The Side of Weight Loss No One Talks About

my biggest issue is dealing with being "Mentally fat", Its so much more than just needing to lose weight but also a personal journey. I started in 2010 and i am still trying to emotionally deal with everything. One day at a time is my motto!

Exactly this, it takes a bit for your mind to catch up. I am still working on it as well.

That being thin was the answer to happiness. - UGH man was I naive!

I totally agree about thinking that the scale or tape measure are wrong! You think you must be fooled or something.

and everyone watches what you eat and drink because they see you losing weight.

This.
It's like they're either watching to see how you lose the weight,
or they're watching so they can find something to comment on-- "You don't need that Oreo."

Bish, I don't need your commentary on my lunch.

Loose skin. In my case, almost disfiguringly so.

People that judge you on how you lost your weight. (Oh, you had a lapband/gastric bypass/ate low carb/paleo/vegan/IIFYM? You did it all wrong, you'll just gain it all back.)

People that judge what you do next. (I'd never have a tummy tuck, it's just wrong!)

People that treat you differently because you aren't obese (or at least, in my case, morbidly obese, although I might be merely overweight now, I'll have to go check) because they treat obese people as though they are fat and lazy, and you're not One Of Them anymore.

The fact that you can look back and see how different your life could have been if you'd just done this earlier.

That being thin was the answer to happiness. - UGH man was I naive!

Me too.. Yes my self esteem has increased 10 fold but my man issues haven't - I have grown alot, and have worked alot on my self worth. That didnt come simply by losing weight

I'm going to add something positive to this incredibly depressing thread.

Cool thing about weight loss for me that no one ever talked about was how incredibly empowering it is. I feel like going through this craziness of losing weight makes me feel like I can pretty much accomplish anything now. Cheesy, but good stuff.

Awesome! And so true

VERY EMPOWERING!! and who knew that exercise was such a stress reliever!!!

That, unless your problems really are caused by weight, they'll still be there whether you're fat or thin.

This is very true!

Overall I'm thrilled with having lost what I've lost, so I'm not complaining. But I've found the insecurities I had when I was obese have not melted away as quickly as the fat. I still fear clothes shopping like I might walk into the regular sized section and be turned away or that by some evil magic nothing there will fit me. And I still feel like the fat girl in my head. With time I imagine these things will change, but for me, my brain is taking it's sweet time catching up to my outsides.

Oh, and the wrinkles I didn't have before are a huge bummer. Fat not only stretches out skin, it holds skin taut. My cheeks and neck are wrinkling now that they're less fat. Blerg.

But on a positive note, I don't get hot anymore (I was like a furnace before), I can run, I don't get tired, I sleep better, I'm healthier, happier with myself, and feel at peace with food now. All that feels awesome.

for me it was the emotional stuff going though rough changes and heart ache the first time i lose the weight and how fast the weight hit me the seacond time

my biggest issue is dealing with being "Mentally fat", Its so much more than just needing to lose weight but also a personal journey. I started in 2010 and i am still trying to emotionally deal with everything. One day at a time is my motto!

This I struggle with this everyday and hope someday i will catch up

I don't know how many times I started a diet but didn't stick to it. It seemed like the hardest thing to just stay with it and actually start losing weight, So when I finally stuck with the diet and did everything right (under my calorie limit and exercise) it was a surprise to me that it took so long to lose weight. I am older now and closer to my goal weight, but it has taken me six months to lose 20 pounds!

Not mine, but the belief that you can completely change your body shape through weight loss and exercise and that everyone who works hard will end up looking like a fitness model. The idea that your fat distribution pattern and goals have no bearing on how you work out, especially if you are close to your goal.

huh?

There is no reason anyone who works hard enough shouldn't look like a fitness model. Provided you are doing the right kind of exercise and have the right nutrition.

You are a little naive if you think that fitness models are not chosen with a certain body type in mind, just like any model. Some people will never attain that 'perfect' shape because their bodies are simply not shaped that way. Even buff and at an ideal weight, I will never look like Jillian Michaels (for example, I know she's not a model), because she has a different body type than I. I will look like a fit me. Short, with short skinny-ish legs, unusually short arms, and somewhat thick around the middle with a rather flat behind. Even at my most fit, this is what I looked like. Not unattractive, but certainly not 'cover of Fitness Magazine' attractive.

Glad a select few are responding to that comment.

No, not everyone who works hard enough will look like a fitness model. I started at 300 pounds, my goal is 150. I'm already prepared for the loose skin I'm facing in my future. I'm not gonna look like any kind of model - and I'm totally cool with that, because that isn't the goal.

I do think it's silly to say anyone can look like a fitness model.

Can I recommend a short book that helped me?

It's called "Hungry" by Alan Zadoff. I read it one sitting and it chronicles his journey over expectations that he had over what would happen when he lost weight.

This is was what drew me to reading the book in the first place.

From the Back Cover
"I sought help not to control my weight but to deal with the emotional turmoil that was lurking just beneath the food. Over the course of a year, more than 100 pounds fell from my body, and my thin life, the one I'd been waiting nearly thirty years for, finally began. It was nothing like I expected. For starters, Calvin Klein did not call with a modeling offer. The gifts of the thin life, which I'd always assumed included a beautiful wife, gorgeous house, and handsome Labrador retriever, did not materialize. My life was not suddenly perfect. It was a lot more interesting than that. It turned out that losing weight was only the first step in a much larger and more amazing journey."

I expected my clothes to shrink but nobody told me my feet were going to shrink!

^^^^ THIS!!! I am a shoe addict!! Last year when I dropped 43 lbs, the VERY first thing to shrink was my feet. My 60.00 size 9 running shoes started giving me blisters. I am grateful for the size decrease any and everywhere I can get it- hell, I don't even care if "the girls" shrink a bit.. It just would have been nice to know about the foot thing.

Can I recommend a short book that helped me?

It's called "Hungry" by Alan Zadoff. I read it one sitting and it chronicles his journey over expectations that he had over what would happen when he lost weight.

This is was what drew me to reading the book in the first place.

From the Back Cover
"I sought help not to control my weight but to deal with the emotional turmoil that was lurking just beneath the food. Over the course of a year, more than 100 pounds fell from my body, and my thin life, the one I'd been waiting nearly thirty years for, finally began. It was nothing like I expected. For starters, Calvin Klein did not call with a modeling offer. The gifts of the thin life, which I'd always assumed included a beautiful wife, gorgeous house, and handsome Labrador retriever, did not materialize. My life was not suddenly perfect. It was a lot more interesting than that. It turned out that losing weight was only the first step in a much larger and more amazing journey."

Sounds really interesting. Thanks for the recommendation!