Stuff that surprises you after losing weight

^^ haha.. this, kind of, some days anyway. I think this started sinking in someway into the weight loss process. Realising that a lot of insecurities were not really about the weight, and on reaching my goal weight, I still felt insecure and self-conscious about a lot of things.

-I'm cold a lot of the time
-shaving legs, armpits etc is a lot more hazardous
-my feet went down about half a size, don't know why that was a surprise but it was
-my glasses feel loose on my head
-prominent veins and tendons all over the place
-sitting and leaning against things is less comfortable
-still feeling like a fat person. I still feel like my inner fat self is just trying to burst out all the time. Having to accept that the way other people see me does not always match how I see myself
-the fact that I'm skinnier than I'd like in some places while still being fatter than I'd like in others. I never realised my ribs would end up being so prominent.
-although much improved, my slightly dodgy relationship with food & emotional eating hasn't completely been fixed. The fact that even healthy looking people struggle with eating issues
-I actually like being physically active
-I'm actually interested in fashion (that was a big shock)
-noticing how much other people talk about other people's bodies, and how critical they are. I think I just tuned it all out before
-noticing how diet obsessed a lot of people are around me, and how much talk is focused on calories, losing weight, "fattening foods", slow metabolisms etc... all from people who are still yo-yo dieting. Again, I think I just tuned it out before, embarrassed about my own weight.
-loose skin
-the fact that I'm not as self-conscious about said loose skin as I would have expected. I'm now much happier to show off my arms, despite residual wobbliness in the skin

Bath towels got a lot bigger.

Ha yeah - I used to love a really big bath towel that wrapped around me. It's weird to find I actually prefer a small towel now.

ETA: biggest surprise is probably that I actually did it, and have maintained for so long. I sometimes wake up with genuine surprise and relief that I'm actually slim now, and that I've taken away one of my big stressors in life.

I remember when I first started losing weight, I was always so concerned about seeing my collarbone, to me... that was too skinny. But now, I realize it's not, it's normal. But now, at a normal weight, I still find myself rubbing at my collarbone all self-consciously.

Another thing - those feelings that you had as a fat person don't go away, just because you're a skinny person. It still takes a lot of work inside.

Oh my gosh! I'm rubbing my collar bone right now! I've been completely reintroduced to certain parts of myself!

I doubt anyone who hasn't been overweight wouldn't ever even consider if a table was attached or not. For me - it was a selling feature of a restaurant.

even though I am morbidly obese I still find I prefer to bring the table closer even if it digs in a bit. I have always been super clumsy and the further the table is the further my fork has to go to reach my mouth and the longer it has for me to accidentally spill my food all over myself.

- cold
- bones - knees, ribs, facial features (a lot)
- now I actually enjoy tighter T-shirts. I would NEVER EVER have thought I would fit US34 sized pants and loosely fit M sized T-Shirt
- sweat - a lot less in warm weather but when I workout I get this kinky kick out of it dripping down from me :embarassed:

- when I look at overweight people now I try to imagine how they would look if they'd lose weight (NOT judging though!)
- I have several MFP "padawans" now. When I started people laughed or chuckled at me, now some follow!
- people compliment all the time - to that extent that it's sometimes embarrassing and I don't know what to say :smooched:

- I also love the meme posted here. So true, though all of the above applies, my being-fat attitude to myself is departing way slower than I would previously think.

ETA: my wedding ring almost falls of when I shake my hand! :bigsmile: I can fit it on all other fingers except my thumb.

I see a lot of people are colder after loosing. Living in Norway, I'm not looking forward to that one:p

But some of mine are:

1. It is way easier walking in stairs
2. Moving my body around is genreally much easier (bending over, crossing legs ect)
3. How long it takes for the brain to follow. I'm almost halfway to my goal weight, but so far I don't really feel that much smaller yet, even though people compliment me on it all the time and my clothes fit better. Guess it will come with time=)

Looking forward to more surprises =D

My legs get nicks when I shave because there are muscles to navigate around now lol Does that make sense? Also was shocked I could buy shorts in a size 4. Still haven't seen my collarbone yet though...

Oh yes this does. And it slightly sucks - I look down the next day and see this nasty razor burn like cuts :frown:

How much your aches and pains go away after you've even lost a little bit of weight! 10 pounds makes a huge difference on your body!

oh yeah! agree with this ^^

1. I can also feel/see bones that I never felt before.
2. You can drop clothes sizes faster than losing weight at times.
3. It appears that I bruise a lot more often, even for the littlest things.
4. I get colder a little easier than I did before.
5. I'll stare at new clothes that fit me and think, "Wait, THIS fits ME?"

I started donating blood again and can fill a bag in about 4 minutes with my improved cardiovascular system.

I'm always cold! It was so uncomfortable that I actually had bloodwork done to make sure I wasn't anemic or hypothyroid.

It hurts to sit/lie on hard surface because my hipbones, shoulders and pelvis have less padding.

My narrow feet are now even narrower and I have a hard time finding shoes that fit!

I thought I'd get used to these things. I've been at my goal weight for 2+ years now, but these things still surprise/annoy me. There are too many positives to list!