What nobody tells you about losing weight
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lemonsurprise wrote: »Wanted to make this thread for motivationial purposes more than anything but they don't all have to be super positive! More of what came as a surprise. I'll start..
- how much confidence it will actually bring, especially when strangers start treating you like royalty all of a sudden!
- Sitting (particularly in baths) and laying (particularly in beds) will become ever increasingly uncomfortable.
- how vain you will become! I can't walk past a mirror without checking how I look nowadays!
Your turn!
- How many times a day I use the word “calorie” in my thoughts or making conversation with my partner.
- Looking at my old clothing and in shock that those pants were tight on me once. That shirt barely fit and now hangs off.
- How fast the tracking time went by and why the heck didn’t I just start sooner! (Week 10.5 here).
- Amazed that my food scale showed me the real measurements and going by measuring spoons and cups is risky.
That’s all I got for now
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That when you are overweight, clothing manufacturers assume you have six foot long arms, and all your sleeves go well past your hands.
And then when you lose down to a smaller size, now the sleeves fit, but the manufacturers assume you are short, and many shirts no longer go past your belly button.
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springlering62 wrote: »That when you are overweight, clothing manufacturers assume you have six foot long arms, and all your sleeves go well past your hands.
And then when you lose down to a smaller size, now the sleeves fit, but the manufacturers assume you are short, and many shirts no longer go past your belly button.
Hahaha I'm starting to run into that, finally, along with the bizarrely shrinking pockets. I guess it's a good thing I like 3/4 sleeves and cropped pants.7 -
jennacole12 wrote: »That maintenance is its own journey and just as challenging...
This, and this, and this again! I hit goal over Christmas but my weight has crept up ca. 2kg since then. I am still in maintenance, but only just... So I am back to logging and aiming to be back at goal properly. At least I am intervening now and not waiting until I got back to where I started... (I hear your pain, @ONUnicorn : that regain happened to me too. This time I am really thinking about how to go about maintenance.)jennacole12 wrote: »That maintenance is its own journey and just as challenging...
This, and this, and this again! I hit goal over Christmas but my weight has crept up ca. 2kg since then. I am still in maintenance, but only just... So I am back to logging and aiming to be back at goal properly. At least I am intervening now and not waiting until I got back to where I started... (I hear your pain, @ONUnicorn : that regain happened to me too. This time I am really thinking about how to go about maintenance.)
This - so much this! Definitely a journey not a destination!
Yep exactly!! All through weight loss I kept thinking I can’t wait till I hit goal.... like that was some sort of end point 😂7 -
That you may hate the scale now, but you will miss the constant validation when it no longer is a useful tool.24
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jennacole12 wrote: »That you may hate the scale now, but you will miss the constant validation when it no longer is a useful tool.
It is still a ridiculously useful tool in maintenance. How else will you know? But it's harder to use because you don't get the rush of seeing lower and lower numbers as the weeks crawl by. You see up. You see down. You see up and down. You see down, down, and up up up. Ideally, over time, you see what would look like a modified sine wave if you put it on a graph.
It's another reason to use a weight trend app to smooth out the noise. But it's always going to be a useful tool.11 -
jennacole12 wrote: »That you may hate the scale now, but you will miss the constant validation when it no longer is a useful tool.
It is still a ridiculously useful tool in maintenance. How else will you know? But it's harder to use because you don't get the rush of seeing lower and lower numbers as the weeks crawl by. You see up. You see down. You see up and down. You see down, down, and up up up. Ideally, over time, you see what would look like a modified sine wave if you put it on a graph.
It's another reason to use a weight trend app to smooth out the noise. But it's always going to be a useful tool.
Not so much for me, I’m trying to gain muscle..... so over the past year I’ve gained lbs but it’s what we are aiming for, just a bit of a mind game to see the scale creep up and not do anything about it. I’ve started getting bodpod scans every three months instead, I’m leaner at 133 than I was at 117.... crazy but that’s why I don’t find the scale helpful anymore.15 -
jennacole12 wrote: »jennacole12 wrote: »That you may hate the scale now, but you will miss the constant validation when it no longer is a useful tool.
It is still a ridiculously useful tool in maintenance. How else will you know? But it's harder to use because you don't get the rush of seeing lower and lower numbers as the weeks crawl by. You see up. You see down. You see up and down. You see down, down, and up up up. Ideally, over time, you see what would look like a modified sine wave if you put it on a graph.
It's another reason to use a weight trend app to smooth out the noise. But it's always going to be a useful tool.
Not so much for me, I’m trying to gain muscle..... so over the past year I’ve gained lbs but it’s what we are aiming for, just a bit of a mind game to see the scale creep up and not do anything about it. I’ve started getting bodpod scans every three months instead, I’m leaner at 133 than I was at 117.... crazy but that’s why I don’t find the scale helpful anymore.
Well, if you are trying to ADD mass.... that's different for sure. At some point when you get as massive as you want, you might once again find it to be a useful tool. Seems like for you, at this point, the measuring tape will be the best metric. It will give you validation if you are gaining the right kind of mass!7 -
estherjellybabe wrote: »I hate this from people so so much. I just want to tell them sarcastically "Thank you so much for your vote of confidence in me." As in, it just makes me feel like they think I never have my sh** in order... Another thing I really hate is the comment "Oh but you're already good enough as you are! You can stop now!" No, I will stop when I reach my goal BMI within the healthy range. And when I tell them what my goal weight is, I get a lot of negativity that that is "going too far". No it is not, it is a BMI of 22, so it is literally the most optimal weight for me. The amount of criticism about these things is very irritating indeed.
It's crazy isn't it?!?! I think a lot of people in our society are starting to calibrate what they see as a "healthy weight" to having a higher and higher body fat percentage. When I started MFP, I definitely needed to lose fat and rebuild my fitness after a rough couple years, though I was only just hovering on the cusp of being overweight according to my BMI. My doctor concurred that with my family medical history it is best for me to carry a lower body fat percentage, which I achieved. It blows my mind that so many people would actually go so far as to take me aside and seriously tell me that I "looked fine and didn't need to lose weight". No, I wasn't overweight, but I also wasn't a healthy weight. And I think as a society we are starting to lose our ability to tell the difference as eating takeout five nights a week, being 20lbs overweight and completely out of shape is, sadly, becoming the norm - even before Covid.
BUT! On a positive note! Another weight loss surprise: dimples. How...? Shouldn't plumper cheeks be more prone to dimples? Apparently not. I now have them where I never did... on all (ahem) my cheeks.14 -
No one told me, that no one will notice/say something. I've lost 55 lbs over 2 years, and have had maybe 1 or 2 people notice or say something. I've always carried my weight relatively well--nurses always, always, always commented when they weighed me that they thought I weighed a lot less--they'd start the scale at 30-40 lbs lower than where I knew it would end up. I have a lot of muscle and am 5'8", but 55 lbs? Isn't anyone going to notice or say something? I know that can be a mixed bag. But I think I look good--healthy, strong. I'm now overweight, not obese. And yes, I want to lose another 40, and the difference then will be--I suspect--very noticeable, so I'm curious about whether folks will say anything then. Except I'm moving in 3-4 months and won't hit the lower weight for months, so no one who sees me at my goal weight will know how far I've come, except for me. And really, that's fine--I'm just surprised and wondering if it's because of my age (I'm almost 62).12
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No one told me, that no one will notice/say something. I've lost 55 lbs over 2 years, and have had maybe 1 or 2 people notice or say something. I've always carried my weight relatively well--nurses always, always, always commented when they weighed me that they thought I weighed a lot less--they'd start the scale at 30-40 lbs lower than where I knew it would end up. I have a lot of muscle and am 5'8", but 55 lbs? Isn't anyone going to notice or say something? I know that can be a mixed bag. But I think I look good--healthy, strong. I'm now overweight, not obese. And yes, I want to lose another 40, and the difference then will be--I suspect--very noticeable, so I'm curious about whether folks will say anything then. Except I'm moving in 3-4 months and won't hit the lower weight for months, so no one who sees me at my goal weight will know how far I've come, except for me. And really, that's fine--I'm just surprised and wondering if it's because of my age (I'm almost 62).
I'd bet it has less to do with your age, and more to do with people seeing more and more and more complaints about any commentary ever. If you keep seeing or hearing "Why do people think they can comment on my looks? Was I ugly before? Not worthy? Is that what they're saying? It's not even their business! So rude!" and similar... yeah, you're gonna err on the side of caution and keep your mouth shut if you aren't absolutely sure if it's welcome.
Even people who are fairly close to me don't comment much and were VERY cautious the first time they wanted to mention it, and I'm totally fine with non-derogatory remarks.13 -
misplacedmama wrote: »Nobody tells you that through this journey you can learn so much about yourself. I've learned that I can stay on track easier when my life isn't full of chaos (like it was this weekend with the weather and power outages) but the most important thing I've learned about me, is that I can trust myself! I trust myself to get back on track when I get off and that a piece of candy (or other unplanned calorie/calories) doesn't mean I'm going to give up my lifestyle changes. My relationship with myself as improved immensely. I have more reverence for my body than I've ever had in my life! But, if someone had told me all this: I probably wouldn't have understood the value of these lessons.
"I trust myself." That's just what I needed to read today. This hit me hard in the very best way. Thank you!
I would say I trust myself per se, but I trust the habits and routines I've constantly reinforced and learned the triggers that help me get back on them quickly when I falter.6 -
I look like a cake pop on toothpicks.
Which has been mentioned before but seriously if my TORSO would lose some of the fat, that would be fantastic. I may or may not look WORSE than I did, but I sure look weirder.20 -
My bottom half and arms are EASILY a full size or two smaller than my tits and belly. Those two and my hips are almost identical measurements and, of course, are shrinking at the same rate, which is annoyingly slower than my butt and legs.
Could... could my belly just be a little smaller? It doesn't have to be flat, I have a ways to go, but... smaller than my boobs would be lovely, please and thank you.
Plus, I'm hovering just around one-derland finally and have noticed more unusual saggy bits. I am DEFINITELY at the "you'll look worse before you look better" melting candle stage. It is kind of funny to be standing and see my normal fat parts, but then I lay down, gravity goes to town on what's left, and it's like there's a whole new body, especially on my side. Hip bones pop out, muscles are more easy to see... where'd the fat go?? Oh there it is, pooling on the bottom. Terrific.24 -
No one told me, that no one will notice/say something. I've lost 55 lbs over 2 years, and have had maybe 1 or 2 people notice or say something. I've always carried my weight relatively well--nurses always, always, always commented when they weighed me that they thought I weighed a lot less--they'd start the scale at 30-40 lbs lower than where I knew it would end up. I have a lot of muscle and am 5'8", but 55 lbs? Isn't anyone going to notice or say something? I know that can be a mixed bag. But I think I look good--healthy, strong. I'm now overweight, not obese. And yes, I want to lose another 40, and the difference then will be--I suspect--very noticeable, so I'm curious about whether folks will say anything then. Except I'm moving in 3-4 months and won't hit the lower weight for months, so no one who sees me at my goal weight will know how far I've come, except for me. And really, that's fine--I'm just surprised and wondering if it's because of my age (I'm almost 62).
I'd bet it has less to do with your age, and more to do with people seeing more and more and more complaints about any commentary ever. If you keep seeing or hearing "Why do people think they can comment on my looks? Was I ugly before? Not worthy? Is that what they're saying? It's not even their business! So rude!" and similar... yeah, you're gonna err on the side of caution and keep your mouth shut if you aren't absolutely sure if it's welcome.
Even people who are fairly close to me don't comment much and were VERY cautious the first time they wanted to mention it, and I'm totally fine with non-derogatory remarks.
Agreed. This was my experience too. Only the brave commented and even then very cautiously. Some people may also think you're losing weight due to health problems.
I did notice though that once one person said something then the comments and compliments began pouring in.8 -
the mental image of your self takes longer to adjust than the physical self. i still feel fat even though i have reached my goal bmi already.18
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gionrogado wrote: »the mental image of your self takes longer to adjust than the physical self. i still feel fat even though i have reached my goal bmi already.
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^^ This definitely. When I was 125 pounds heavier and I saw a photo of myself, I didn't recognize myself. "That can't possibly be me, am I really that fat?", I would think. The other day, a friend tagged a recent photo of me on facebook and I thought, "That can't possibly be me, am I really that thin?" It was a wonderful reversal.30
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That some of my joy has been lost in looking at old memories with my family when I was heaver. I had gotten used to being heaver and loved the photos before I lost the weight, now all I can see is my size.22
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I am struggling with the cold today. It is actually relatively cold (for southern California) and it just took me 4 Just Dance songs to warm up, even with a sweatshirt and a hat on!7
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