What nobody tells you about losing weight
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To be able to buy clothes from the high street rather than specialist shops that seem to only cater for geography teachers13
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You do stand out because you eat "different" and exercise...but you feel like a million bucks so standing out becomes ok.7
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I lost 30lbs a few years ago before my wedding. I remember:
- needing to buy practically all new shoes because my feet shrank a whole size
- Men flirting with me everywhere
- Being treated nicer by EVERYONE (which I kind of resented because I was the same person I always was inside)... Lots more attention and compliments
- Clothes looking flattering on me again
- Going back to my skinnier clothes and feeling like I had a whole new wardrobe
- Sweating right away
- My husband couldn't keep his hands off me
- being thought of as anti-social at pot lucks because I just stayed away as I knew I couldn't resist the spread of yummy fatty foods
- Dreading going out to eat because I didn't meal prep it myself and really know what went into it
- Not cringing when it was photo time
- Seeing my cheekbones again14 -
Weird, but it feels like my dancing has improve
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BruceHedtke wrote: »I've gotten a ton of compliments on my weight loss but I've also had friends and family ask me if I was sick. I wasn't expecting that. It's always a good thing to tell them "Nope, I just started eating better and exercising".
While it's flattering to get compliments, I've found the more weight I've lost, the more embarrassing it's been to reveal how much I've lost in total. When I had lost 40-50 lbs, I proudly stated that number whenever asked. Now, I've lost over 90 lbs and if someone asks, I just say something like "I've lost a little" and try to deflect from giving a precise answer.
Why do you think that is? Because then they know more precisely how overweight you were?
There could be something to that. I've always carried my weight pretty well. Most people always thought I weighed about 40 lbs less than I did, so how heavy I actually was wasn't obvious.
I think a bigger part is just me getting comfortable with being healthy. When I was down 40lbs, it was sort of like walking around in amazement, asking myself if it was really happening. It seemed surreal to me at the time, so if anyone asked, I literally wanted to jump up and down because someone besides me noticed.
While I'm still as proud as ever for what I've been able to do and it does sometimes still seem surreal, I've accepted that this is me now. This is who I am and those fears that I might one day revert to the person I was before are pretty much a thing of the past. So, maybe there is an embarrassment about ever being as big as I was, but more I think it's about putting that person in the past and leaving him there.7 -
I struggle with an irrational fear that if I miss a workout if I'm too tired or had to work late or something like that it will completely undo all the progress I have made and I will slip back into bad habits. the rational part of my brain knows it's nonsense and that sometimes you need an extra rest day, but it's still something that is lurking in the back of my mind and makes me anxious. I have lost over 25% of my starting bodyweight and I'm terrified to fail and go back to where I was...
+1 on this. Around 30% of my body weight gone and I still panic on one less than ideal food day or missed exercise session.
Hope one day soon my brain will catch up with the weight loss.6 -
I love this thread! Thank you everyone for chiming in and sharing your thoughts
It's been almost a month into tracking my food and exercise, and I've lost 4.4 kg so far. I think more importantly, I feel that my mood and energy levels have started to balance out and stay consistent. I used to be addicted to having cheese on toast every day for breakfast and now I'm happy with a slice of cheese and some veg. Progress!9 -
Awesome thread! It's fun hearing what everyone else is going through.
I've lost 50 pounds so far (216 to 166 on 5'6" frame) and here is what I've noticed:
- My knees, arches of my feet, and low back don't hurt anymore. I get sore from workouts, but I used to be sore just from sitting.
- My hands get cold easily.
- I get less headaches. Probably due to drinking more water
- Less sweaty.
- A few friends have been negative. It can really hurt to hear passive aggressive comments like "are you sure you can eat that" or "if you aren't too busy working out". Those people are in the vast minority though, with 90% of people being really supportive and happy for me.
- Junk food makes me sick half the time now. If I go out on the weekend and have 2 unhealthy meals in a row, even if its within my calorie range, I WILL have a tummy ache.
- I dropped 2 sizes in 4 months and under my belly button I noticed my skin was softer. I could grab it and pinch a section of looser skin. When I sucked in my stomach little wrinkles would form that made me look deflated. But just 3 months later it's already bouncing back a little and I'm still losing weight consistently. The wrinkles are gone, it's still soft, but it makes me really hopeful that it won't be as big of an issue as I thought it might.
- My stretch marks are less noticeable. The red ones have turned white, and the white ones have decreased in size and can only be seen in certain lights.
- My husband says I don't snore anymore.
- I spend less money on food now than I was before, but we're eating more meals with better quality ingredients. We spend between $45- $60 a week on groceries. We cook once a week and package lunches/dinners for 5 days. We eat out or make small meals on the weekends. This has been working for us for 8 months and is a big reason why we both lost weight. I waste less food, it's easier to track, cheaper to shop, and lazier on a day to day basis. Having the weekends free for variety, and the fact that we make different meals every week, keeps it from getting boring.
- I feel lighter emotionally. I can't really think of very many ways I put effort into myself in the last 5 years. But putting effort into getting healthy has shown me that I can be successful if I commit to something. I'm not stuck with how things are. I can let go of bad habits and just because I've been a certain way up till now doesn't mean I'll be that way forever. It makes me want to do other things I've been too scared/uncomfortable to do.34 -
Gas...lots and lots of gas...8
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andympanda wrote: »Some one asked me today if i was sick since I had lost so much weight. I still have about 20 pounds before i reach my goal.
This happened to me an hour ago! I'm healthier than I have been my entire adult life!4 -
Sometimes you can lose lots of weight and still be wearing the same clothing. I had to trade in my shoes because they were too big, but my clothing is just kind of loose on me now. In a way it is good because I haven't had to spend extra money on it yet, but it is also bad because I'm still wearing the same old tents.9
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arditarose wrote: »How emotional it can be. Realizing you're almost 30 and you are smaller and weigh less than you did in middle school gets those feels going.
ME TOO... my family can't believe how small I've gotten, my mom was actually the first to point out that I wasn't even this small as a teen... I think it's great, just wish I could have done this 21 years ago...8 -
Pride ... I haven't reached my goal weight yet and I can't see the little ladybug on the road that used to show when I made a comment (I forget what it's called, but different people had different things to show their progress). Lots of people talk about losing weight making them happy, but what I'm surprised at is how proud I am of what I've done, and how proud I feel when I tell people!
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I feel like I am learning/noticing new things all the time!
- Like everyone says, YES I am so much colder all the time
- Mentally I am way behind my body in what I think I look like
- I realize what my body is actually supposed to look like and that I have a smaller frame than I thought
- Picking something out to wear for the day is SO much better because everything looks/feels good!
- Walking outside when it is warm/hot is so much more comfortable due to less thigh rub
- I physically feel better/less bloated
- That people might start to tell me I am too skinny (which I am not)
- Shopping is so much fun now! I remember crying in the dressing room stall when I was trying to find a bathing suit - now I'm just super excited!
- People will sound disappointed when all you say is that you are "eating less and moving more"
- My face/skin is so much clearer!
- I feel more confident now going out of the house without makeup on
- Sitting is much more comfortable, and my jeans no longer press into my stomach in an uncomfortable way
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Loose Skin. but I'm kind of proud of it after all these years.9
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I love this thread and hope it continues. It's a great reality check of the emotional, physical and life changes that happen with weight loss. Congrats to all of you and thanks for your honesty. [/quot
I have lost two stone but still have a long road to go. Was getting a bit despondant as weight loss/motivation is slowing down but this thread has given me new inspiration. Putting on my shoes and going out for a walk now. Thanks a lot folks.2 -
how random guys will be forever sexually harassing you...really uncomfortable when they are old enough to be your gramps...lol8
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lemonsurprise wrote: »Wanted to make this thread for motivationial purposes more than anything but they don't all have to be super positive! More of what came as a surprise. I'll start..
- how much confidence it will actually bring, especially when strangers start treating you like royalty all of a sudden!
- Sitting (particularly in baths) and laying (particularly in beds) will become ever increasingly uncomfortable.
- how vain you will become! I can't walk past a mirror without checking how I look nowadays!
Your turn!
I don't know If I'm getting used to it or if I'm building muscle over the bones but the fitter I am getting the more comfortable everything is getting... knees knocking together in bed still an issue but nothing a pillow can't fix... and I so constantly check myself out as well...lol... it's just so amazing that we are able to change SO much.6 -
Some of these are interesting. I definitely relate to having people notice me more like i never even existed! My first "a-ha" moment was when i realized I could wrap a towel around my body! Its the little things. lol11
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andympanda wrote: »Some one asked me today if i was sick since I had lost so much weight. I still have about 20 pounds before i reach my goal.
This happened to me the other day as well. Granted, stress at work has sped along my weight loss the last few months, but I was pretty surprised.2 -
this happened to me a few days ago. a man i have known for years and had seen me lose a lot of weight previously asked me if i had been sick. he himself had lost about 4 stone so he knows it can be done.
personally i look at it as though i had been sick, for the past 4 years, which is why i grew to the size i was. now i am am not sick, i am much more healthy than i have ever beeen.14 -
this happened to me a few days ago. a man i have known for years and had seen me lose a lot of weight previously asked me if i had been sick. he himself had lost about 4 stone so he knows it can be done.
personally i look at it as though i had been sick, for the past 4 years, which is why i grew to the size i was. now i am am not sick, i am much more healthy than i have ever beeen.
Right on, man! How I felt in Dec is miles away from how I feel now. I have 40ish pounds to go and am looking forward to feeling better every step of the way.6 -
I needed this thread today. 10
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valente347 wrote: »andympanda wrote: »Some one asked me today if i was sick since I had lost so much weight. I still have about 20 pounds before i reach my goal.
This happened to me the other day as well. Granted, stress at work has sped along my weight loss the last few months, but I was pretty surprised.
No one asked me, but someone did ask my brother if I was sick. He hadn't seen me in a while and I was probably down 40 pounds. I did have someone introduce them self to me and I had know him for 5 years.
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What no one told me about losing weight....
---after many attempts at losing, when I was finally successful at maintaining my weight, that I might still not like the way I look without clothes...with all the hanging skin from years of overeating.
---that it really wasn't about the weight after all, although it certainly feels good to weigh 141 lbs and not 376 lbs, it was really about the battle between my ears. I still have a battle some days.
---that I would need to be vigilant on a daily basis one day at a time for my remaining days.
---that I would end up weighing less at age 67 than I did in 7th grade48 -
brightresolve wrote: »How much it annoys me when someone says, "oh, you don't have to watch what you eat!" or, "oh, you don't have to work out!"
I feel like they're disrespecting the discipline and hard work it takes to be healthy ...
I completely agree!
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That losing weight is never proportionate. I always thought the weight would drop off equally but it didnt. My upper abs lose inches whilst my hips and stomach appear the same so I always feel like I'm getting bigger because of the contrast.
I never thought counting calories would be so much fun and put me in so much control.14 -
1. My butt and boobs left first--
I had to adjust to that, but my legs look better than they have in years!! Arms, too.
2. Realizing that fast food was what was making me feel so horrible.
3. I can now jog and not feel the fat juggling up and down on my tummy, butt and legs.
4. My thighs don't rub together any longer- I used to use tons of powder - no more!11
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