What nobody tells you about losing weight

That you'll discover some oddities about your own body!

I have a pigeon chest which although perfectly symmetrical thankfully means that now i've lost most of my gut when I lay in bed I can literally grab the underside of my breastbone and pull out on my ribcage!

CarvedTones wrote: »

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Themajez wrote: »

Looking at photos of me at heavier weights and I ask myself what was I thinking?

This helps me sometimes when I catch myself making judgments about others (which I do feel bad about); I feel the same way about myself. It still doesn't make it right, but it makes me feel a little better.

omg, this happened to me yesterday! Someone here at work retired and they put together a scrapbook for her. I was flipping through it and came across a picture and I was like, "Who is that heavy blonde girl?" It took several seconds of me looking at it to realize that it was me! And I had to get another coworker to verify that! I couldn't believe how heavy I looked in the picture. I'm still shuddering over it.

blg0524 wrote: »

I keep accidentally noticing things on my body that make me go “oh my god! Skinny people have that!” Like I saw my hamstring tendon for the first time in probably 6 years yesterday!

Oh my god. I've found myself actually observing skinny people going "oh! Those weird wrinkly neck rolls when I twist my head aren't from fat, that's just normal!" (Thanks taylor swift for confirming that one for me). Having been overweight my whole life I dont know what's "normal" and what's a result of massive weight loss. I haven't been caught creeping on the skinny people yet, but I'm sure I will be

When you get to maintenance, you will start admitting that some of the swaps really aren't as good as you convinced yourself they were on the way down. Spaghetti squash is a poor pasta substitute. It's an okay side dish. Halo Top isn't as good as ice cream. Omelettes taste better with the egg yolks. You've been ignoring the aftertaste of artificial sweeteners, but it's still there (if you are a soda drinker, you really can't make the switch to full sugar at maintenance unless you only drink a couple a day though). I like dark meat poultry better than breast meat.

There are exceptions - I still like almond milk better than regular milk, especially on cereal. I don't eat mammals, so poultry and fish are still on my plate instead of beef and pork. Xtreme Wellness high fiber 50 calorie wraps are my favorite wrap.

TinyKittence wrote: »

I lost 42 lbs in total (not on my fitness pal) and nobody told me or I even thought I would be...

cold all the time
Hurting your butt bone and spine on hard chairs
Enjoying water
Not liking most junk food (still love my frosted flakes though)
Not fitting the right clothes for your age
Not making loud stomps when you walk or run
Some people will not be supportive of your diet or weight change (I went pecetarian and my family doesn't like it) (also most of my family is overweight so they call me too skinny and that I look like a 14 year old)
Feeling my collar bone and wrist bones at random times.
Having to make myself eat because I'm not as hungry which is hard because 1,300 calories is hard for me because my stomach is so small.

Oh well good things came out of it ^^

@TinyKittence
Frosted flakes aren't necessarily "junk food", if you look at the calories and nutritional values, they are just as good and sometimes better than many "healthy" cereals.

As far as the right age for clothes. Well, at 41, I am too old to stress myself out by trying to conform to the standards of "society" let alone fashion standards. So if I like it, it fits well, and looks nice on my now thinner body - I wear it, I don't care if it's supposedly intended for 15yr olds. I found some really cute thigh length striped shorts at Hot Topic, they look good - so I wear them.

Negativity from "friends" and family. Yep, that happens. Sorry, but a size 8 is not "too skinny", so they can just suck it. I chalk it up to jealousy.

VUA21 wrote: »

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CarvedTones wrote: »

When you get to maintenance, you will start admitting that some of the swaps really aren't as good as you convinced yourself they were on the way down. Spaghetti squash is a poor pasta substitute. It's an okay side dish. Halo Top isn't as good as ice cream. Omelettes taste better with the egg yolks. You've been ignoring the aftertaste of artificial sweeteners, but it's still there (if you are a soda drinker, you really can't make the switch to full sugar at maintenance unless you only drink a couple a day though). I like dark meat poultry better than breast meat.

There are exceptions - I still like almond milk better than regular milk, especially on cereal. I don't eat mammals, so poultry and fish are still on my plate instead of beef and pork. Xtreme Wellness high fiber 50 calorie wraps are my favorite wrap.

@CarvedTones

Yasso Pistachio Brittle is a near exact taste and texture match for Ben and Jerry's Pistachio Pistachio, so that's one substitution I am glad to have found.

One I did leave off my list is Harris teeter low fat chocolate frozen yogurt. It doesn't taste like chocolate ice cream; it tastes like a fudgesicle. Exactly like one. So you have to like fudgesicles (I do) to enjoy it. It is less calories than ice cream but not amazingly less, which is why I left it off the list.

How much easier it is to be out in the sun all the time, and how more relaxed you are not continually sweating your *kitten* off !

MCR_AL wrote: »

How much easier it is to be out in the sun all the time, and how more relaxed you are not continually sweating your *kitten* off !

So true... was 110 degrees yesterday and I cut the lawn and gardened and I was a little warm... 100lbs a go I would be staring out the window at the grass growing in air conditioned comfort. Just make sure you drink lots and lots of water when spending time out doors in the heat!

rdgfit2017 wrote: »

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MCR_AL wrote: »

How much easier it is to be out in the sun all the time, and how more relaxed you are not continually sweating your *kitten* off !

So true... was 110 degrees yesterday and I cut the lawn and gardened and I was a little warm... 100lbs a go I would be staring out the window at the grass growing in air conditioned comfort. Just make sure you drink lots and lots of water when spending time out doors in the heat!

Funny, I still hate the heat! I am at the low end of the BMI scale and still can't take hot weather because I sweat SOOOO much!

CarvedTones wrote: »

When you get to maintenance, you will start admitting that some of the swaps really aren't as good as you convinced yourself they were on the way down. Spaghetti squash is a poor pasta substitute. It's an okay side dish. Halo Top isn't as good as ice cream. Omelettes taste better with the egg yolks. You've been ignoring the aftertaste of artificial sweeteners, but it's still there (if you are a soda drinker, you really can't make the switch to full sugar at maintenance unless you only drink a couple a day though). I like dark meat poultry better than breast meat.

There are exceptions - I still like almond milk better than regular milk, especially on cereal. I don't eat mammals, so poultry and fish are still on my plate instead of beef and pork. Xtreme Wellness high fiber 50 calorie wraps are my favorite wrap.

I agree with this. I am not at maintenance, but have decided working on portion control instead of eating the substitutes that don't satisfy my cravings. The Halo Top just doesn't really satisfy the ice cream craving, it did for about 4-5 pints of it, then I realized it wasn't good. Mostly a texture thing. Cauliflower rice is ok, but if I want chicken fried rice, it just doesn't cut it. I can do the cauliflower rice as a side dish though.

When you drop sizes it's hard to believe it's real. Those size 4's I tried on last week? Nope, not a fluke in manufacturing. I've tried on 3 more pairs at 3 different stores. Turns out I'm really a size 4! I've done this with dresses and other things too. It takes 3-4 different stores and brands before I believe it to be true.

And now for an off the track, but kind of still on subject thing...

What I call the "forearm hack" is proving to be true as I lose weight too.
An Explanation: To see if a pair of pants are going to be worth trying on, instead of putting it in front of yourself and wrapping around your hips ; You make a fist with the dominant hand, and place your forearm and elbow into the waistline. If it fits your arm, it should fit your waist. I had a coworker show me this one time. I thought it was bull crap at first, but lo and behold it has held true since I first tried it for myself years ago. Even as I have dropped sizes. Even as I have been the same weight but a bigger size. Apparently, your forearm and elbow carry the same body fat percentage as your hips?? Has anyone else tried this I wonder?? I have always wondered if it's one of those weird universal wierd body things, or if it works for some but not all.

Crafty_camper123 wrote: »

When you drop sizes it's hard to believe it's real. Those size 4's I tried on last week? Nope, not a fluke in manufacturing. I've tried on 3 more pairs at 3 different stores. Turns out I'm really a size 4! I've done this with dresses and other things too. It takes 3-4 different stores and brands before I believe it to be true.

And now for an off the track, but kind of still on subject thing...

What I call the "forearm hack" is proving to be true as I lose weight too.
An Explanation: To see if a pair of pants are going to be worth trying on, instead of putting it in front of yourself and wrapping around your hips ; You make a fist with the dominant hand, and place your forearm and elbow into the waistline. If it fits your arm, it should fit your waist. I had a coworker show me this one time. I thought it was bull crap at first, but lo and behold it has held true since I first tried it for myself years ago. Even as I have dropped sizes. Even as I have been the same weight but a bigger size. Apparently, your forearm and elbow carry the same body fat percentage as your hips?? Has anyone else tried this I wonder?? I have always wondered if it's one of those weird universal wierd body things, or if it works for some but not all.

I don't think the fitting room attendant was thrilled at the sheer number of shorts I was trying on. I don't know what my size is so first is was trying on 28-30's in womens. Then started in at the 8's of womens and went down to the 4's but couldn't find a style I liked. Finally went to the juniors and thought the size 7's looked pretty small so I started with 11's but ended up buying a size 7 junior pair of shorts after trying on about 25+ pairs.

I will have to try the forearm trick and hope it will save me time short shopping. I would like a pair of white shorts but I'm worn out shopping wise from sunday's marathon

I've been losing slowly with lifestyle changes like not eating after 7:00 and avoiding junk food and many other lifestyle changes. It's okay that it's slowgoing, as long as I stay CONSISTENT with logging and daily goals. Thanks for the thread

I’ve had to buy a new mattress because the springs keep digging in to my hip bones and ribs!