Are you happy now?

Ilovepeppers

Its 2am here so I'm not sure how many responses I'll get, but here goes! Are you happier now that youve lost weight? Do you enjoy life more and generally have a more positive attitude and mood? What do you think the cause is, if so?

denyse24

I am happy that the weight is comming off, however I am still far from my goal. I just have to keep telling myself all in due time and with the help of MFP and all my friends and their support I will reach my goal maybe not as fast as I would like to but I will reach it . even if I loose 1 lb per week in 1 year I will be 52 pounds lighter and that is quite amazing

SarahLovesCheesecake

I was incredibly happy 13 mths ago. In a happy rel etc etc, but now with hind sight, give me skinny any day....I make my own happiness without a man...Im in control...

CARNAT22

It's 10am here !!

Yes I am much happier now - as well as losing weight I have also given up smoking so I feel that I have really taken control of my health.

My mission for the rest of the year is to get toned - I am pretty much at goal weight but need to up the exercise.

Being slimmer is not a 'cure all' especially if someone suffers from low self esteem. On the whole I would consider myself a pretty confident person but thinking back at my highest weight ever (153lbs) I always preferred to be in the background / remain un-noticed as much as possible.. I am not by any means an exhibitionst now but being at a healthy weight means I am much more happy to speak up in meeting at work / talk to strangers . I just generally feel more comfortable in my own skin.

claire_xox

I wouldn't really say happier (although I still have far to go!) but as I loose weight I just generally feel more confident and more comfortable. Getting ready isn't as stressful because more clothes look good on me.... or I used to be really insecure about eating in public cause I felt like people saw the fat kid stuffing her face (doubt anyone thought that now) whereas now it just doesn't bother me. I'm just as happy as I used to be, but more relaxed maybe?

Pebble321

It's only 5.30 pm in my part of the world - you're never alone on MFP

I feel healthier and fitter, and prouder now I've lost weight, but I can't say it has ever made me happier.
I think you are setting yourself up for disappointment if youare waiting for happiness to just happen as the weight drops off.
Losing weight can definitely make you more confident and ready to grab opportunities that you might previously have passed by and if you take the opportunity to look at why you are overweight you might be on a good path to being happier.
Good luck on your journey to health and happiness

caligirl2802

I am much happier now.... the last 16 months have seen some major changes in my life including divorce and moving country (from US to UK) to be close to my family, BUT in myself I feel so much better for losing the weight and that makes me happy. I'm able to exercise now, I've taken up karate, and gone back to swimming and running, all of which are things I had given up in favour of raising my ex's children, but are things I enjoy immensely and the fact that I can do them makes me smile on a daily basis. I'm still only about half way to my goal but I have the determination to keep going......"slow and steady wins the race"

hornseagirl

It makes me happy when people actually notice I have lost weight when they don't know I have been dieting so I know it is a genuine comment. I must be looking better for them to say it. I will be happier still when and if I lose another stone.xxxxx

6heatherb6

I feel heaps better after only 5kg loss...thanks for asking :flowerforyou:

rfcollins33

I'm happier. Being unhealthy and not having a good view of my body did depress me and even make me unhappy and uncomfortable in my own skin. I'm more confident now about my body which transpires into every part of my life

Fattack

YES! I can buy clothes in decent sizes, and generally take more pride in my appearance, which makes me feel good about myself in turn.

healthychelsea

I am definitely happy. I have failed so many times when attempting to lose weight. With every day that goes by, and every pound that is lost, I feel good about myself. I am still not the size I want to be, but knowing I will get there really makes me happy/positive and EXCITED everyday.

Kirsty_UK

I'm not aiming "lose weight" as such, but to be healthy and to be fitter. Being fitter definitely makes me happy. Getting outside and going for long hikes that I couldn't do a few months ago makes me very happy! Does being thinner make me happy? well I'm not there yet, but I do know that looking down when I'm sat on a bus and wondering if people think I'm pregnant makes me unhappy, so not having that thought can only be a good thing!

keiraev

Definitely! I still haven't reached my goal but I already feel happier with my body. I wasn't unhappy with my life before but I do feel a bit more in control now.

I am also enjoying the benefits of regular exercise as I really believe it is good for the mind as well as the body- I feel so good after I've worked out which must be all the endorphins and seratonin exercise releases

I have to say though I am looking forward to being at my goal weight and not having to count calories all day- I think by that stage I will KNOW what is going to make me put on weight and I will avoid doing those things as often as I did before.

hemlock2010

Yes! But it was being happy that let me start losing weight (b/c I'm an emotional eater, and when I'm unhappy, I have NO self-control). So I was happy, started losing weight and getting fitter, and am now even happier.

As to why I'm happier now: I love being fit enough to do things and not hating the way I look all the time. I also love the fact that I'm no longer invisible and that I don't even want to be invisible anymore.

How about you? I hope you're feeling the upside of losing weight.

jfinnivan

I'm happier when I look in the mirror and don't see a large stomach. I'm happy when I bend over to pick something up, and don't feel a belly in the way. I'm really happy that running is a lot easier now that I'm 24 pounds lighter.

AngieM76

I am happy but will be much happier once I reach my goals.

emariec78

I would say yes, I'm happier with the overall lifestyle change. My weight gain was primarily due to too much drinking, partying, and all the eating that went with it so I was certainly enjoying life at that time but I felt awful! I was tired and sluggish and my stomach was upset a lot because of all the bad foods I ate. I used to think that healthy meant no fun and that's just not true, its just about balance and moderation. Now I feel great and look pretty darn good too which makes it a lot easier to enjoy life day to day!

happy_vegan

To be totally candid..
I'm only happy when I've lost weight recently. I get down on myself quite a lot but when the scale moves I perk up and suddenly feel like I've accomplished something, even if it's only half a pound. If the scale goes up I get terribly depressed. Good thing I still have another 20 pounds I'd like to lose! Can't imagine what life will be like once I've reached my goal.... !

ickybella

Here's the thing, happiness isn't (for me at least) measured in pounds. I guess I probably, at one point, thought that losing weight would be the miracle pill I needed to solve all my mental issues and make me a happy person for the first time in my life. I thought it would fix my marriage and make my husband and me more compatible. It doesn't. Losing weight, even the 110 pounds I lost, cannot make me happy. In fact, my marriage had more problems, I seemed to be angrier all the time and was borderline depressed a lot of the time. You have to work on the inside while you work on the outside. I didn't and I'd say that's part of why I gained back 20 pounds. This time, I'm working on dealing with my anger issues, deciding what, exactly, it is that makes my marriage unhappy and all that other stuff I'm not going to bore you with right now. Maybe you'll be different, but healthy weight doesn't always equal happiness. I am proud when I look in the mirror, or at pictures of myself when I was obese, and I see how far I've come, but I am far from happy. I'd say it probably depends highly on your disposition as well. I'm a grumpy cow.

McKayMachina

Absolutely happier. I'm more aware of my body which makes me way more insecure than I've ever been, but denial is for the weak.

Plus, the hotter I get, the more attractive I feel.

littleali

I don't feel any different. It's sad but true. I've been doing this for almost exactly a year and have lost roughly 60lbs, and I just think my mind hasn't caught up. I have been told I'm more confident to talk to but I think it'll take time for me to get my brain out of weightloss mode.

dckim

i think i was happiest when i was able to eat as much of anything and not worry about weight. Um.. that was like when i was in high school playing football. :flowerforyou:

whisperingdragon

I'm still a blubber butt.

l_oudman

I am happier, and that little thing called 'confidence' as started to come out of hiding.

shakybabe

I just want to lose a bit more of my tummy as that's where all my weight is, but I was thrilled to get in to a size 16 last week and have lost inches off waist and tummy, can now see a curve and a definite waist where before I was kind of the same width from under my boobs to my hips!

Still got a bit to go before I reach 'healthy for my height' in terms of BMI and waist measurements, but now I'm more confident I can get there, losing the first stone was the hardest as my body was in starvation mode and took about the first 4 months before I started to lose and see significant differences.

I think I will be happy when I reach my goal, not cos I'll be super skinny as I won't, but cos I got there despite all the obstacles, which is bound to give me more confidence to tackle other areas of my life and believe I can achieve other goals too.

kym117

I have lost 35lbs since I started on here and I was really quite unhappy with my shape and very little confidence, infact I think my husband dreaded us going out as I hated everything and anything I put on. I am aware that BMI scale is not the be all and end all of weight loss as it it a standard format and not based on individuals but when I started I was quite heavily obese and at only 5ft tall every bit of it showed, it has been a long battle to get into the normal weight bracket and although I would like another 5/6lbs off and quite happy now as I believe a woman is supposed to have curves! I think I am happier as I certainly have a better figure than I used to, I can clothes shop without getting stressed, I feel better health wise and I have more confidence in me I know that if I put my mind to it I can achieve it!
Well done on your progress you have done very well :flowerforyou:

Black_Swan

For me... my life consists of many things, and I am happy that this one "thing" is now all right! I am happy I can buy sexy small clothes, that I am fit, that I enjoy running, that I feel confident about my body and that I feel good about myself when I look in the mirror in the morning.
Other things in life might not be so great and I am not happy about them, but this one thing is great now, so... I think that if I didnt kick my a** in January and start working on my body, I would be way more unhappy now.

grrrlface

I'm a lot happier now than I was and I know I will be even happier when I get to goal. The day I fit into my UK size 12 jeans I had a smile on my face the whole day!!

HMonsterX

I doubt I'll ever be happy with how i look tbh.

I really can't see that much difference in me, apart from my leg muscles are a bit clearer now.

Any time i look down i see my belly still there. I'm told it's so much smaller than it was, but i just can't see that.

staps065

MUCH happier and healthier! There was a point in my life I thought I'd never see 40! Made it to 50 so far and am far better off than I was in my 30s......