Did anyone else feel this way after weight loss?

Jbarbo01
Jbarbo01 Posts: 240 Member
in Motivation and Support
So for the first time ever, I've been able to stick to tracking for a consistent and long term period of time and its working. I've lost relatively consistently for a few months, which should be great but I don't feel great. After so many years of trying to slay a dragon and trying and failing, I feel a little lost now that the battle is kind of over. Did anyone else feel this way once they really got chugging along with weight loss efforts or am I maybe looking at it all wrong?

Replies

  • Amanda_Gx6
    Amanda_Gx6 Posts: 320 Member
    IMHO it is a life changing experience. We get so used to the way we look and feel with the extra weight that we have accepted it as our image and for that to change its like saying goodbye to someone you've gotten close with, like they are going away forever. You look at that before image and its hard to differentiate that yes that is you and your present image is also you.

    Its emotional to say the least. You are not "looking at it wrong" because it is your own emotion. I think you are looking at it with doubt, like that was your comfort before and now you are stepping into an unknown and that can be scary. Keep up the good work and know that "the battle may be over" but you have bragging rights forever :smile:
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,961 Member
    I definitely get it, there are a lot of weird emotions when losing weight. You may also be missing having something to work towards (goals are great in life, right). Is there something else you can put focus on? Fitness, cooking, hobbies, education, etc. that might help give you a directed feeling?

    Congrats on the great work though! :happy:
  • kk_140
    kk_140 Posts: 518 Member
    I did not feel sadness when I found what worked for me, I felt excitement for the most part. But there were times where I would get stressed because my body was changing and I wasn't ready. I'd leave MFP for a few days then come back and get back on the wagon, realizing I was freaking out for no reason lol.

    Now I mostly feel like I've started a whole new battle. Getting used to myself at this size and weight has been a beast to battle all on its own. I cannot see myself as a girl who could weigh 120 pounds, and the closer I get the worse that feeling of uneasiness about how I look to others compared to how I see myself gets.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    It sounds like you're a little bit too focused on the means rather than the end, unless you're losing weight just for the sake of losing weight.
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  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    The battle is never over, IMO.
  • sabified
    sabified Posts: 1,035 Member
    Are you losing weight to lose weight or are you trying to live a healthier lifestyle?

    Try changing your focus. Don't just look at shedding lbs, look at how to improve your health and figure out ways to help you stick with it.
  • 1Cor1510
    1Cor1510 Posts: 413 Member
    Now I mostly feel like I've started a whole new battle. Getting used to myself at this size and weight has been a beast to battle all on its own. I cannot see myself as a girl who could weigh 120 pounds, and the closer I get the worse that feeling of uneasiness about how I look to others compared to how I see myself gets.

    ^^This. I was chatting with a friend about this yesterday. I feel like I haven't changed but I cannot seem to get used to how people treat me very differently than they did before. It's been very confusing to me. She said that I have in fact changed, more confident and feel better about myself so that's what people are reacting to. Still, it's a mixed feeling to be receiving this positive attention that I never received before because I "feel" like the same person.

    Losing weight in general is a great change to make, I was not prepared for the emotional rollercoaster that accompanies it!
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    Are you losing weight to lose weight or are you trying to live a healthier lifestyle?

    Try changing your focus. Don't just look at shedding lbs, look at how to improve your health and figure out ways to help you stick with it.

    ^This.

    Lifting seriously changed my life. Before that, I was so focused on just losing the weight that I was constantly worried about what would happen once the weight was off - would I do what I always do and revert back to old habits, regaining all the weight I lost? Once I started lifting heavy, though, my focus totally changed and I now know there there is no "end" to what I'm doing. I'm 5 lbs from goal, but I don't feel unsure of what comes next. I know what comes next - continuing with the new habits I've picked up and continue to see changes in my body. Even though I'm close to my goal weight, I do not have my dream body by any means. That'll probably take years - and since I'm planning on having children, it'll be a constantly changing/ongoing effort, and I'm really excited (and a tiny bit terrified) about that.
  • Sasssy69
    Sasssy69 Posts: 547 Member
    Maybe try setting a different goal that is fitness based - something you couldn't do when you were over weight. I know I'd love to be able to do a pull up. Like, just ONE. We don't have a gym yet where I live, but it's coming. Once this last ten pounds comes off, that'll be my new goal (along with maintaining). Try shifting your focus a little bit - life is a journey. There are many different ways we can consistently challenge ourselves. :drinker:
  • lizlarson80
    lizlarson80 Posts: 8 Member
    I'm in somewhat of the same position you are in. I'm reaching closer and closer to my goal but as I do more strength training my weight is coming off even slower. But that's a whole different topic, my advice is to find something else that goes along with your new lifestyle, taking an interest in fitness or maybe helping others somehow achieve their goals like you did yours. Find something else to occupy your thoughts and mind, healthy cooking classes or anything to help you. :)
  • acorsaut89
    acorsaut89 Posts: 1,147 Member
    I feel lost in a different way . . . and after much thought about it I believe I have figured out why.

    I have an amazing partner - who has been through this with me, who has seen this journey at its ugliest moments and who still loves me regardless of it all. However, among my friends I have almost always been the "big girl" and now that I'm not and I'm healthier and working out and my body comp is changing I have noticed some of these "friends" have stopped talking to me, stopped hanging out with me and are just down right mean to me. This isn't all of my friends, many of my real friends are super supportive and encouraging, it' just some friends and people I know through my partner and so on.

    Has anyone else experienced this? I feel lost and they make me feel like I am turning into one of those "ooh look at me" people when in reality I do my hardest not to - if someone asks me about it, I will tell them about my journey and my workouts and so on but the only person I really talk to about this stuff is my SO and close, real friends who are like minded and who are at the gym all the time, or who also do meal prep or whatever.

    Anyways - I know it's slightly off topic but I feel lost in my regular life most times now and feel much happier and secure at the gym. Has anyone else gone through this? Do they eventually come around?
  • WickedPineapple
    WickedPineapple Posts: 698 Member
    So for the first time ever, I've been able to stick to tracking for a consistent and long term period of time and its working. I've lost relatively consistently for a few months, which should be great but I don't feel great. After so many years of trying to slay a dragon and trying and failing, I feel a little lost now that the battle is kind of over. Did anyone else feel this way once they really got chugging along with weight loss efforts or am I maybe looking at it all wrong?

    As other people have said, the battle is never over. I've heard on here repeatedly that maintaining can be harder than losing, likely for this very reason (loss of interest due to absence of results/weight loss). Once you meet one goal, you need to make another. I'd say set fitness and nutrition challenges for yourself, independent of weight loss. Otherwise, you may end up right back where you started.
  • sabified
    sabified Posts: 1,035 Member
    I feel lost in a different way . . . and after much thought about it I believe I have figured out why.

    I have an amazing partner - who has been through this with me, who has seen this journey at its ugliest moments and who still loves me regardless of it all. However, among my friends I have almost always been the "big girl" and now that I'm not and I'm healthier and working out and my body comp is changing I have noticed some of these "friends" have stopped talking to me, stopped hanging out with me and are just down right mean to me. This isn't all of my friends, many of my real friends are super supportive and encouraging, it' just some friends and people I know through my partner and so on.

    Has anyone else experienced this? I feel lost and they make me feel like I am turning into one of those "ooh look at me" people when in reality I do my hardest not to - if someone asks me about it, I will tell them about my journey and my workouts and so on but the only person I really talk to about this stuff is my SO and close, real friends who are like minded and who are at the gym all the time, or who also do meal prep or whatever.

    Anyways - I know it's slightly off topic but I feel lost in my regular life most times now and feel much happier and secure at the gym. Has anyone else gone through this? Do they eventually come around?

    Jealousy is a funny thing... some people can get over it and others can't. But whether they do or don't, that's not on you- that's on them. It says much more about who they are than it does about you. Don't let their insecurities make you feel any less. You're doing this for you- not so that people on the peripheries of your life (or sometimes even smack dab in the middle) can feel good about themselves.
    Stick with the people who are sticking with you as you try to improve yourself, not the ones who drop you because your improvement makes them feel bad about themselves. Those are the ones that matter.
  • Jbarbo01
    Jbarbo01 Posts: 240 Member
    Thanks everyone for the encouragement. Its nice knowing I'm not crazy and other people have been here too along the weight loss journey. Ill try to put my focus on fitness goals rather than just losing lbs. I've just been plagued with some serious foot injuries the last few months and havent been able to until now.

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