What nobody tells you about losing weight
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12Sarah2015 wrote: »With only 5 pounds left to a BMi of 23.0, my stomach is still too big..... Ahhh.
Maybe something causes bloating that you eat because it sounds like otherwise it is going great! Lately I am reading about sodium again, nightshades, lectins, dairy, gluten....Maybe see if something applies...3 -
springlering62 wrote: »... Perhaps when “ability” outstrips “work” it feels like we haven’t “achieved”.
Does that make sense?
It doesn’t help that my watch is always pushing me to do more. This month it wants me to do about 7,000 excercise minutes because it always tries to increase the prior month’s total. At some point it’s going to break the time space continuum, right?
It makes perfect sense. I think there is definitely a sense that as we get fitter and so can (and want to) do more. This seems to me one reason why varying exercise is so important. To begin with, to get back into it, I was doing the same things (a variety) every day, but increasing weights and intensity, but I am now starting to try to vary it more, so that my body doesn't get used to one thing. I am finding an exercise plan useful for this (no-one who reads my posts regularly will be surprised to know that this is from Bodyfit by Amy) but I am also really valuing my rowing machine. I can vary my workout on that very easily, to make 15 - 20 minutes always include a push, by upping stroke rate, or doing a longer time at a stroke rate, or increasing intensity. Once I start to commute again I shall have less exercise time so having a range of things I can do in the time available will be important.4 -
salleewins wrote: »12Sarah2015 wrote: »With only 5 pounds left to a BMi of 23.0, my stomach is still too big..... Ahhh.
Maybe something causes bloating that you eat because it sounds like otherwise it is going great! Lately I am reading about sodium again, nightshades, lectins, dairy, gluten....Maybe see if something applies...
or insulin resistant?
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IronIsMyTherapy wrote: »That every Single week (If even that long) you have to work harder to burn the same amount of calories.
That your cat takes longer to find a comfy position laying on you lol
idk if this helps but as your weight drops, your calories have to as well. If you're 150lbs and lose 15lbs, you weigh 10% less and your calories need to drop 10% accordingly. Assuming your activity is the same and you haven't gained muscle.
Not sure if that was actually meant for me. I was stating that you have to exercise harder because your body gets used to the exercise level and you burn less calories.
Not quite exactly.
It's just that as you have less mass, it takes less energy to move yourself around. Your body doesn't "get used" to the exercise; it's just not as much work to perform the same task. A calorie is a measure of energy. If you want to move a two-pound box of pickling salt a mile, it takes less work than a 20-pound bag of ice melting salt. Same salt, just a different amount of it. So as you lose mass, if you perform the same exercise, you have to do it longer to expend the same number of calories as when you were a higher mass. That's why you need to reassess your calorie target from time to time as you lose mass.
And you know what? It's AWESOME!
After you've lost a fair bit of weight, find something heavy and carry it around. I strapped 30 pounds of SCUBA weight on me and walked around. My knees hurt right away. But I used to ALWAYS carry that much weight around ALL the time.
I will gladly walk a little farther to not carry the extra, unneeded, unwanted weight.
Well, then maybe I'm just weird, because my body will get used to an exercise level within a week or less. My hrm tells me my heart is working slightly less hard, meaning I am burning less calories even when putting out the same energy level. I am not losing enough mass in 5-7 days for weight to be the big difference in calorie burn.
ETA it's walking, aerobics and minor strength training using a total gym.
@cppeace
No you aren't weird, you just mistake a heartbeat counting device for a calorie counting device.
As you get fitter it's not that you heart works less hard - it just does more work (blood pumped) for each heartbeat.6 -
IronIsMyTherapy wrote: »IronIsMyTherapy wrote: »That every Single week (If even that long) you have to work harder to burn the same amount of calories.
That your cat takes longer to find a comfy position laying on you lol
idk if this helps but as your weight drops, your calories have to as well. If you're 150lbs and lose 15lbs, you weigh 10% less and your calories need to drop 10% accordingly. Assuming your activity is the same and you haven't gained muscle.
Not sure if that was actually meant for me. I was stating that you have to exercise harder because your body gets used to the exercise level and you burn less calories.
That depends on the exercise you do. If you mainly do cardio, yes. If you strength train, probably the opposite. Every lb of muscle you gain is a calorie burning furnace. If, for example, you lost 10lbs of fat and gained 10lbs of muscle, you will absolutely have a higher maintenance caloric requirement. I'm not saying this is the case with you, but too many people new to fitness think "cardio" when they want fat loss. If they enjoy it, more power to em but adding muscle is the smart long term play to maintaining a lean physique. Not disagreeing with you, just expanding on it.
@IronIsMyTherapy
Your furnace doesn't actually get very hot!
Each lb of muscle burns roughly 6cals per day at rest to maintain itself.
Yes muscle burns more than fat but the numbers and differences are small as each lb of fat burns 2cals/lb/day.
Obviously using your muscles is very different (activity & exercise) and that's where the big differences in people's weight maintenance calories comes from.
Interesting read - if only we could add on another kidney.....
https://bodyrecomposition.com/research/energy-needs-body
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After you've lost a fair bit of weight, find something heavy and carry it around. I strapped 30 pounds of SCUBA weight on me and walked around. My knees hurt right away. But I used to ALWAYS carry that much weight around ALL the time.
I will gladly walk a little farther to not carry the extra, unneeded, unwanted weight.
I was just talking about getting one of those weight vests to see what it was like the other day. When I run now, I can actually feel that I weigh less. I can feel that it is easier to move. It's kind of a weird sensation and it's pretty great when you realize what is happening.
I was thinking about this the other day. An average 3 month old baby weighs 10lb. I’ve lost 23lb since August, that’s like losing 2 and a bit 3 month old babies from my body, which is a huge amount. Just wish I could see it when I look in the mirroe! But I’ll get there I’m sure.11 -
katescurios wrote: »After you've lost a fair bit of weight, find something heavy and carry it around. I strapped 30 pounds of SCUBA weight on me and walked around. My knees hurt right away. But I used to ALWAYS carry that much weight around ALL the time.
I will gladly walk a little farther to not carry the extra, unneeded, unwanted weight.
I was just talking about getting one of those weight vests to see what it was like the other day. When I run now, I can actually feel that I weigh less. I can feel that it is easier to move. It's kind of a weird sensation and it's pretty great when you realize what is happening.
I was thinking about this the other day. An average 3 month old baby weighs 10lb. I’ve lost 23lb since August, that’s like losing 2 and a bit 3 month old babies from my body, which is a huge amount. Just wish I could see it when I look in the mirroe! But I’ll get there I’m sure.
You might enjoy this thread
:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/660835/ive-lost-an-elephant-penis/p1
I've lost a small bale of hay, or two average 2 year olds
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That having gone from 135kg to 86 kg (healthy BMI will be 77kg) I feel fatter than before in some ways.
Whereas I used to be fat all around I can now clearly see various parts of my body and external fat deposits clinging to them if that makes sense. It’s weird. Not necessarily discouraging, but weird.18 -
That keeping the weight off is probably harder than losing it in the first place.
It's a totally different mindset and skill set to try and stay at one weight (within reason and normal fluctuations). It's kind of like marriage: getting married and staying married are totally different, the later takes a LOT more work than you think going into it!
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@AwesomeSquirrel I came here to post something similar!
Over the last few days, I've been struck by the realisation that I feel simultaneously thinner and fatter. I don't know how to explain it. Perhaps you're right, and I can better see the fat clinging to various parts of my body. It's just... weird. Feeling fat, feeling thin... that makes sense. Feeling both? I don't get it. And yet, that is how I feel right now.12 -
@thelastnightingale and @AwesomeSquirrel - I definitely went through that phase - when you have this odd combination of loose skin and subcutaneous fat that just hangs down and flaps all over the place. The only way around it is through it. Just hang on and keep losing. You'll go through a period (and I'm still in it) where you look better with your clothes on than off, but eventually you'll start to notice certain areas slimming down and you'll have hope that the rest of you body will catch up too.19
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Was coming here to post something similar and pleased to see I’m in excellent company with @thelastnightingale and @AwesomeSquirrel.
I know I’m replacing fat with muscle, and dropping fat entirely. I see the changes. I also feel more floppy because I can see things that were previously either hidden or bulked out with greater fat deposits. Even though I know this change is good, I have to continually remind myself of progress made.
May run with 30 lbs of flour in a backpack tomorrow morning to remind myself how far I’ve come.14 -
The weight loss battle is a war within ourselves. It's starts with immediate gratification. In the beginning you may want or require food reward alternatives while the weight loss process is going on. In the end, Maintenance will be your reward. You'll value that more than immediate gratification and food reward alternatives.
Feeling good in your own skin will mean more than anything else money can buy.13 -
I love what you said about immediate gratification, Diatonic - and I've found that being able to put off gratification has been a huge tool.
One thing nobody ever told me is how much I'd enjoy feeling the contours of my own face. I love how I can feel my cheekbones and the slight indentation below them and how my jaw doesn't having anything hanging off it anymore and how my face actually tapers now instead of being round.15 -
@thelastnightingale, @speyerj and @GetZet thank you for posting, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one 😊
Onwards and downwards!
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That it's VERY easy to gain weight back if you're not careful, ugh.15
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TMI for sure, but I’ve been taking soaking epsom salt baths following a fall running a few days ago.
Like you guys, I’ve slimmed down but have the pockets of fat or loose skin.
It floats!
Me and mah belly had the best time in the tub. It was like playing with Floam. Very entertaining, and totally gravity defying.29 -
I'm working on having faith regarding the pockets of loose skin/fat. I keep reminding myself when I go through the nightly routine of wiping out skin folds and drying and powdering them that I am not having to do as many as I used to, and the day will come where I won't have to do this at all. In fact, I've cut out doing that for my back folds as they are now shallow enough that they don't need it. So that's an NSV.36
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On that same note of feeling both thinner and fatter, my clothes fit weirdly. I’m wearing things I haven’t touched in a couple of years and they all slide on easily, but developing muscles in the calves are what keep capris in line now, while fabric sags and swishes emptily around thighs and glutes where the slacks used to hug snugly.
I’m not ready to size down further yet, but I feel like an alien on occasion when dressed for the day.
On a related note, it’s harder to sort laundry now. I have to look carefully at every tee and blouse to determine if it’s mine or if it belongs to one of my children—which is a really bizarre thing to say at the age of 46. It’s equally odd to be folding a tee I *know* to be mine even though it’s medium sized. That toy-sized shirt can fit on me?? Really?21 -
@thelastnightingale and @AwesomeSquirrel - I definitely went through that phase - when you have this odd combination of loose skin and subcutaneous fat that just hangs down and flaps all over the place. The only way around it is through it. Just hang on and keep losing. You'll go through a period (and I'm still in it) where you look better with your clothes on than off, but eventually you'll start to notice certain areas slimming down and you'll have hope that the rest of you body will catch up too.
I'm right there too - so weird! I realized last night that it's even on my forearms! Who even knew my forearms were fat?!!9 -
Nobody told me that every article of clothing I own would look like it's still on a hanger. My entire wardrobe is crap now. I even had to get smaller under shirts!
Also, my super power used to be that I was never cold. I have to bring a dang sweater, which hangs on me, with me everywhere I go now.24 -
They dont tell men this but "things" will appear bigger since there isnt so much fat around there16
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People will resent your improvements because they're still in the place they were when you started.29
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cakegoddess1 wrote: »Being ACTUALLY handicapped, I get really annoyed when large girls take the handicapped stall. It's NOY for you...it's for us who really need it. Please...a little respect.
Morbid obesity can be a condition that can cause handicaps. Heart and cardiovascular problems can make them weak and in need of the stability bars in the handicapped stalls. Not to mention they just need the additional room to be able to take care of their toileting needs. We're all doing the best we can and trying to improve each day.29 -
thelastnightingale wrote: »My fat feels different.
I'm not sure how to describe this or if anyone here has had a similar experience... My stomach felt firmer at maximum fatness. I'm not saying the skin is loose now or anything (well, maybe it's a bit looser, but that's not what I mean), but it feels... softer and squishier? I don't have to prod it to know it feels different, I just 'know' - but if I prod it, I can feel the difference.
There's less fat overall, but what is left feels like a different type of fat. A different texture. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, just that it's different and it's a little bit weird.
Is it just me?
I've noticed that too and that the fat becomes less softer / squishier after a longer than usual sleep - and gets more squishier as I sleep less ( all while on a lifestyle aimed for fat loss and muscle increase ) .4 -
My doctor high-fived me months back at only 17 lbs down and said "when it starts to sag keep going...and it WILL sag". I'm down 50 lbs, actually past my goal and in maintenance mode and it DOES sag. Buy a really excellent bra, it helps in a multitude of ways! I'm in my mid-50's so I don't think that will change but so many things have changed for the positive! Comments from people i haven't seen for a while "Where is the rest of you?" "You've lost a PERSON!". Shopping and be able to try on any type of style (including skinny jeans) and have them fit or to even have to go down a size smaller that you thought. This has been a journey for sure! I'm working on a great new wardrobe and my husband of almost 25 years can't get over the change. If you think you can't do it...you can!35
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One thing that i have learned on my weight loss mission. Is that the scale is a helpful tool to use, but photos are a must. They help me see physically what the scale may be hiding from me. PS scales are so dumb.
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@pedro_testi It's all bizarre. You drive down the road in the safety of your own vehicle....how many rolls, let me count the ways. As time passes, the rolls become one big fruit roll-up. Then they start to disperse over a wider area.
Cotton balls of fluff or silly putty. It bounces as you're walking down the sidewalk. If you flap your arms too much you can hear it slap around and you wonder what in the hail was that. You don't tell anyone about it but it's difficult to keep it all under wraps.
You wonder about your collagen and the elastin fibers in your skin. Will they tighten or loosen. You keep swimming, working out and giving it all you've got. The big fruit roll-up becomes a deflated balloon but you have faith that everything will snap back into place. Your center of gravity changes.
Your attitude changes and the world looks brighter. You no longer give two horsesheets what anyone thinks about you. You become bolder. The folds start to disappear. Your jeans don't make that swishing sound. The arm flapping settles down and all is well.
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One thing no one tells you is that the day to day process is often spiked with annoyance. Today the jeans that fit fine yesterday have started sagging notably in the back waistband area. Yes, this is a good thing, but in the interim I will have to put up with pants that are falling off my "kitten", because I guarantee that I'm still too big to fit in the next size down.
Dealing with cravings is easy. Dealing with my pants sagging off my rear is infinitely more annoying.17
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