What is the biggest unexpected surprise after losing weight?

nannybubbles

A lovely warm bath has always been my personal pick me up and now, because I displace so much less water, I can have it deeper so there is a lot more water than there is me and it feels fantastic !

daydream_believer

people think you have a fake ID if your weightloss is significant (particularly in the face). also i have found that after people notice your loss, they automatically assume it was through an unhealthy manner. :grumble:

sandyinsc

Bump for later. This is an awesome thread! Congrats to all!

crazihel

Doing ab work - particularly leg extensions is uncomfortable - my bum is too bony!

cityjaneLondon

Just looked after my 22 month grandson all day without collapsing - I am 63.
One thing that is a bit sad is that I don't have many people to go clothes shopping with. People I used to go with are now bigger than me and it makes it a bit of a difficult subject. I try not to crow as i love them, but I don't have a lot of slimmer friends.
I had loads of photos taken of myself on holiday and looked good in them!
I look at fashion mags a lot- I used to hate them.
I'm looking forward to summer now as I will be able to wear a skirt without my thighs rubbing together and am considering buying some summer shoes with a slight heel. My feet are appreciating not having to carry so much weight!

browi

I'm cold...All the time...But it's a small price to pay.

That, exactly.

nwg74

When I am finding clothes I like in shops, a lot of the time they are now way too big. I was a 3XL top and 50" hips/60" waist and I am now a Medium / Large top and 32" waist. Today there a T shirt I liked but it only in XL to 3XL and a pair of jeans was 34" to 42".

Show_Stopper

I'm cold...All the time...But it's a small price to pay.

yes this it's sooooo weird

annacham

bump

dunnodunno

Bump

dogladytwo

cold all the time (fingers and toes especially) and sore tailbone are the negatives. Turning over easily in bed and completing vigorous yard work without complete exhaustion are the positives.

JasonAxelrod

The ridiculously huge changes in personal perspective. The biggest and most recent one has been that I can actually enjoy eating slowly.

I don't know if it is a measure of my compulsive eating disorder or if I had just grown accustomed to eating quickly and eating with large mouthfuls for so long that it truly was the only way I felt I could enjoy and "savor" my food in the past. I went into my diet thinking this would never change and would simply be something I would have to deal with—not enjoying my food as much because I needed to eat slowly.

I don't know how or why the change happened, but this is the first time, aside from either being really, really busy while eating or simply being sick that I was able to enjoy eating smaller bites or mouthfuls and more slowly, and that doing so had its own appeal.

Happpyyygirl

In the shower, my shoulders feel slimmer. How weird is that?

simplysera

bump !! This is awsum!

orangesmartie

For me its how cold I am most of the time. I have to wear lots of layers to keep warm now

orangesmartie

The ridiculously huge changes in personal perspective. The biggest and most recent one has been that I can actually enjoy eating slowly.

I don't know if it is a measure of my compulsive eating disorder or if I had just grown accustomed to eating quickly and eating with large mouthfuls for so long that it truly was the only way I felt I could enjoy and "savor" my food in the past. I went into my diet thinking this would never change and would simply be something I would have to deal with—not enjoying my food as much because I needed to eat slowly.

I don't know how or why the change happened, but this is the first time, aside from either being really, really busy while eating or simply being sick that I was able to enjoy eating smaller bites or mouthfuls and more slowly, and that doing so had its own appeal.

Wow thats awesome! I really hope that I get to that stage eventually.

lukeniknak

going from not being able to run down my road without gasping for breath to being able to run 4.5 miles 3 days a week without stopping!

debs6

People definitely treat me differently - although I am somewhat appalled to hear the anti fat jibes that are said freely and frequently behind the backs of others who are still carrying around excess weight. I work in an environment where people didn't know me when I carried my extra 100 lbs - so people don't feel the need to hide their comments from me as clearly they assume that I have always been at this weight

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I agree with sex being better.

People are actually a little less nice to me. I don't get leeway with my friends to feel badly about my body, they just roll their eyes at me. I get a lot of the "oh, well it's easy for *you*" comments regarding weight. I've pretty much just stopped talking to people about it.

Biggest surprise is that I don't feel totally self-confident even though I look a lot better. I think it's because now that I focus so much on how I look I'm more aware of trouble spots, especially things I can't fix. I know objectively that I look pretty good (especially compared to before) and some days I feel like I look awesome, but often I just still see bad things when I look in the mirror. I think part of it is that I'm still wearing a lot of clothes that don't fit, so hopefully I can afford some new ones soon.

VanillaBeanSeed

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VanillaBeanSeed

I got pregnant after being told I couldn't.

best response! congrats!

VanillaBeanSeed

The horrible flabby loose skin on my tummy. :-( I've lost about 35lb since July last year, and while I love how I look now (although I'm not done yet!), if I lie on my side or lean forward, I have this horrible wrinkly squelchy stuff. Euuch.

On the bright side, I'd forgotten how much I love my collarbones! :-)

Im struggling with loose skin on my stomach,thighs, and arms. At times it feels so discouraging, knowing Ive come this far, but still have this skin to deal with. But its all worth it. I never want to go back to the way I was!

PaulN6

Although I am only almost half way through, I have come across several surprises.

1. My chair doesn't pull down after few hours so I have to pull the handle and bring it back up like I used to.
2. It takes much longer to fill up the bath tube with water plus I can cover almost my whole body in water - couldn't do it before.
3. I keep walking VERY fast - went from 20 mins to 10 mins walk to the gym!

Looking forward to the upcoming surprises

badmojo108

My Kindle, Tablet, or DVDs no longer fit in the back pocket of my jeans. It never occured to me before that the rear pocket on jeans would get smaller as I went down in jeans size. I remember buying my tablet specifically because it would fit in my back pocket.

I can hang all my sweaters/polo shirts now, where I used to have to fold them and keep them in a drawer. My XL clothes would get stretched out in the shoulders, now everything fits on my hangers perfectly and doesn't get stretched out.

Sitting for long periods isn't nearly as comfortable as it used to be.

Seaglass1123

What I would really look like at the (almost) end....in a good way. My body is not perfect but I have a new found love for it. My stomach was huge and now it is just about flat. I lost weight all through my body and it took my brain a while to really catch up to what everyone else was seeing, in the mirror when I looked at myself. Working on some strength training but nothing crazy.

sleepygirl38

I'll start with the negative. It is still just as hard at 140 to find the motivation to eat right and work out as it was at 181.

However, the positives are so much more including finding out that I am inspiring co workers. On a bad day I feel guilty that I am letting them down, which is now motivating me. Another positive is that when I get pregnant I will actually look like I am pregnant and not just overweight. I will be able to have a healthy pregnancy. Tons of more good things too.

Seaglass1123

I'll start with the negative. It is still just as hard at 140 to find the motivation to eat right and work out as it was at 181.

However, the positives are so much more including finding out that I am inspiring co workers. On a bad day I feel guilty that I am letting them down, which is now motivating me. Another positive is that when I get pregnant I will actually look like I am pregnant and not just overweight. I will be able to have a healthy pregnancy. Tons of more good things too.

All of what you said for me as well. It is so hard still some days to keep the motivation level up as I close in on my goal. I am anxious about maintenance and just want to get there. When people tell me I inspire them at first I was shocked but now I get it because so many others inspired me too.

Nige_Gsy

The biggest surprise for me is the reaction of those around me. If I had a pound (or dollar) for every time I have been asked if I am well, or what illness I have, I'd be rich.

ReaGaladriel

This topic is so interesting, I can't wait to get to my goal and post my reply

hatton83

I have only lost 40lbs, but just with that amount gone I am happier and sleep a whole lot better. Sounds weird, but since I have started going down this new and better path in life...I am def a lot more happier.