The Things No One Tells You About Weight Loss

katherine_startrek_fan

1. Sometimes it takes awhile to see yourself how you really look- 56 pounds heavier, I was in denial of how heavy I was. Now how I look matches with how I used to think I looked.
2. Exercise doesn't only burn calories but feels really good and improves my mood tremendously!
3. It's not about cutting out foods you love, but rather, being smarter about balancing what you eat.

lilbea89

That even though you might feel great and have dropped a size or two, that doesn't mean everyone else around you will notice yet.

So far I have dropped 1-2 sizes and over 25 pounds. I can feel the difference and see the difference in my body. But none of my coworkers, friends, family, fiance, etc had taken notice yet. It was quite frustrating considering how fantastic I feel! But when you see people on a regular basis its hard to notice some things like that. I'm sure I've done that to other people too.

So don't give up! Just use it as motivation to keep going!

KBmoments

mzbek24 wrote: »

That you can eat fairly healthy food and exercise and still stay the same weight or even put on weight, if you're not eating at a deficit.

My meal portion sizes were all pretty massive and I accidentally maintained at 76kg for years, with several failed attempts to lose weight. I was almost ready to give up, thinking my body just wanted to be that weight because it always bounced back to it if I lost a couple of kilos. With MFP I have now finally got down to 71kg, 7 more to go!

This happened to me, too! Weighing and tracking accurately and just knowing your maintenance versus deficit calories is mind opening!

smantha32

bump

CrabNebula

People will ask you how you lost the weight, ignore that advice, and come back and complain to you that they are getting fatter. Story of my life right now.

wannabefitgirl25

rheannaraye wrote: »

that the saying "no pain, no gain" started because there are SO many pains.... pulled muscles, DOMS, so many aches, groans, new feelings, breaking in shoes, headaches, withdrawals (from caffeine or from low carb plans), hunger pains, etc.


Also, that it's mentally exhausting, not just physically exhausting. The mental side of things can be a killer. . .

can't agree more with that one

holly55555

People will comment on your body no matter what you do. You gain weight, everyone comments on how bad you look. You lose weight, everyone comments on your eating habits, you're too skinny, you work out too much, etc. So you just do it for yourself and don't try to please anyone!

smantha32

holly55555 wrote: »

People will comment on your body no matter what you do. You gain weight, everyone comments on how bad you look. You lose weight, everyone comments on your eating habits, you're too skinny, you work out too much, etc. So you just do it for yourself and don't try to please anyone!

SO true.

virelay129

That running has kept me sane.

People can be really mean.

Once you are eating healthy and taking care of yourself, you find that that "cheat day" does more damage than good....especially to your bowels

Hanging skin sucks balls. Infections and creams....daily.

Not everyone will be supportive. In fact, some people, even family will be horrible and only point out negatives.

That, whether you know it our not, your changes are being noticedd. My son is taking after his father, but last week asked if he could go on my run...he made it one loop. He is also making better choices food wise Melts my heart.

And last but not least, seeing my body change is amazing.

ticiaelizabeth

People always says its 80% diet and 20% exercise. This is all lies. It is 150% mental. I can feel like a million bucks about my journey and progress one day and feel like total s**t the next. It is unpredictability at its finest.

DaniCanadian

That you can lose weight and people will still judge you on something. That Weightloss should be for you and you alone to actually make the biggest difference in your life.

smashley_mashley

How hard it is to wrap your head around the fact that the scale doesn't move but your clothes keep getting smaller = progress

redskiednight

Your close family and friends will either be your biggest supporters or your worst enemies in weight loss. @ 5 foot 8 and 155 I'm already being told by my (heavier, never committed properly to losing) family to lose weight, and snide comments come from every side.

But some people will give you awesome compliments too

slikorify

You will screw up. A lot. If you want to succeed you have to learn to get over it when you do screw up and get back to eating properly as soon as possible

Also you can do as much exercise as you want, and that will mean you can eat more, but at the end of the day it's all about what you eat. You can lose weight healthily doing any amount of exercise, or none at all, as long as you eat the right amount

WonderWoman250

The days when everything seems to be bad, you gained a little weight, no healthy food tastes good and you are just done with the exercise, are the most important because it tests your motivation and usually if you push through on those days, the results are worth it.

cincysweetheart

-When it comes to exercise: It's almost entirely mental. And can be highly emotional.
-That it's really not hard. It takes time. It takes discipline. You actually have to DO it… but it's not exactly HARD.
-Whatever money you save by eating less… you will spend in replacing your wardrobe… plus some. And it doesn't really matter how cheap you go.
-It takes your brain awhile before you see what's really there instead what's always been there.
People will see the changes before you will… both physically and otherwise.

rob985620

Having read all of these before my second couch to 5k run in a few minutes, I can say I am truly hyped to do the run now. Having lost 3 stone and the put it all back on, I have seen a few of these comments relate to me.

This time after seeing a photo of me and how I never had a neck in it, I am dropping slowly and changing my lifestyle by eating less and moving more.

Also commenting for later

MelodyandBarbells

DaniCanadian wrote: »

That you can lose weight and people will still judge you on something. That Weightloss should be for you and you alone to actually make the biggest difference in your life.

Amen, sister. I should come into this thread more often

nikkib0103

Many of the thoughts expressed here are painfully true, some hilariously true. What I have learned is that the best approach (for me!) is to keep my head down and keep at it. When the scale is being a stupid jerk, keep eating like you're supposed to and working out like you should. When you are forced at forkpoint to eat some cheesecake, spend a little more time the next day working out and be more careful about what you put in your mouth. Balance, patience, self-forgiveness and a sense of humor will keep you going. Also, logging as accurately as you can makes a huge difference. I think that has played the biggest part in my success thus far. Seeing the good, the bad and the ugly in black and white really helps keep me on track. Also, the breadth of experience and knowledge on this site is staggering. It is helpful and encouraging to see that people struggle like I do and carry on and succeed despite the obstacles in the way and that they are generous enough to share what worked and didn't for them.

betterby30

This is hard. You go into it thinking it's going to be hard, but it's harder than you ever thought. By orders of magnitude.

And success is sneaky. It builds up by tiny grains. It takes forever, but then you realize you're standing on a mountain of success. And that feels amazing.

arheasn

This is a great read, so glad I stumbled upon this thread today. It feels good to see so many people saying the same things I am feeling or have felt so far.

-Constantly being cold. My family is learning not to allow me to adjust the thermostat or the doors and windows.
-Having a hard time seeing the losses that have occurred. Being shocked at the face looking back at me in the mirror. (That woman has cheekbones and collarbones and a ribcage and a sternum!)
-Learning to accept the fact that this did not all go on overnight, therefore it is not all going to go off overnight. I had said that so many times before, but now at 16 months and 116 lbs lost, it might actually be starting to sink in a bit.
-Going out and having that big greasy burger with all the toppings and the fries sounds so good, but it makes me feel so rotten. I never realized how much my gut would object to eating like that after a period of time.
-Watching my family learn to like new foods because I am the main cook and I have just given everyone the same food as I am eating. I still make many of the family favorites, I just watch my portion much better than before.
-Missing exercise when I am feeling under the weather and have no energy or strength to move. I used to run track, cross-country and do road races when I was younger. Now I'm thinking about signing up for a few local 3K fun runs.

maasha81

Really inspirational posts and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them. Here are mine:
Weight loss is not linear and scale fluctuations will happen all the time. Don't let those numbers rule your life.

Maintenance was harder for me than weight loss. Any slight increase in the scale had me panicking. I've learnt to deal and guage what is actual weight gain from bloat.

Exercise has so many benefits - great stress reliever and I get best sleep on days I worked out.

Start lifting sooner than later. I reached my goal weight was still wasn't happy with my body. Lifting helped define my body and you feel such a great sense of accomplishment. Don't panic if you gain a little ...muscles are being repaired.

threnjen

I am constantly surprised that losing a lot of weight didn't really improve my self esteem. I thought my body would be miraculously perfect when I was a magic "thin" number.

I feel more critical of myself now than when I was overweight =/ So it's still a daily struggle to learn to love myself the way I am, with whatever shape I am.

adamitri

I'm becoming quite boney. It's so freaking strange. My backbone is more prominent. my hip bones are now there, my collarbone is sharp. O.o

krissyreminisce

I've gone from being hot all the time to being cold all the time.

I've gotten anorexia concerns more than once from more than one person.

I've experienced more and more Thin Privilege the more weight I've lost.

Shopping isn't all about my sister, whom has always been stick thin and while she gained some weight, she's still a healthy size and shape and happy, it can be about me and what looks cute on me.

That I can go from hating running to loving running so much that I have three half marathons in May.

The more weight I lose, the stronger and stronger my willpower becomes. It's easy to turn down bad choices now. Though this backfires a little when I make caloric plans to allow myself a treat.

That I don't mind spending a little more money on higher quality ingredients.

I don't miss TV all that much. I have DVR and Hulu, I'll live. I spend that time at the gym and I go to bed earlier.

That if you get over the intimidation you feel when you look over at the strength training area, you see rapid changes in your body when you add it to your routine. (I still haven't gone over to the free weights area, I don't know what I'm doing and don't want to hurt myself.)

KatieMusselwhite92113

kaseyr1505 wrote: »

I didn't realize how much my weight was impacting my confidence until I was ready to lose it. When I look back at pictures, I can see how uncomfortable I was, even in my wedding pictures when I was over the moon. I'm not too far from my first goal weight, and I can see such a huge change in myself, and how I look in pictures.

I found this out too! I got married almost 2 years ago and I was blissfully happy on my wedding day (and still am) but I can see how uncomfortable I was even though I didn't fully recognize it yet. Thankfully my highest weight came around my 1st anniversary, so it's not immortalized in photos forever.

For me:
1. Cheekbones. And hip bones. And collar bones. And just bones, I have them... I'm not at my goal weight, but I am starting to feel pointy things. I like them!
2. Drink as much water as you think you need to drink, and then drink more. You will literally pee away belly bloat.
3. My double chin was not genetic.
4. I couldn't not run because I was fat, I actually am just a terrible runner. The more you know!
5. Bathing suit shopping isn't so bad when your body has improved drastically since last year.
6. My thighs are capable of only touching some places and not all places-- and one day maybe they will touch less places still. There's a sliver of daylight between them when I stand normally now. They touch at the top and at the knees, and there's this glorious in-between area where they stay mutually exclusive.
7. Also, on a serious note, I learned that I have a heart condition. It's nothing life threatening and has likely been there for most of my life. But if I had not started this journey, I wouldn't have found that out (or wouldn't have found out right now).

KatieMusselwhite92113

Also.... motivation doesn't happen on accident. Sure, once you create some healthy habits and get used to eating an appropriate number of calories, etc. you do get accustomed to it, but it's a daily commitment to say the least!

katemckenna5

I can't see myself as any thinner. I'm down 50 pounds from my highest weight and still wear most of the same clothes. How can that even be?

Kalici

katemckenna5 wrote: »

I can't see myself as any thinner. I'm down 50 pounds from my highest weight and still wear most of the same clothes. How can that even be?

I'm the same except I'm down just under 90 pounds. I can only see it a bit in my face. I know for a fact I've lost weight from my feet though because my shoes stopped fitting and I had to buy new ones that are a size and a half smaller.

Psychgrrl

While it's great to see your old clothes fall off/down because they're too big, when you're on a tight budget, it sucks to have to buy new things. Getting things altered well isn't cheap either.

I started with new underwear and workout gear. My bottoms were falling down when I ran (had to run holding them up and/or safety pinned them) and my outgrown sports bras weren't giving me any support. Am slowly getting things altered and found some stuff on sale for work.