What nobody tells you about losing weight

- That people might not notice you've lost weight at first (especially if you have a lot of weight to lose) but YOU will know and it's kind of like your own little secret for awhile
- That sooo much of losing weight is your mindset and determination to succeed no matter what
- You might have people close to you tell you that you shouldn't lose any more weight even when you're still in the "obese" range. just ignore and keep on
- At first when losing weight you might feel frumpy because your clothes hang and you might not realize it at first and might feel frustrated that you look so big still but then you realize it's because the clothes are now too big and YOU are smaller
- That strangers and random people are friendlier, but it could be because of having more confidence and projecting more happiness
- That the people who love you will treat you exactly the same
- That you will actually ENJOY eating healthy and look forward to nutritious meals. Junk food in general has no appeal anymore
- That people will start asking you for advice on losing weight and what to eat etc and it's really weird at first but really amazing to be able to help others!

It's so weird to me lately how my brain hasn't caught up to my size.

Last week, I was shopping and picked up a bunch of size medium tops *hoping* they would fit. When I got to the fitting room, nothing looked right and everything seemed frumpy. I couldn't figure out why nothing looked right. The last top I tried on fit just right, so I bought that one. It was only once I got it home and went to cut off be tags that I realized it was a size 6 (started at a 16), which would explain why none of the mediums fit. I went back to the same store today and picked up a bunch of Smalls cause I couldn't believe I actually wore a Small. Turns out every shirt I tried on fit and I actually had to choose which ones I wanted cause I didn't want to break the bank.

I hold up clothes in the store and think there's no way that'll fit and then it actually does!

I had no idea that just 35 pounds would make such a big difference to my knees. Yesterday I caught myself trotting down the steps. It occurred to me that I could not recall the last time I was able to do that with my knee pain. Going up the stairs used to cause a weird painful popping in the joint. It doesn't hurt really much at all anymore. Amazing.

I feel more alert, mores sensitive, notice little details like the softness of sheets, the fabric of clothes. When it is good I treasure it, but I have had to let go of those who weren't. My cupboards are becoming quite minimalist. I like it.

More sensitive to the skin temperaure as well.

That I would really love throwing away clothes. (Well, I donate them.) It used to be just the joy of getting rid of things that were too big, but now it's anything that's ill-fitting or I don't really like. This is extending to general clutter of all sorts. Losing weight translates to losing extra junk.

If you have dentures, they won't fit as well. Your mouth shape changes. I worked at a dentist's office for a while and when people lose a lot of weight 100+ lbs, they always needed to get new dentures.

Hi everyone,

I'm 5'6" and currently 178 pounds, down 37 from my most recent high weight, after about a year of being off the wagon. My last round of weight loss was 96 pounds, punctuated/punctured by a divorce, but I'm back in the groove now and only about 10 pounds above my lowest weight since the first time.

I'm daring to dream of a much lower (and healthy) weight this time, because I found out something that really shocked me. I always thought that because I was fat, I had a large frame. People that I trusted to know my weight were always shocked about it and asked me where I hid it. Well, it seems that I had a smaller skeleton than I thought and I have a small frame, in fact. No wonder they couldn't tell!

Here's another thing: family doctors have no clue about obesity. They literally don't think about the issues surrounding it other than you eat too much. That's quite true, but it completely ignores the psychology of weight gain and weight loss. My doctor told me to stop losing weight when I was 170 pounds because I was normal weight. In fact, I wasn't. I was on the very high side of overweight, just under the line from obese. I'm that office's poster child for weight loss, by the way. They don't understand how I'm doing it and I'll be going in with my weight charts and meal records from MFP soon to show them. For me it's quite simple: no bread, no pasta, no potatoes, no white starches except once in a while (the exception being a small amount of very high fiber natural bran cereal with psyllium husk in the morning), no prepackaged food other than basic foodstuffs like canned black beans or tomato paste. What does that leave? Lots of carbs in the form of fruits and veggies, and low fat meats like chicken and fish... and unsweetened cashew milk (ok the commercial one.. the other is too high calorie), which must be the best kept secret on the planet, if you haven't tried it. It's phenomenal.

These are my observations:

• It's a lot easier to stay on the wagon when you can control what food comes into the house.
  
• No more junk food, no more prepackaged crap. It all tastes terrible to me now.
  
• And you know what tastes worse? Artificial sweeteners. Splenda, Stevia, all of it. Chalky white death. I have a little honey in my tea at night, and it's just enough sweet to feel like dessert.
  
• The last time I did the big weight loss, I had serious trouble with being cold all the time, but now I seem to have it managed. I'm chalking that up to making sure that I get enough fat in my diet. Before, I was minimizing fat in my diet on the theory that I'd do better if I ate less of it, so if you ARE cold, maybe try what I did and make sure you're as close to your daily fat limit as your diet log allows. I'm rarely cold now, unless of course, it's genuinely cold out or I'm overtired.
  
• When I was heavier, I wore whatever clothes felt comfortable. Of course, I tried to find things that looked nice, but those are never as nice as you think, because no matter how you try to hide the fat, people see it.
  
• Men no longer think I'm invisible.
  
• I wear make-up and a big smile. Seriously, I'm so happy I could burst!
  
• Remember your first day of school in Grade One, when you had to try on every piece of clothing you owned to find the right outfit? I do that every day now.
  
• *embarrassed* I... um... had to steal the cushion out of the cat's bed for my office chair (it fits really well) and get the cat a new bed.
  

louann_jude wrote: »

When you go to try on clothes that it's feels weird not going to the plus size section.

I have also found that my size perception is so off. I will look at a pair of jeans and think they look so small. I try them on and they fit and I am so surprised. Shirts are the hardest for me. I was so use to going to the men's big and tall section that it's so hard for me to accurately judge what I should wear. When I go shopping in a few months I am getting help from a friend to buy 'girly' clothes.

I had to take a friend with me when I was losing weight. We would go in a store and we would grab a few things, then I never left the dressing room, she just brought me stuff to try on. I tried on and bought stuff I would have never looked at if I was picking out the clothes.

I am cold most of the time. I used to be cold natured when I was younger, then I had kids, gained weight and was rarely cold. Now I am under a blanket at home most evenings and at work sometimes I am so cold I can't think about anything else. I saw the previous suggestion to monitor my fat intake, but that doesn't seem to make a difference for me.
BRRRRR!

Hi MFPers, very first post on the forums. I'm a 41 y/o male from Paris' suburbs. Lost 33 lbs so far, 44 lbs left.

andympanda wrote: »

I actually look forward to most medical tests. I love to see the improved results. At least I do not mind needles, and am too young (for a few years) for a colonoscopy.

I can't wait for blood tests, I almost begged my doc for a blood test prescription last time I saw him. I love to see improvements as well, I'm almost in the normal range for most of the tests now. Like most of us here, I completely changed my lifestyle recently, I went from being heavy drinker/junk food fed/smoker/sleep on the couch to eating clean, be sober, drastically reduced tobacco and started training almost everyday. Born again

Have a nice day everyone.

When I flex my toes I see my calf muscles twitch. I have never noticed that before.

That somehow you'll forget how it was before you lost weight.

It's great to remember how far you've come I think, if you don't want to go back there but nobody tells you that after a while you'll forget "before".

It's been a year since I was 35 lbs heavier and I've already almost forgotten that I couldn't do jumping jacks before, couldn't climb the two flights of stairs to my flat without panting, my fastest walking pace (even adding running segments) was "mod pace", couldn't say no to food or eat in moderation, couldn't not snack after diner and a whole bunch of other things.

That when people keep telling you that you are too skinny is starts to piss you off. NO it is just america has a very screwed up view of "healthy"