For those who have had a lot to lose!

LilyAstro

A bit of info about me before I ask my question. I started losing weight in September 2011 and was at 330lbs at the time. I have lost 132lbs since then and am now on WW and use MFP also. I haven't been until 250lbs since I was 14 and haven't been under 200lbs since I was 10 (I'm now 22). This is kind of messing me up because to be honest, when everyone asks if I have a weight I want to get back to or if I'm trying for my High School weight I get really insecure and have NO idea what to say. Do I come back with "No, I'm going for my 8 year old weight"? I mean as funny as that seems typing now, in the moment it is terrifying.

My question

If you've lost enough weight to make yourself look like a completely new person, do you stay where you'll always be the person who was fat? If no one recognizes you, then why not just move away to somewhere new?

Also do any of you find yourself hovering around very significant weights once you finally get there?
*example* When I got to 250 I stayed there for around 3 weeks and then now that I'm under 200 I've been hovering since 6/20 when I got here in the first place lol. I'm down 2 pounds now so things are better but it's just something weird I've noticed.

2Bgoddess

I am smaller than I was in high school. i am the size i was when i was 12.

People have walked past me because they didn't recognize me.

I didn't have a need or desire to start over somewhere new, of course I am 41 with a solid family, career, and friends.

I also hit plateaus, but they seem to be just BEFORE those significant numbers.

me - 'dammit! why can't I get to 200, or 199, I am sick of seeing 201!!' and for every 10 pounds after.

edit: forgot to say, I still feel i am the same person, just happier. but friends say I am different. confident, sexy, funnier without dissing myself constantly.

Charismasme2

The first is a hard question. I would think it's up to how your feeling. If your tired of hearing the "boy you've lost a lot of weight", and feel it's time for a change. Then make the change. Move somewhere where no one knows you. If your happy living where you are and don't mind people noticing the changes in you, then stay where your happiest.

As for the second question. Yes, that's normal. I do it all the time. Every 10-15lbs I will stay there for a few weeks no matter what I change. It's a period of adjustment that your body needs. Be patient, stay consistent and it will start moving again. You've done so well and that's something to be very proud of!!! Keep up the good work!!!

Jtraveler

I feel that the people who won't recognize you are the ones who aren't in your life consistently. The people you choose to surround yourself with most frequently will be there with you all through the process. They might not "recognize" you from your starting point in the same way that I don't initially recognize my friend's photos from when she had long hair now that she's had a bob for over a year. Yes, you've changed in more significant ways that to lob off a few inches of hair, but the people who matter most (assuming those are the ones you choose to spend your time with most) will have been there all along the way. I also think that it's up to you to create a new identity for yourself -- whether it's with the people you've always been around or it's with a whole new set of people in a new place -- other than "the person who was always fat." Yeah, there may be some resistance to that, but ultimately you have to believe in who you are/who you want to be for other people to believe it too.

I tend to hoover at milestones for weeks, or even months! Particularly if it's a number that holds a great deal of significance for me (e.g., the weight that I started grad school at was harder to get past than the 10 pound increment below it).