How Has Your Life Changed Since Losing Weight?

I have gained an amazing amount of self confidence!! That is my most important change, in addition to being able to drop my blood pressure meds. Otherwise, I definitely prefer how I look now and I love shopping for "regular" sized clothing!

BTW: I have actually lost 80 pounds total which doesn't show on my ticker because I started with another website.

- I feel so much better.
- I am happier and therefore appear more confident
- I care less of what people think
- I am less afraid to try new things
- I am cold almost always
- I have no current sense of what I actually look like

I now have no social life! But I will live longer, or maybe it will just feel longer I don't know

Ignore the ticker it was reset for 2014 I've lost 5 stone 5lbs

I have friends who have not seen me for a year tell me that they don't recognize me in a serious way. They look at me several times.

I feel better, lighter, stronger. I have not been sick for a while. I'm in the best shape of my life. I just have to make sure I don't eat under 1200 cals because that makes me feel weak, irritable, low energy and hangry.

I am curious OP, how did you change your settings so that your prior posts are private? I have never seen that before.

My health has improved dramatically. I'm down to about half the medications I took before.

I exercise now, which is awesome and not something I could do before.

I have a much cuter wardrobe.

Other than that things are mostly the same. My self-esteem did not improve with weight loss, which was probably the biggest surprise. I think people expect losing weight to fix all of their problems, and while it will fix some things, it's important to realize that it's not a cure all.

1. I love exercising. I walk 30 minutes a day at work. (15 minutes in the a.m and 15 in the p.m.) Plus I do an exercise DVD in the morning before work and another after work.

2. My knees don't ache. (Side note, I twisted my knee the week before last going up three steps. I had an x-ray done and they found significant osteoarthritis. Once the swelling went down, I can at least walk almost normally. I see a physical therapist on Tuesday for strength exercises.)

3. I *love* shopping at consignment/thrift stores!! I've turned my wardrobe over several times. Buying $80 jeans for $6.99 is amazing.

4. I love walking out of stores simply because I don't like the clothes, not because they don't have my size.

5. Just came back from a week-long work trip. The airplane seat belts fit. My butt fit in the seats - with room to spare. I didn't have to worry about not fitting in the backseat of someone else's car.

6. On the same trip, thoroughly enjoyed a waiter flirting with me.

7. My shoe size went from 11 down to a loose 9-1/2. (I think I've dropped that half size but I can still wear the new ones for now.)

8. I can enjoy taking a bubble bath without fears of not being able to get out of it.

9. No more sleep apnea!! My CPAP machine is now in the basement. Yippee!!! (Although now I can't cover my head with the blanket at night to sleep because the air isn't "fresh" like it was with the machine.) <- I can deal with that.


I have always had low blood pressure and a slow pulse. Yeah, that didn't improve. Actually, it's gotten lower. It's a hereditary thing on my mom's side. Now when I stand up, I have to do it slowly and wait a little bit before I start walking to keep from passing out. My pulse has measured at 50 after walking in from the parking lot to the clinic. No "white coat" syndrome for me. HOWEVER, heart disease is a hereditary thing on my dad's side. I'll take the low blood pressure please.

Never eating certain foods again. Avoiding normal coke, haven't had a beer in 8/9 months.

I'm the opposite. MFP has taught me that I don't have to eliminate anything. The only foods I have cut have been the ones that aren't worth the calories to me.

Totally agree! I love the sense of control I have with MFP. I still enjoy "bad" (although I normally don't like to label things as bad) foods, but counting calories makes me watch my portions and choose healthy foods more often than I used to.

And to the OP, I was not overweight to start with, but just not in great shape. I am 5'4, and went from 140 to 119. I feel better about myself, am slowly getting stronger .... plus I notice I get looked at more and hit on on more, which is a good compliment, even it's by guys at the bar who are drunk, haha. I have a bf so I don't act on these things, but it's a nice ego boost.

When I look down, I can see my wang.

Life-changing.

I still have a long way to go to my ultimate goal, but I am learning that the "mini-goals" along the way are just as worthy of celebration (have lost nearly 53 pounds, want to lose 100-125 more).

- The seat belt doesn't cut into my neck anymore
- I can actually buckle my seat belt without extreme difficulty
- I can bend down and pick things up without it being a major undertaking
- Not having to buy WW shoes
- Being able to buy pants in plus size stores and not just online (I look forward to shopping in regular stores one day, but this is a major milestone for me!)
- Exercising 6 days a week and getting stronger
- Taking control of my food intake instead of food controlling me
- Learning about myself and what drives my triggers/temptations deep down so I can be set free from them
- Feeling more comfortable/confident when leading worship (I'm a singer)

I just turned 33 and from age 19 on I gained weight, struggled with fibromyalgia, developed sleep apnea, and was prediabetic. Most of all I felt completely stuck and hopeless that anything I did would ever change anything about my health. I finally got to that ENOUGH point and now I feel empowered to keep making healthy choices. I have big goals, but the most important thing that has changed for me is that I am learning to love and accept myself for who I am right where I'm at, and that in turn motivates me to care for myself. Hating myself for so many years didn't change anything... and affecting positive change in my journey is the best part for me!

Thanks everyone for posting... you are all inspiring!

I hurt a LOT less. Before I lost weight, everything hurt all of the time.
I move a lot faster, just in general.
I also move a lot more. I can keep up with everyone.
I don't need a seatbelt extension anymore.
I fit into places, seats, etc. a lot more easily and I don't constantly have to gauge whether something can hold my weight.
I'm happier and more energetic.
I can wear pants/jeans. Not only do I wear jeans, I ROCK them.
I'm doing a lot of the cool stuff I watched my friends do in the past
You can tell where my collar bone is. And my shoulders. And my knees touch.
I hate to skip workouts for any reason and my planning centers around training for upcoming events.
The only downside is that I'm cold all of the time. I hope to use this to my advantage in the South Texas summer.
Some people don't recognize me. I love a good double-take.

My life is just better.

Great. Most of my prepregnancy clothes fit. I feel more comfortable in my body. I feel healthier. Just getting that 20 lbs off I feel more able to do certain things physically.