Stuff that surprises you after losing weight

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Replies

  • stevee290
    stevee290 Posts: 85 Member
    - Nurses could never find my veins now I can actually see them

    - I was always cold when I was fat (poor blood circulation?) now I'm usually hot.

    - My ability to gain/lose weight very easily is actually a blessing.
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    I have a long ways to go, and would love to have some of the results that some of you have mentioned. But, I have 3 unexpected results:
    1. People I haven't seen for awhile notice the difference.
    2. I have lost a part of a pant size, but not even a full size yet.
    3. My body fat percentage has stayed about the same. I use a scale to measure this, which I realize is not the most accurate method, but it has been consistent within 1% for the last 15 lbs.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
    How long it's taking my brain to fully catch up. Sometimes I find myself thinking, "I have over a hundred pounds to lose." Then I remember it's been years since I had that much to lose!

    I totally hear you on this. For 15+ years I technically had at least 150 lb to lose, and never really planned to even lose 100. I've lost 128 so far. I thought my end goal weight would be higher than where I am now.

    So anyway, I find myself reading something like "Who here has 100+ to lose?" and I still think in the back of my mind "yeah that's me" and then I realize if I lost 100 lb now I would likely die, because a 5'8" 37 yr old woman doesn't need to weigh under 80 lb. It's surreal to realize that!!!
  • sumeetg37
    sumeetg37 Posts: 108 Member
    My clothes are small enough that an entire weeks worth of clothes can fit in one load of laundry... weird.. Also I'm better at my job, my brain is I dunno... not weighted down with all the food? I feel like I'm able to think quicker and have better recall.
  • Meerataila
    Meerataila Posts: 1,885 Member
    My balance is a thousand times better. I'm still an utter klutz, but at least I don't' have to hold on to the stair rail anymore.
  • BringingSherriBack
    BringingSherriBack Posts: 607 Member
    Sleep better.
    Even more cold than before.
    Not overheating and getting heat induced migraines in the summer heat.
    Feet, knees and hips don't hurt all the time.
    Stairs are way easier.
    I actually enjoy exercise.
    Less laundry (half the material = half the amount of laundry)
    Bath towels actually cover my body now.
    Seeming improved balance and coordination (extra weight seems to throw your center of gravity off)
    Not worrying about fitting in chairs, booths, roller coasters.
    Not automatically being assigned the front passenger seat when carpooling as to not crowd everyone else in the back seat.
    Surprised that my body doesn't look worse than it does after my skin was so stretched out for so long. I mean I got some saggy skin, but not as bad as I expected.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    Cold.
    Banging my hip bones into everything.
    Weird body shape during weight loss - I have nothing left to lose in some areas and others have a ways to go before they "match" the other areas. I wish they would stop underachieving.
  • My knees don't hurt after running and my back doesn't kill me after a round of golf.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    -Completely stopped snoring, and I breath better through my nose while sleeping which helps me sleep better
    -Much less bothered by the heat
    -Much more bothered by the cold
    -Some of my shoes began to seem to big
    -how much my appetite decreased when I started eating less
  • hastingsmassage
    hastingsmassage Posts: 162 Member
    Lost 1.5 size in my shoes....unexpected :)
  • dettiot
    dettiot Posts: 180 Member
    Cold

    Seeing veins sticking out of your arms

    Looking at a picture of yourself and not wishing it would burn and disappear forever

    I've started to see my veins stick out and it never fails to freak me out a bit! That was something I didn't anticipate.

    Other surprises?

    1) having trouble shaving my armpits, because they dip in so much I can't get the razor in there
    2) feeling cold much easier--but enjoying stepping outside even when it's 90 degrees
    3) having people say, "You keep losing weight, we won't be able to find you!" Wait, I'm that small?!? :laugh: :love:
  • DAM5412
    DAM5412 Posts: 660 Member
    Let's see there are a bunch.

    Being able to wrap a towel around myself, after a much quicker shower.

    Running a 5k and not dying, that was a surprise.

    Lifting and swinging and wrestling with my 5 year old is much easier.

    Some similar activities with my hubby are also much easier and more enjoyable.

    Fitting into the seat on the train without feeling squished.

    Not feeling beat after cleaning on the weekends!

    Enjoying salads without any dressing. Loving cottage cheese...that's a huge surprise!!

    Those are the good ones...but I hate not having clothes that fit. Or shoes, especially my dress shoes they are all too big.

    I am always exhausted by 9:30 at night...because I'm up at 5 am working out and much more active all day!

    Oh, and not feeling it's enough. Like I've lost weight, I've gained strength, I've completed a 5k and I'm committed to working out and eating right....but, so-and-so lost way more than me, or looks way better than me...hmm, these are usually very short lived feelings, but I do still get them!
  • erin_larson
    erin_larson Posts: 9 Member
    For me it's the freedom to move. The more weight I lose, the greater the freedom of movement. I'm experiencing so many simple joys, like being able to tie my shoes again. Also I'm a much more appreciative person for all that life has to offer.
  • lilhope72
    lilhope72 Posts: 24 Member
    The Good Surprises
    1. I agree with the always cold part, but the flip side of that is that I'm not always sweating. I was always so embarrassed because it would only be 60 degree's out and I'd be sweating my a** off. And I live in Texas so my a/c bill in the summer was outrageous.
    2. I can sit in any chair that I want, I don't have to look for the couch or biggest chair in the place.
    3. I can ride in my husbands 1965 Mustang now, because the seatbelt fits me
    4. I've been able to quit taking all of my medications (blood pressure, beta blockers, Lasix)
    5. My resting heart rate is now between 60 and 65. That really scared me at first because I was used to my resting heart rate being closer to 100, but my Dr. says that is great.
    6. This may just be in my head, but people seem to act friendlier.
    7. I'm not embarrassed to eat in front of people anymore
    8. I actually went down a shoe size. Who would have thought your feet get smaller too.

    The Bad Surprises
    1. I still feel fat inside.
    2. I look older (wrinkles I couldn't see before I can now)
  • tedrickp
    tedrickp Posts: 1,229 Member
    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.

    Actually good point - my stomach not catching everything that falls is another surprise.
  • rosehips60
    rosehips60 Posts: 1,030 Member
    Is that why I'm always cold? I never put the 2 together til I read these posts.

    Also enjoying the "bigger" bath towels:heart:
  • suiteblooms
    suiteblooms Posts: 100
    Notice today that non padded chairs are miserable now that my butt is so boney :( Also I wore a vintage style wiggle dress today that was TIGHT when I bought it. (that's sort of the point of a wiggle dress) I could swim laps in it now. I can't get over the clothes in my closet being too big. How far I can run... In my entire life (even my fit healthy childhood) I would NEVER have thought I'd be able to run 16 miles... but I just did and am training for a marathon - not to brag, but It is seriously strange to look at my route on a map and see how far I've come. Oh and no matter how thin / strong/ fast / etc I get, I still seem to hate myself. So frustrating.
  • crazyqueencarla
    crazyqueencarla Posts: 38 Member
    Being able to run - I ran Track in middle school/high school but I only ever did the sprints... I was convinced that any kind of distance over 100m was too far for me to run, I just "wasn't built for running distance". Well pffft to that. I may not be running the entire time, but I did 6.5 km last week and I'm doing it again today.

    Clothes - I still have my clothes from 50-75lbs ago (mostly shirts now) and am constantly reaching for them, because when I look at them, that's what I think will fit. It doesn't compute that the 16's that I'm holding up to my hips actually fit, they just seem too small.

    Temp - I notice the temperature a lot more, hot and cold... it's neat. :P

    Mirror - How messed up my view on my body is. When I was at my biggest, I was in total denial about how I looked compared to high school. I see the difference now, but I find... especially on my bad days.... that I look in the mirror and still see that unhappy, morbidly obese person. It's weird and not something I was expecting.
  • jjulliee
    jjulliee Posts: 40 Member
    I've lost over 50 lbs., and there are lots of surprising things, not least of which, I lost over 50 lbs and kept it off!

    Yes, I'm a lot more sensitive to cold, this winter was pretty hard on me, and even air conditioning feels pretty extreme sometimes.

    I always used to hate shopping, cause it seemed there was nothing cute in my size. Now that I've lost weight (and have had to replace my entire wardrobe), I find that either smaller sizes aren't usually available in lots of stores or they still don't fit me.

    It also surprises me that people assume I starve myself :(
  • Fsunami
    Fsunami Posts: 241 Member
    The biggest surprise for me was the discipline and consistency this has taught me.

    I have always struggled with being disciplined and this is teaching me to be disciplined in many more areas of my life, which I love.....