What nobody tells you about losing weight

I'm about halfway to goal and I'm noticing more bones - LOL - and I crave more healthy foods than unhealthy. Once I got some substandard chocolate and was so not impressed. I was used to the really high quality stuff. Size of bowls and such definitely matters, and I've almost trained my eye about what normal portions look like. I'm cold a lot more so I totally understand what the rest of you are saying.

I hope others didn't have this problem but when I was at my heaviest, people started regularly treating me like I was mentally challenged. Not just a lower but still normal IQ but like I was coming out of a home for special needs. Someone actually cheered me for being able to handle all my groceries by myself. I gave them a funny look and really should have asked to speak to a manager but it wasn't till I had gotten out to my car that I realized what had just happened. It was my round face and loose fitting clothing that they were taking their cues from. Now at 50 pounds lighter than I was, and about 45 to go, I don't think that'll be happening anymore.

You'll like the feel of loose clothing. Can't stand tight clothes anymore. Loose clothing actually makes me feel thinner too.

Tamie_Girl wrote: »

You'll like the feel of loose clothing. Can't stand tight clothes anymore. Loose clothing actually makes me feel thinner too.

I am the exact same way! I hate tight fitting clothing.

@katie9399 Every time I drop a ten kg range on my scale, I have had trouble mentally referring to myself at that weight. My current thought is oh I'm nearly at 90kg (I'm near 80) and I've experienced that every single bracket I've gone down. Eventually I must start to internalize it, but while I walk around normally, I don't feel that different to myself 50lb heavier, I often have to remind myself that I'm not because I've worked hard.

My husband took a photo two weeks ago in which I was holding my kid, at a really unflattering angle that made my arms look huge. I cried because I still looked rubbish in a photo, and it took a fair bit of mental work admit what I logically know - that not every photo ever is going to magically be a fantastic one, I still need to learn to pose for photos, having avoided them for years, and I haven't magically woken up as a photogenic supermodel, and presumably even they have bad photos. I love my arms, and I'm really proud feeling the work I'm put in so far, but in that moment it was exactly like I'd lost nothing, and I was mentally hating myself just as much as before and feeling like any amount of work was pointless.
So my "nobody tells you" is that the mental adjustment can be harder than the physical one, and it's still a skill to take good photos that I do not have as yet.

- the way it changes a social dynamic.. whereas I don't fit into the same pre-conceived box anymore, and some are threatened by that... oddly enough, family more than anyone else
- the scale is disheartening, ... look in the mirror instead and be honest with yourself about how you look and feel. I can sometimes gain or lose 3-5 pounds in a day just due to water retention and loss (I train both anaerobic and aerobic, and my muscles will sometimes retain a lot of water to heal)
- It's a lifestyle change and commitment, it is not a 'diet'.
- I sorely miss everything that I cannot eat anymore. I find I just have to stay away from those foods.. because.. they are hard to eat in moderation. Who the hell can eat just one piece of pizza? Not this guy.
- Having someone to be on this journey with you is very beneficial... two people with similar goals can keep each other on track

How clothing sizes become very confusing...

I just bought some clothes, including two blouses in (to my surprise) a European 38 and a medium. I've been overweight 10-15 years now and I remember how much I weighed when I last wore those sizes. Probably 8 to 10 kilos lighter than I am now! Heck, I still have a BMI of 27.5, I really shouldn't be able to fit into those sizes, vanity sizing really does my head in.

hanweky wrote: »

you won’t believe the scale, you’ll just keep retrying on different parts of the floor until it “tells you the truth”

Diatonic12 wrote: »

Reaching your dream weight and moving onto maintenance takes focus. No one notices when you stay the same so don't rely on a cheering section of compliments or comments to see you through.

Waiting until you reach your dream weight to enjoy your life is a mistake. I'm going to be so happy when I weigh___ or I can't wait until I____. Reaching your dream weight won't fix your past emotional experience or relationship with food. You're going to have to dig down deep or sit down face-to-face with someone and get down to the roots of those old eating patterns and habits.

One year in you might think you've got it made but it might take another two years after reaching your dream weight before your body and mind quits fighting so hard against you.

This 100%. I know logically that nothing really changes when I reach my goal weight, but I still struggle with accepting that I deserve to have a happy life despite not everything being exactly the way I want. It's not just weight that this applies to with me (right now, my lawn sucks), but my weight is a common one. I have to remember that waiting means that I'm expecting something to happen when I reach my goal, but that's not going to happen - I have to make it happen, and losing ten more pounds is not going to help in any way (except that a couple Japanese brand dresses I want will now fit, lol). I think the bigger hurdle is realizing that I do deserve to spend the time to make those things happen, and that's what's holding me up.

I'm definitely not to my UGW yet (about 30 lbs down so fat), but seeing muscles pop out that you've never seen before. I flexed my leg last night, looked down and just said 'Woooah, that didn't look like that last I checked.'

RelCanonical wrote: »

dhiammarath wrote: »

RelCanonical wrote: »

dhiammarath wrote: »

RelCanonical wrote: »

Bra shopping did not get easier. I still have a proportionally large bust, and it's actually harder to find my cup in the right size because apparently manufacturers think that if you have a small band, that you must have a C cup or smaller.

@RelCanonical This subreddit saved my LIFE. I am small around with a large cup. https://www.reddit.com/r/ABraThatFits/

I tried it out, they have brand suggestions for each shape/type of breast you have. It's seriously made bra shopping a lot more eye-opening.

As a 28F rn, I feel your pain.

That community is great! It's how I found out I'm a DDD, and I've continued to be a DDD because I've stayed rather proportional as I've lost weight. I'm in that annoying spot where I'll probably end up going down one more band size before I hit goal, so I don't want to invest in bras yet. I'm cheap, lol.

@RelCanonical I tooooootally get that. I don't want to go down one more bandsize... cause then I'll be hosed. XD I didn't spend a lot, but since I just recently found out about that community, I thought I'd pass it along! I've never learned so much as I have in the last week or so and now have at least 2 bras that fit!

They are back savers for sure. They also made me hate most regular retailers (except Nordstrom) because they just stock what women buy, but women don't know their size so they just buy what retailers stock, and the circle continues. Also, society thinks that D cups are huge when it's completely variable based on band size, so women are squashing themselves into cups too small or suffering from bands with no support because they're too big, because "there's no way I'm bigger than a C, D cups are huge".

What nobody tells you about weight loss is that you'd become more passionate about bras just because you were curious about how much your cup has shrunk with weight loss (and learned that no, it didn't shrink, and that cups are relative to band size). That's how I found /r/abrathatfits.

Slightly off-topic bra rant over.

Im just going to say... all of this. 🤣🤣 The Nordstrom ladies were good, but everywhere else... nope.

On the bright side, I learned the UK makes bras in my size that aren’t just beige or black... colors, man, colors. One of the things I hated when I was at my heaviest was that it seemed like none of the bras were pretty. They were thick strapped and just... in black or beige. To be fair I did end up finding some pretty bras but it was few and far between. I thought for sure when I lost weight I’d find all this beautiful selection. Nope. But now it’s like a whole world has opened up and I have the bra bug.

While many of you are excited about how your shrinking breasts are opening up new bra opportunities, let me tell you about the other side of that coin that "nobody told me about losing weight". I have lost a cup size from a C to a B and I am NOT happy about it! I feel self conscious about this change when I'm with my husband.

Lietchi wrote: »

Well, I don't care about the size difference myself, but there are other downsides linked to the loss of cupsize ('down' being the operative word )

Yeah, mine basically flattened out but stayed the same "length", haha. They still fill up a cup, but they didn't shrink in the way we would all hope.

I've been in maintenance for around a year now. Here is what I found:

Pros
Lots! Here are a few:

• My health is better
• There are various athletic things I can do which I used not to be able (crow and headstand at yoga; max pull ups going from 1 or 2 to around 14; climbing grade improving singificantly)
• Better air consumption at scuba
• Looking better - I have visible abs for the first time in many years
• Sleeping better

Cons
Very few. The main one has been feeling the cold. I used to pretty much be immune to it - I've dived in water at 4 Centigrade, and wandered why my buddy thumbed the dive early. Now I would definitely struggle on that dive, and I'd be the one thumbing it. It turns out that natural insulation was the only reason I didn't feel the cold.

Lietchi wrote: »

Well, I don't care about the size difference myself, but there are other downsides linked to the loss of cupsize ('down' being the operative word )

Had to LOL at this one! Sadly, so true! I will pinch and pull up thinking how much a small “lift” would help, but something so relatively minor doesn’t feel worth the cost and risks associated to have done... ah well. My body has served me well, coming to terms with the fact that it will never be the “same”

Some of my food intolerances have vastly improved, maybe even gone away. It's early to know. I'm not playing fast and loose but I've eaten four of my main food triggers with no side effects. Perhaps raw veggies will again be in my future.