Does Weight Loss Make You a Happier Person?

albayin

I know it makes me one. I didnt have much to lose to begin with but when all my friends notice the way my clothes look on me it makes me really happy and want to dress up and try out more styles. Call me superficial but it does change one's attitude.

Redness82

It definitely can! I think there are a lot of mental blocks and emotional issues that go with. I personally feel great when I lose a few, and my self confidence is higher, so I like to dress up more and try new things!

kym117

I would say so it has me I feel healthier and more confident in myself therefore happier :happy:

Lachsis

Yes, I think I'm happier now, feeling sexier, liking to dress up much more, shopping for clothes. The attitude is different. And therefore the way other people look at me is different.
It's nice to get all the compliments, that come along with the weight loss. But what matters even more is how I feel in my own body.

MelissaL582

Yes it does! There are times when it's hard for me to see how far I've come on my journey so far. I will look at old photos and I'll say to myself "no..that can't be me now". I walk with my head held high around other moms as well. This mama isn't so thick on the sidelines watching her son anymore I can also say that my clothes are basically falling off of me :happy:

elizabethblake

Yes, and I swear it makes me taller, too!

fitniknik

Happier? eh... I dont know about happier (telling yourself you shouldnt eat something when you want to eat the whole bag can make one crabby!). More confident.. heck yes! I can talk to people that I would never ever have talked to before because I feel so much more confidence. I see myself diffrently now... I still see fat sometimes but other times I feel skinny. Its hit and miss sometimes! Weightloss doesnt really make one happier, just able to view things diffrently.

albayin

Yes it does! There are times when it's hard for me to see how far I've come on my journey so far. I will look at old photos and I'll say to myself "no..that can't be me now". I walk with my head held high around other moms as well. This mama isn't so thick on the sidelines watching her son anymore I can also say that my clothes are basically falling off of me :happy:

I hear you.
Sometimes when I feel stalled and frustrated and so wanting to give in, I think of all those nice things people say about me now. This keeps me going.

NZGeekGirl

It helps for me, I have more confidence and feel healthier. I don't think it's superficial, I think we're just also reaping the benefits (physical and mental) that go along with a healthier more active lifestyle.

albayin

Happier? eh... I dont know about happier (telling yourself you shouldnt eat something when you want to eat the whole bag can make one crabby!). More confident.. heck yes! I can talk to people that I would never ever have talked to before because I feel so much more confidence. I see myself diffrently now... I still see fat sometimes but other times I feel skinny. Its hit and miss sometimes! Weightloss doesnt really make one happier, just able to view things diffrently.

Interesting point! I never thought that way.

lutzsher

I think what has made me happier is that I have gotten to know myself better in this journey. I've overcome issues that kept me fat and gained confidence in the process.

JediMaster_intraining

Knowing that I can accomplish a task that many people tend to find the easy way out on makes me happy! :happy:

Plus I feel my self-confidence rising with every pound loss!

RAFValentina

Well I definitely think the lifestyle changes do... literally. The endorphins after exercise, the mood changes from a more controlled and stable blood sugar level from a healthier diet... and then the smile when you see the number on the scales has gone down! and the buzz from the compliments!

VeganGal84

Weight loss gave me more confidence, because it made me realize that I am capable of setting goals and reaching them in a healthy and positive way.

I have since changed a lot of other things in my life because of my newfound confidence, and all of those new changes have made me happy.

So, indirectly, YES.

Could I have gotten to this point of happiness without losing the weight? Probably, but I'll never know.

deedeefelldown

Maybe initially. Perhaps because it's a great sense of accomplishment. But if your weight was not the real and only source of your unhappiness, then I highly doubt it. Once the "newness" of your weight loss wore off you'd just go back to being unhappy.

allie864

it makes me really happy and want to dress up and try out more styles.

Definitely! It's helped me finally figure out what my 'style' is.

albayin

Maybe initially. Perhaps because it's a great sense of accomplishment. But if your weight was not the real and only source of your unhappiness, then I highly doubt it. Once the "newness" of your weight loss wore off you'd just go back to being unhappy.

This definitely is deeper than I have thought. Good to hear!

FairyMiss

yes

KettyLan

ABSOLUTLY!!!

kjannan

I'm so much more confident & am in the process of changing my life in other ways now too.

Within 2 weeks of being on here & losing weight I broke up with my boyfriend. I hadn't been happy for a long time, I was just too scared to let go but I did it & I wish I'd done it earlier.

For the last 5 years I've had dreams of becoming a professional proof reader/copy editor. It's always been just that, a dream. In the last week I've got in touch with a course provider & am now saving up to do it.

Now I've got the confidence I needed to live the life I've dreamt about & I'm on my way!!

I'm definitely a happier person in so many ways now, I'm 36 years old & I finally know what I want in life & I'm going to get it!

ninerbuff

Subjective. More confident, maybe. But some people struggle with weight loss and it turns them into to mean nasty people.

mrivera713

Weight loss is helping me to get to that happy place. I know that I was feeling this excited when I started school a few years ago and past some classes. It made me want to conquer the world. I started thinking about losing weight. Same thing when I learned that I could hike. I started feeling that high of .... accomplishment.

I dont' think weight loss is making me a happier person, for me it's more like making a choice to set a goal and going through the hardship to reach that goal and starting to make progress towards it.... I haven't reached my goal yet, but now that you asked this question, I realize, I better be prepared to have some new goals when I'm at my desired weight if I want to stay happy... And it may not be a weight goal, it may be to finish school or save up for a trip or buy a new house or something like that....

Gigi_licious

I'll let you know when I get there...

albayin

I'll let you know when I get there...

Absolutely looking forward.

albayin

Subjective. More confident, maybe. But some people struggle with weight loss and it turns them into to mean nasty people.

Yes, I see this too. A friend of ours felt extremely grumpy when he was trying to lose weight. The thing is he is a super nice guy for the most of time.

Stripycat

I took up running as a tool to help deal with depression - the weight loss is a pleasant side effect, which in itself does make me feel more confident.

When I've had a good hard run in the morning, I know I've done something that most people haven't, and I know it's definitely the most physically difficult thing I'll do that day, which gives me a sense of achievement, even more of a buzz if I've pushed myself to run faster or further than I did on my last run. That, on top of all the happy hormones the exercise floods my system with, is my natural prozac!

Eating healthy really has an effect on my wellbeing too - I love eating colourful veg, nuts, fruit. If I eat junky easy rubbish for a couple of days I can feel the difference - I become sluggish and short tempered.

The scales tell me I'm losing weight, I know I'm feeling better. My goal is the latter, not the former. I don't have an ideal weight, I just want to feel happy, confident, capable and well.

TavistockToad

Yes!

hollymcd1027

I don't think its losing the actual pounds that have made me a happier person. I think its having set a goal for myself and finally accomplishing it. Knowing that I have made my life healthier just gives me more and more confidence to attack that next goal.

I guess I'm learly of relating your happiness level with your weight. There is just too much other baggage tied into that one for me!

Granted it is nice to hear the compliments and get to buy new clothes... but there are way more benefits than that... and its the other things that really make me happier.

auntiebabs

I think I've change my eating habits which has changed my body chemistry which has changed my brain chemistry.

I thinks somebody should do a study on this....

Whether happiness is a temporary kind from hearing compliments and feeling socially acceptable
Or the longer-term kind that is a sense of well-being that comes from a chemical reaction?

albayin

I think I've change my eating habits which has changed my body chemistry which has changed my brain chemistry.

I thinks somebody should do a study on this....

I think there are studies done on certain foods that can positively change your mood. So indirectly it has been done? I don't know.

HMonsterX

I think people who are grumpy when losing weight are doing it wrong.

Short term, faddy diets make you grumpy. Doing things you really don't like, eating what you don't want, not having what you do want. That's why we always say on here make it a lifestyle change, and make it one you can stick with and are happy doing. If you cant do a fully healthy and clean, just make your diet healthIER, do more active things you ENJOY, so you don't feel like you are punishing yourself.