advice. Your doctor may have told you that you're obese or morbidly obese and advised that you need to lose weight. Unfortunately, many doctors end the conversation there, not providing more solutions.^{[16]
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Research source} Don't be shy — ask your doctor for resources to help you address the physical and emotional parts of obesity, and if necessary, also ask your doctor for referrals.^{[17]
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Trustworthy Source

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Research and education center within the National Institutes of Health

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- If you are morbidly obese (BMI over 35), consider a bariatric surgery consultation to see if surgery is an option for you. Your insurance may pay for it if you have comorbid disorders such as hypertension and diabetes.
2
Find a support group. Research has shown that people are more inclined to stick with a plan if they have a support group, which is different than relying on your friends and family. These support groups meet for a unified reason, such as weight loss or loving yourself at any size, and are a a great resource of like-minded people.^{[18]
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Trustworthy Source

American Psychological Association
Leading scientific and professional organization of licensed psychologists

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- Commercial groups are available and usually have several locations, making them easy to get to.
- Your local community center may run various emotional, mental, and physical health groups.
- Churches often rent spaces to groups as well that may or may not be affiliated with a religious organization.
3
Join online communities. Online communities offer a few advantages: you don’t have to commute to reach the group, you have a degree of anonymity of you want it, mobility issues are not an issue, and you have access to unlimited people from around the whole world. A simple search of any major search engine will take you to community forums, which are often run as message boards, although some do have real-time chat features.
- Search for more than one set of key words. If you’d like to find a Love Yourself at Any Size (LYAS) group, you might search that term, but also try "health at any size community", for example.
4
Go to your local bookstore or library. Your local bookstore or library is a goldmine of resources. You have thousands of books at your fingertips that will help you deal with obesity, from making better food choices to nourishing your self image. Bookstores offer the advantage of looking through books before you commit to purchasing them, giving you an opportunity to decide if that’s really the book for you.
- Independently-owned bookstores often have bulletin boards with listings for group meetups on a variety of topics that might be a great fit for you.
5
Look at your insurance benefits. Insurance companies want you to be healthy because it saves them money, and often there are perks that you can take advantage of that might not be advertised. Call your insurance company and ask what ancillary perks you might be eligible for or get on their website and look up your specific policy.^{[19]
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- Some offer fitness trackers which are wearable devices that keep track of how many steps you take in a day.
- Some offer gym fee reimbursements.
- Many insurance companies can direct you to various support resources.
6
Utilize digital tools. It seems that every month a new device, video game, or app is coming out that helps us with our overall health. Consider using a wearable activity monitor, or using applications for your phone or computer that track your activity, your food and beverage intake, or even your blood pressure numbers. These serve as excellent motivators and help you feel proactive.
- If you have a smart phone or a tablet and a computer, look for applications that will sync to all of your devices so that you have access no matter where you are.
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Tips

Lose weight for yourself, not for someone else.

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Drink green tea. Compounds in green tea help to decrease your appetite which will aid in your weight loss efforts.

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Remember, everyone should follow a physician's advice first and foremost, and there is no one right way to deal with obesity

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Warnings

Never starve yourself.

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Never resort to crash diets. The almost never work in the long run and can have serious immediate and long-term physical and mental complications.

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Anyone can develop eating disorders, such as Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, including obese people. If you suspect that you are developing an eating disorder, don’t be embarrassed. Seek help from a counselor and your physician.

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