Things You've Noticed As You've Lost Weight
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I lost balance a little and sat down on the chair hard and on my tailbone. Guess what? It hurt! Surprised the hell out of me.0
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I was always the biggest out of my friends and whenever I went into a room I subconsciously scanned it to make sure I wasn't THE fattest person in the room. I was so self conscious and felt a lot better if there was at least one person bigger than me in the room. I weighed 305 pounds. I was down to 273 before I started using MFP. Now I weigh 182. It feels so weird to occasionally notice that I just might be the thinnest in the room. I've also noticed that many of the people that I considered average before are actually well over weight probably. I considered everyone smaller than me before (which were most people) to be "skinny" or ripped. I now realize that there is a huge gap between morbidly obese and healthy. I also realize that being physically healthier or an improved appearance is not a magical fix all for your life.
One thing I've noticed is that my pictures on social media get significantly more attention now and people tend to be friendlier to me. I've never had a problem making friends but I used to have to be the funny one of the group and most people didn't consider me anything more than comedic relief. Now people seem to treat me more human almost.
I also look at alcohol completely different now. It is so calorie dense and it is not something that can be consumed in high quantities by an "ex-fat person". I will gain weight back so quick if I get on an alcohol kick.0 -
MiniChef_Kriss wrote: »
I've come to the conclusion that my 90lbs loss must be a miracle. Jesus must of just blessed me for no reason and the weight is just falling off me like butter. Praise god. All the things i've learned on my journey is wrong. I should just start saying, i don't know what i am doing, its all been a huge fluke!! and look as confused as possible about where i am and how i got there.
BAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA
you and me both!
thats the funniest thing ive read all day0 -
Domicinator wrote: »I sometimes feel like I live in bizzaro world for sure. Whether it's at work, at the grocery store, at a restaurant, or whatever. I look around me sometimes and realize that a) almost everyone I see is significantly overweight and b) for more than half my life I was just like them.
I've been noticing this too. It's like loosing weight was Morpheus' red pill.
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Darn you caught me hahaWishfulThinking0 wrote: »Seeing your friend eat 2 big double chocolate cookies and knowing that it probably amounts to the number of calories you save for your entire lunch (400-500)
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The weirdest part to me is def the delusions people have about calories. Mainly people have no idea how many calories are in things unless they're counting calories (And even then sometimes they don't know). Also no one seems to know how many calories people should be eating. One of my friends was convinced that I shouldn't be losing weight eating 1400 calories a day - they thought this was enough calories for me to maintain my weight on even though I do a lot of running. That just led me to realize that this person had no idea how many calories are in food cause 1400 calories really isn't that many imo
Also people feel really awkward when you don't want to eat what they're eating. Like if you're at a party or something and you're not constantly snacking people want to feed you. Or at least all the people I know do. I lost about 20 pounds last year and when I weighed a bit more people weren't always trying to constantly feed me but now apparently I look like I need to be hand fed. It's actually super amusing and sometimes is a super easy way to get free food lol but mostly it gets annoying.0 -
k_nelson_24 wrote: »HippySkoppy wrote: »The number of people who are disappointed that there is no "Secret" to losing weight and maintaining it.
Those that are still around me who have seen me go from highest to lowest weight and they are determined that I'm withholding some magical potion, fad, injection, shake etc etc from them.
Sadly they are profoundly turned off by the concept of me using MFP, counting calories, eating what I like and not doing anything that they have seen on TV or in magazines.....and they then go on to say that it would be too long, difficult, boring or other reason for them to even contemplate.
^ This exactly!
People get so disappointed and turned off when I tell them all I do is count my calories and exercise regularly. And I only aim for one pound loss per week!
I realized the majority of people aren't willing to put in the discipline and hard work to get results. It really hasn't happened over night. It took me almost one year to lose 75 lbs.
I've noticed that I still head for the large and XL sections in the store out of habit. I am currently a medium! Still blows my mind.
And a million times yes to being cold all the time! Brrrrrr...
Any time I eat with a coworker at lunch they make an excuse to me as to why they don't have a healthy meal in front of them, like I am the food police or something!
My husband pointed out my collarbones the other day.
I noticed that I don't feel like I need makeup on out in public any more. When I was over 200lbs there was NO WAY I would leave the house without a full face on. More confidence!
and so much more!
^^ Well said!
This is not to disrespect my friends' choices for their lives, but I think I now recognize those who're actually skinny-fat instead of feeling jealous about their never-get-ballooned-up appearance, especially when they complaint about one (or several) part(s) of their bodies (mostly female with problems on their belly or thighs). It's like they don't really understand how "being/ feeling fat for a long period of time" feels and don't really have the determination to do what I've been doing to prevent myself from going back to the old me.
I'm actually glad that I went through that period of time when I was/felt fat and I've learned a lot from it. It's like I find myself a way to get the ticket for a better life later (confidence is a huge gain from this)! But sometimes I do wonder if I became cocky when I heard my skinny-fat friends complaining about their thighs while rejecting the fact that they have to work hard & be patient...
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I went to a concert this past weekend (I've been going to the venue for many years) and I noticed how comfortable I was sitting in the seats. Before I would feel stuffed and uncomfortable, but I was able to cross my legs with ease and move around. Plus I was sitting in between 2 big guys and I felt tiny. It was the strangest feeling.
Other have mentioned this put the extra attention and niceness from others can sometimes get overwhelming for me. For example the stares or when men break their necks to hold a door open for me.
Lastly, it makes people uncomfortable when I don't eat when everyone else is. I'm in my 3rd year maintaining and I thought people would get used to it by now but no. Now I eat and eat well, but just because there's free food or snacks out I'm not going to just eat. If I want it sure, I can fit it in but turning down food sometimes feel like a crime!
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MiniChef_Kriss wrote: »I am the smallest ive ever been since ever. I lost 90lbs.
Since my return to work in september, i have been getting compliments almost constantly, daily even about how good i look, many people ask me what it is that im doing.. rumors go around sometimes that im buying meals online or something that i have to keep correcting people..
Anyway the thing i have noticed since my weight loss is that even though people ask me out right for what it is that i am doing, they still tell me how impossible it is for them. When i tell them that they could easily do it to, there is always a million excuses as to why they can't. When i explain to them the science as to why their excuses aren't really holding them back, they tell me im wrong, so i have dubbed this "special snowflake syndrome".
A lot of people suffer from SSS. One girl tried to tell me that because i don't work nights i wouldn't understand that because of her night shifts, her body goes into starvation mode and holds on to all the fat when she eats cause shes not eating at the exact same time every day and its not consistent.
Or the people who tell me they can't excersize so they will never be able to lose weight. Tell them that excersize is for health, not for weight loss, they look at me like what planet are you on, of course excersize is the only way to lose.
I've come to the conclusion that my 90lbs loss must be a miracle. Jesus must of just blessed me for no reason and the weight is just falling off me like butter. Praise god. All the things i've learned on my journey is wrong. I should just start saying, i don't know what i am doing, its all been a huge fluke!! and look as confused as possible about where i am and how i got there.
love this lol0 -
The biggest thing I noticed was my sore belly. I would have a sore belly everyday and I just assumed this was normal for me. I sometimes didn't even notice it was there as it always was. When I first started eating better I hadn't noticed it had gone. Then when I had a cheat meal - it was back!! Then I noticed!0
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Unfortunately, I've noticed that I'm a horrible person. Like really, a truly horrible person. I'll catch myself looking at an obese person and thinking 'why don't you change this?? You have the power to make yourself smaller, and yet you're still stuffing that burger in your face'.
Which is wrong on so many levels. I know this. I used to BE fat, why am I judging people? And also, maybe they've fitted that burger into their daily calories, and they're losing weight anyway. I know nothing about them, but I'm judging them.
I wish I there was a formula as simple as CICO for making yourself a better person.0 -
yourhiddengem wrote: »The weirdest part to me is def the delusions people have about calories. Mainly people have no idea how many calories are in things unless they're counting calories (And even then sometimes they don't know). Also no one seems to know how many calories people should be eating. One of my friends was convinced that I shouldn't be losing weight eating 1400 calories a day - they thought this was enough calories for me to maintain my weight on even though I do a lot of running. That just led me to realize that this person had no idea how many calories are in food cause 1400 calories really isn't that many imo
Also people feel really awkward when you don't want to eat what they're eating. Like if you're at a party or something and you're not constantly snacking people want to feed you. Or at least all the people I know do. I lost about 20 pounds last year and when I weighed a bit more people weren't always trying to constantly feed me but now apparently I look like I need to be hand fed. It's actually super amusing and sometimes is a super easy way to get free food lol but mostly it gets annoying.
I noticed that while I was trying to lose weight and be careful what I was eating at parties and gatherings, people were constantly pressuring me to eat more. Now that I've basically hit my goal and am officially "skinny", they don't bother me about it anymore. In fact it's quite opposite now. My aunt the other day saw me eating an italian beef sandwich at a party and said, "Hey, look out, I don't think that's in your diet." She was totally just messing with me, and I was not annoyed by it at all (she has diabetes and has to watch her calories too), but people just stopped bugging me about it. They've seen me a few times now and are used to my new "look" and it's a non issue these days.0 -
I'd say the way many people treat the overweight, the normal weight, and the "thin" is so different. The increase in the overall level of niceness/helpfulness/attention to your needs paid by strangers is pretty dramatic as you descend the scale. People are much nicer to me when I'm thin. I've never been obese, only overweight, but I trust my friends who tell me that they were/are treated horribly by strangers when very large, and it fits in well with the patterns I've noticed in my own experience of treatment by strangers gradually deteriorating as my weight increased, then improving again as it decreased.
And there's an unwarranted assumption of goodness and worth on the part of people who are thin. It's weird to really see it in action as you move between categories, knowing that you're the same person but getting such different reactions from the public.
Had to say amen on this one. I'm just back to about the top of overweight down from obese and two different guys smiled and made eye contact with me at the store yesterday. I'm not looking (married), just saying.
Obesity seems to be the last unforgivable sin. I think drug and alcohol abusers get less shade.0 -
I've tried to come up with ways of phrasing and understanding why I believe overweight/obese people are treated differently. Then I realised we are treated differently after we lose weight because we ARE different
Things that haven't changed as I have lost weight
> My intelligence
> My sense of humour
> How caring I am
> How incredibly random I am
> My friendliness
Things that have changed (with 77lb lost)
> My energy levels
> How I prioritise things and my friends
> The amount of time I spend going out of the house
> My skin is a lot clearer
> I have and I project more confidence
> I project more happiness
> I look people in the eye quicker as I'm not so scared of rejection
> I have the fitness and ability to do pretty much whatever I want
> My cooking skills are pretty decent now
We initially judge people on how we see them and I have now started to realise that seeing someone's obesity can be considered an indication of their personality. I know that there are a lot of reasons behind why people (and myself) are still overweight. But what it all boils down to is that at some point all those reasons have lead to a conscious or unconscious choice was made to eat more calories than are used (other than with certain medical conditions). I do have to remind myself that this doesn't make that person any less amazing, awesome and a potentially brilliant friend, partner, worker etc.
However, having said that, just going by my list of things that have changed that are NOT just about me shrinking, I would say I am becoming a better version of me every time I'm making a positive choice to improve my health, weight and fitness. We are programmed to know that smaller people have more energy which means they could be considered more fun. We expect them to be happier and more confident. We expect them to be more motivated and less lazy. We expect them to be generally healthier.
My core qualities haven't changed. I have just added to them.
I feel that people who get truly frustrated by being treated differently (treated differently in a positive way...getting creeped on by guys etc is a different matter entirely) haven't yet realised how different they have become in the first place
I hope none of what I said is considered offensive to people, I mean this as a way of showing the positive side of all the changes going on.0 -
yourhiddengem wrote: »
Also people feel really awkward when you don't want to eat what they're eating. Like if you're at a party or something and you're not constantly snacking people want to feed you.
my friends dont do that, but they know I'll say no thanks (or eat if i want LOLOL)Unfortunately, I've noticed that I'm a horrible person. Like really, a truly horrible person. I'll catch myself looking at an obese person and thinking 'why don't you change this?? You have the power to make yourself smaller, and yet you're still stuffing that burger in your face'.
Which is wrong on so many levels. I know this. I used to BE fat, why am I judging people? And also, maybe they've fitted that burger into their daily calories, and they're losing weight anyway. I know nothing about them, but I'm judging them.
I wish I there was a formula as simple as CICO for making yourself a better person.
every time i find myself consciously thinking something like that, i redirect my thoughts. I find over time, I am being much kinder in my head to people and thinking more positive things about them (whether its an outfit, or their hair cut, or purse, whatever) but its definitely taken a conscious effort....
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That I dont have time for my grossly overweight college who talks the talk then I her next breath how she "must" eat every hour and proceeded to cram a box of belvita in her face.....infact I have to not speak to her because I'm afraid I might tell her a few home truths... especially if she tells me I shouldn't eat flavoured porridge I should eat plain steel cut instead...while she eats toasted English muffins with butter jam and pb. When did I become that person.....0
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I get really bummed out when I see someone following a diet fad that will lead to failure. I always want to chime in and say something based on my experience counting calories, but usually will not receive a positive response. I keep to myself, unless asked for advice.0
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I find myself wanting to share the secret with people in the grocery store who are clearly uncomfortable and tired carrying the extra weight. It's not like I'm judging them--I'm down a lot for me, but I'm still over 200 lbs.--it's more like seeing someone with a painfully infected finger and wanting to say, "There are antibiotics that can cure that! You don't have to suffer with that!" I don't say anything, of course, unless it's a friend who invites the conversation, but I do find myself thinking it all the time. For so many years I assumed nothing really could be done. Now that I know that's not true, I want to shout it.0
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Does realising you can knee yourself in the face count?
I think a lot of the mentioned realisations are ones I have had.
Especially the everyone is generally overweight or obese and people try crazy things to lose weight or have odd ideas on how to do it.0
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