What unexpected benefits of healthy eating / weight loss have you experienced?

herringboxes

I thought it could be motivating to share some of the benefits we’ve seen, at any point in our journeys - beyond the usual things like fitting in clothes better (though feel free to mention that too!).

I’ll start with these:

- No more feeling woozy and weak
Since I got off the blood sugar roller coaster, I stopped feeling crummy from the crashes. I’m steady and strong all day!

- My dental hygeinist and dentist were wowed
I usually have a cavity and always at least one “iffy” spot but this time I was told everything looked amazing! And the hygeinist said she was inspired to make changes to her own eating as a result!

- Blood pressure is great
It was not high before but borderline. Now it’s great!

- More comfortable sleeping
This is kinda weird but I sleep on my side and my love handles used to kind of pull on me and felt uncomfortable. They’re gone now!

What about you? Let’s hear what you’ve experienced!

nossmf

Biggest change for me was how much less pain I feel in my arthritic knees. I used to dread stairs, both climbing and descending, as every step was painful, and sitting/standing for long periods of time in a single position was agony when I tried to move. Now, I never notice my knees at all, maybe once a month one will pop just to remind me they exist, but otherwise I'm good to go. I actually PREFER stairs now.

AnnPT77

In no particular order:

* I have much reduced arthritis/torn meniscus pain - used to be pretty steady discomfort, fairly frequent pain. Now discomfort is fairly rare, pain super rare.

* I enjoy food - planning, shopping for, preparing, eating - more. I think it's that I'm selective and focused on enjoying eating, rather than just shoveling things into my mouth mindlessly because they're there. (It turned out I don't even enjoy some of those things very much. Who knew? )

* Calorie counting has made me better at numbers (remembering them, not transposing digits, that sort of thing), mental arithmetic, and applied math. (I was never terrible at math, but pretty bad at arithmetic. I could always set up formulas much more easily, but would more often do things like forget to carry the 1 or misremember my multiplication tables.)

* My rowing stroke got longer and more aligned, which is more powerful and effective. I'd already been rowing lots while overweight/obese, for over a decade. Once my central fat wasn't in the way, my ability to get into the catch position was much improved, and I didn't drop my knees to the sides to make room for my belly.

* My mobility in general improved, not because I was more flexible, but because fat areas no longer limited range of motion.

* My high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high triglycerides became solidly normal (without materially increasing exercise or changing the range of foods I ate).

* Things that used to be tiring and effortful (from carrying around 50+ extra pounds every minute of every day) are less fatiguing, even though I'm objectively no fitter.

* I didn't realize that I was budgeting trips up and down the stairs in my house, until I stopped doing it, and noticed I was scampering up and down many times a day with the slightest reason.

* I hate to shop. It got easier to find clothes that fit and looked adequate . . . especially easier to find specialized active wear for biking, kayaking/canoeing, etc., which is really rare to find in plus sizes (and expensive).

I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting, because it's been 7+ years since I was overweight, let alone obese.

If people are interested in this sort of thing, there are 1707 pages of posts on this thread, going back to 2014 - very motivating stuff, and we don't need to wait all the way to goal weight to see some of them.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1275030/whats-your-most-recent-nsv/p1

tomcustombuilder

I've always been fairly lean and muscular until 2 years ago when knee issues started and a love of wine took hold. Went from my normal 175-180 to 215 at 6-0 height. Knee replacement a year ago. I'll tell you that being overweight sucked and sucked hard. I just can't imagine people that are that weight or higher all the time. It feels amazing to have gotten a good amount of the weight back off. Everything is better, from energy, ease of movement, better joint mobility, the list goes on.

lynn_glenmont

Being able to stoop/squat to pick things up, tie my shoes, etc., and stand back up without needing a chair to grab hold of.

pnoel1974

I can fasten my shoelaces without holding my breath like I’m about to go in for an underwater dive. Also, and more importantly, sleep. I used to wake myself up a lot snorting for air, it could really get me down sometimes.

herringboxes

Really great benefits! I enjoyed reading them all!

Retroguy2000

Likely the combo of watching my calories, losing 50+ pounds (I could/should probably lose another 10 or so), and lifting weights in my 50's:

Fewer aches generally, especially back.

I used to have an occasional gout flare up in the big toe area, and it's been many years since I had that. Since before this journey in fact.

The biggest downside was losing my platinum wedding ring because it had gotten so loose. I replaced it with a white tungsten carbide from the same seller, since it was about 25%-30% the price and looked almost identical.

vivmom2014

A lot more joy getting dressed for the day.

nossmf

I was reminded the other night while I fixed dinner for my family how much longer I can remain standing without pain. Before I lost the weight, my back would become increasingly painful the longer I stood, which can be a problem both when fixing a meal as well as when singing with my church choir during a concert. Didn't matter that I was lifting weights; my back was strong, but it still couldn't handle simply standing for prolonged periods of time.

Now, I take for granted sometimes the simple sensation of NOT feeling pain, despite standing just as long as ever in the kitchen or in the choir loft.

Lietchi

AnnPT77 wrote: »

In no particular order:

* I have much reduced arthritis/torn meniscus pain - used to be pretty steady discomfort, fairly frequent pain. Now discomfort is fairly rare, pain super rare.

* I enjoy food - planning, shopping for, preparing, eating - more. I think it's that I'm selective and focused on enjoying eating, rather than just shoveling things into my mouth mindlessly because they're there. (It turned out I don't even enjoy some of those things very much. Who knew? )

* Calorie counting has made me better at numbers (remembering them, not transposing digits, that sort of thing), mental arithmetic, and applied math. (I was never terrible at math, but pretty bad at arithmetic. I could always set up formulas much more easily, but would more often do things like forget to carry the 1 or misremember my multiplication tables.)

* My rowing stroke got longer and more aligned, which is more powerful and effective. I'd already been rowing lots while overweight/obese, for over a decade. Once my central fat wasn't in the way, my ability to get into the catch position was much improved, and I didn't drop my knees to the sides to make room for my belly.

* My mobility in general improved, not because I was more flexible, but because fat areas no longer limited range of motion.

* My high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high triglycerides became solidly normal (without materially increasing exercise or changing the range of foods I ate).

* Things that used to be tiring and effortful (from carrying around 50+ extra pounds every minute of every day) are less fatiguing, even though I'm objectively no fitter.

* I didn't realize that I was budgeting trips up and down the stairs in my house, until I stopped doing it, and noticed I was scampering up and down many times a day with the slightest reason.

* I hate to shop. It got easier to find clothes that fit and looked adequate . . . especially easier to find specialized active wear for biking, kayaking/canoeing, etc., which is really rare to find in plus sizes (and expensive).

I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting, because it's been 7+ years since I was overweight, let alone obese.

If people are interested in this sort of thing, there are 1707 pages of posts on this thread, going back to 2014 - very motivating stuff, and we don't need to wait all the way to goal weight to see some of them.

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1275030/whats-your-most-recent-nsv/p1

There's another huge thread too for anyone with too much time on their hands 😁:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10087100/what-nobody-tells-you-about-losing-weight/p1

herringboxes

Sorry for starting a new thread on a well worn topic! Just hadn’t seen those.

lynn_glenmont

herringboxes wrote: »

Sorry for starting a new thread on a well worn topic! Just hadn’t seen those.

No rule against that. If threads on well worn topics weren't allowed, there would be hardly any threads!

Years ago, I believe there was a very long-running thread with NSV (non scale victories) in the title. You might search for that if you have an interest in seeing a wide range of examples.

I_AM_ISRAEL

Better sex drive and better stamina everywhere in life

AnnPT77

herringboxes wrote: »

Sorry for starting a new thread on a well worn topic! Just hadn’t seen those.

Please don't apologize! I didn't add the other thread link as an implied rebuke, more like "this is great, and here's more!". I like it when people cross-link relevant stuff . . . I do it on threads I started myself, too, if I find other threads I think will be of interest on the same topic. I was not meaning to come across as peevish or picking on you! :flowerforyou:

Lietchi

AnnPT77 wrote: »

herringboxes wrote: »

Sorry for starting a new thread on a well worn topic! Just hadn’t seen those.

Please don't apologize! I didn't add the other thread link as an implied rebuke, more like "this is great, and here's more!". I like it when people cross-link relevant stuff . . . I do it on threads I started myself, too, if I find other threads I think will be of interest on the same topic. I was not meaning to come across as peevish or picking on you! :flowerforyou:

Me neither by the way! The boards aren't as active as they used to be, so I figured that it might interest you, in case there aren't many responses here 🙂

My unexpected benefits:
- how much easier being in movement would be
- how much easier to tie my shoelaces (no stomach in the way)
- how much easier to cross my legs
I gained weight gradually over a number of years, I hadn't realised how much it was weighing me down, literally, and hindering my daily life until i lost weight. The difference is life-changing!

herringboxes

I wondered what NSV meant, cool!

Retroguy2000

Another one:

One of my cats loves to climb on me. Before, while at my computer chair there wasn't room for my stomach and him. Now, there's plenty of room for him to jump up and hang out a while.

DFW_Tom

Unexpected changes:

Start the day with getting out of bed without the usual aches and pain.
Hunger is greatly diminished, or at least the carb cravings are.
The size of airline cheap seats seem much larger.
More energy throughout the day.
No problems anymore with getting up off the floor without assistance.
Tying my shoes without effort.
Arms go all the way around my wife when hugging.
Better balance.
Towels at the gym have gotten so long I can easily tie the ends in a knot around my waist. Use to be I would hold the two separated ends in the palm of my hand and use a wash cloth to hide the embarrassing gap.
Never would have thought there were veins hiding under my flab waiting to show off.

Rockmama1111

I took my grandkids to the park the other day, and I was not only able to climb up the equipment, but my backside didn’t get stuck between the molded-plastic walls of the slide. Being the fun grandma is the best!

springlering62

Best unexpected benefit of weight loss: getting my *kitten* off the sofa.

If the dog stares at me, needfully, as he is wont to do several times a day (spoiled brat!), now it’s just second nature now to throw on some shoes and give him a mile or two.

It’s so wonderful to be out in the sunshine, smelling the honeysuckle, hearing the jays bickering (they’re back after a long absence and I particularly LOVE jays and mockingbirds), and singing nonsense songs to sooth my anxious little walking buddy.