Unexpected results of weight loss

My back hurts less

I can run up a flight of stairs and keep on going without huffing and puffing

I am more comfortable. Just sitting around I don’t have to adjust anything, my clothes don’t bunch or ride up, etc.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

On the negative side: I swear, my a** looks like a bulldog's face, from the loose skin. (Yeah, TMI, I know.)

More than compensated for by dramatically reduced knee pain, normal/healthy blood pressure, normal/healthy cholesterol & triglycerides, and a truly surprising degree of improvement in my general sense of well-being and happiness. I wonder whether the latter is from reduced inflammation in my body, or something. Don't care why, though, at root: It's excellent. So worth it.

I posted the above on 3/23/2016. Now it's 2/8/2018, and I've been in maintenance the whole time, still at a healthy weight, continued good blood tests, happy/healthy, all that jazz.

Here's the thing: The bulldog effect is gone. Yeah, at 62, I'm not gonna be posing for glamour shots nude or anything like that, despite being decently strong/fit for my age. But there's been very, very major loose skin improvement,
despite my age.

I'll take it.

AnnPT77 wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

On the negative side: I swear, my a** looks like a bulldog's face, from the loose skin. (Yeah, TMI, I know.)

More than compensated for by dramatically reduced knee pain, normal/healthy blood pressure, normal/healthy cholesterol & triglycerides, and a truly surprising degree of improvement in my general sense of well-being and happiness. I wonder whether the latter is from reduced inflammation in my body, or something. Don't care why, though, at root: It's excellent. So worth it.

I posted the above on 3/23/2016. Now it's 2/8/2018, and I've been in maintenance the whole time, still at a healthy weight, continued good blood tests, happy/healthy, all that jazz.

Here's the thing: The bulldog effect is gone. Yeah, at 62, I'm not gonna be posing for glamour shots nude or anything like that, despite being decently strong/fit for my age. But there's been very, very major loose skin improvement,
despite my age.

I'll take it.

I am so pleased to hear this as I'm dreading my "bulldog" effect when I finally get to where I want to be

Oh my God I can't stop checking myself out in the mirror any time I go near one. Those kinds of people annoy me. Lol

I am not sure what I am checking for but I don't hate what I see.

GOT_Obsessed wrote: »

Oh my God I can't stop checking myself out in the mirror any time I go near one. Those kinds of people annoy me. Lol

I am not sure what I am checking for but I don't hate what I see.

I find it's because I'm still in shock at what I see. I look in a mirror and expect to see someone 2x as large, and it's jarring (in a good way) to see how I am now.

I've lost my weight fast...22 pounds since Jan 1. This, after struggling here for 8 years and never getting anywhere What is surprising is how i look like my old self again. I feel young again. Almost like? was I really overweight for 8 years! it is like saying hello to an old friend.. hello old face! hello old body! No, not perfect..but just good ole me. i thought i'd never ever look like my old self again, that too much time had passed. It is amazing and so worth it all.

ewhip17 wrote: »

I discovered that I really like clothes. I mean.... REALLY like clothes... My wife gave me the stink eye the other day when yet another box showed up from the UPS truck. There were no words to describe the loathing I had for clothes and shopping at 318lbs. It's a really interesting change.

Same! My starting weight was 320 lbs, almost right where you started, and I HATED shopping for clothes. It's impossible to find anything that fits in brick & mortar stores, you have to pay extra (even online) when you do find something that fits, and then it never looks good.

Last Thanksgiving, I realized nothing fit anymore, all my clothes were too big. I had exactly 1 new pair of jeans that kinda fit (though not without a belt), and an old button up shirt that looked alright once I tucked it in. So I bought a bunch of new stuff before Christmas. Not only did I 'wow' my family, but it felt good, and now I'm constantly on the lookout for new, nice-looking clothes.

The other surprising thing is my weight loss has lead to my dog's weight loss. She wasn't super fat or anything, but once I started having more energy, I was playing with her more and walking her more. She hasn't been this fit in years (she's 11) and suddenly she's again as playful as a puppy. I even had to stop halfway through writing this to play a little tug-of-war!

One other thing, not really a surprising result but definitely something that shocked me into realizing how much I'd lost... I have a Golden Retriever, she goes through a lot of dog food so I buy in bulk, the 55 to 60 pound bags. A few months back, when I'd lost about 60 lbs, I threw a 60 lbs bag over my shoulders to carry up to my apartment (3rd-floor walk-up), and it killed. I just couldn't believe that that's how much weight I used to carry around all the time!

I'm now up to over 80 lbs lost and going strong.

lyhyl wrote: »

People not recognizing me. I lost 25% of my bodyweight last year and twice last week I saw people I who passed me by because they didn't realize who I am. Very disconcerting.

my MUM nearly walked past me outside the gym the other week! new gym wear combined with shorter hair and apparently I just didn't register as same person hehe

One strange thing: before I started losing weight, I never really noticed what other people looked like. Now that I've lost some (and I still have a long way to go) I really notice other people who are fat. Not in a judgmental way, but I think I used to use other people to "normalize" my own weight. As in "I'm not fat, I'm just like everybody else around me!" It was a way of letting me ignore my own problem.

tirowow12385 wrote: »

The dark neck pigmentation i had 75+ pounds ago disappeared, I had only realized it recently.

Wow, that's HUGE! I'm pretty sure that's one of the symptoms of pre-diabetes!!

I have bones.... that freaked me out. Having a shower and I thought what the hell is that boney lump below my boobs. Turns out it was my sternum! Similar thing lately.. turned over in bed and pulled my pj top down and could feel ribs. I think I had bones when I was a kid, but that was like 45+ years ago.

DEBOO7 wrote: »

I have bones.... that freaked me out. Having a shower and I thought what the hell is that boney lump below my boobs. Turns out it was my sternum! Similar thing lately.. turned over in bed and pulled my pj top down and could feel ribs. I think I had bones when I was a kid, but that was like 45+ years ago.

The same thing happened to me the first time I felt my hip bone! We were lying in bed and I was like omg, what the HECK is that?! I made my SO feel and when he did he was like girl, that is your hip bone. LOL.