What nobody tells you about losing weight
Replies
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Sand_TIger wrote: »Mondowefte wrote: »
No one told me that I could do this. I only knew one lady who had lost a lot of weight, and she was heavily into running, so it didn't seem practical for me. I had to find my own route, when I was ready. But a bit of moral support would have been nice.
Well then - YOU CAN DO THIS! You can TOTALLY do this! There are so many fantastic examples of people from all ability levels and walks of life here on MFP who have, and they inspire me every day. If someone who can't walk can lose weight, or someone who started at 500 pounds, or someone who is starting over 70, then we can both lose weight and gain health too. All it takes is patience, consistency and time.
Great job with what you've done already! Nobody really told me all the strange ways my body would drop weight either, LOL.
Thanks Sand_tiger. It has been a rough week, and this was lovely to come back to. Well done on your hard work as well.5 -
That body dysmorphia doesn't disappear with the weight. I know I get bloated, but I am wearing a few sizes smaller than when I started and I still look the same to me. I use scales, clothes, and tape measure to reaffirm that I am making progress, but I really want to see it for myself!16
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That losing a significant amount of weight is a bit like going through puberty again and being over 50 that was long time ago:
- people feel ok about commenting on your body
- You might notice getting noticed by the people of the gender/s you prefer
- there are things you can do that you couldn't before
- which sometimes surprises you
- you might have to buy new clothes frequently for a while
- the way you view yourself can change drastically
- but you still might see your self mentally as you used to for a while
- but eventually the "new" you just becomes you.
Cheers26 -
Eimajnosbor wrote: »That losing a significant amount of weight is a bit like going through puberty again and being over 50 that was long time ago:
- people feel ok about commenting on your body
- You might notice getting noticed by the people of the gender/s you prefer
- there are things you can do that you couldn't before
- which sometimes surprises you
- you might have to buy new clothes frequently for a while
- the way you view yourself can change drastically
- but you still might see your self mentally as you used to for a while
- but eventually the "new" you just becomes you.
Cheers
All true including still feeling old. I think once you hit that 50 mark you always do 7 -
I beg to differ about feeling feeling old. Since losing 100+ lbs. I feel better than I did in my 50s. I'm 68 now. Just got a b/w polka dot pedicure to match my black/white outfit. I would of never done that before. I love my new outlook on life on my healthy lifestyle journey. Wish I had done it sooner.30
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FABRICWOMAN wrote: »I beg to differ about feeling feeling old. Since losing 100+ lbs. I feel better than I did in my 50s. I'm 68 now. Just got a b/w polka dot pedicure to match my black/white outfit. I would of never done that before. I love my new outlook on life on my healthy lifestyle journey. Wish I had done it sooner.
I think my feeling old is more mental than physical. When I got to my goal weight at 50 and was working out regularly, eating healthy and sleeping better, I felt physically better than I ever had my whole life. I am now 53. I don't feel physically old except for being stiff in the mornings, but my thinking is definitely "old" compared to the younger ones out there. It's just seems more obvious every year.7 -
Depending on your starting weight, 50lb might be where people start noticing (that's about how much it took for people to see it on me). But I bet some people HAVE noticed and just haven't said anything.Mondowefte wrote: »No one told me that I could lose 25kg (50lb), and people wouldn't notice.12 -
FABRICWOMAN wrote: »I beg to differ about feeling feeling old. Since losing 100+ lbs. I feel better than I did in my 50s. I'm 68 now. Just got a b/w polka dot pedicure to match my black/white outfit. I would of never done that before. I love my new outlook on life on my healthy lifestyle journey. Wish I had done it sooner.
well I think the old adage that you are only as old as you feel/think/believe has certain ring of truth. I am probably as fit as I have ever been, but the aches can turn up a lot and some bits are failing. Doesn't stop me doing much though! Though the large number of painful muscle spasms I seem to get all the time (feet, calves, hands, ribs, neck, abdomen) are a bit irritating, especially when they wake you several times a night. Hoping to still living the self care lifestyle when I am sixty eight to!6 -
bobsburgersfan wrote: »
Depending on your starting weight, 50lb might be where people start noticing (that's about how much it took for people to see it on me). But I bet some people HAVE noticed and just haven't said anything.Mondowefte wrote: »No one told me that I could lose 25kg (50lb), and people wouldn't notice.
100% this. I'm hoping to lose 180 pounds. I've lost about 100 so far and am not suprised or upset when people don't notice. I was a very fat guy before and now im still a somewhat less fat guy.
Some have noticed tho, but mostly I get told they can see it in my face LMAO.18 -
I noticed that I am turning over in bed without a huge amount of effort.18
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That it is really lovely to be active and busy all day and feel physically tired, but not in pain. I used to get really painful back spasms and sore feet 20 minutes into a gentle walk.20
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And that you an undo the damage and feel better.27
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I didn’t expect to sleep so much better, and that’s largely down to background pain in hips and knees just going away mostly. I also never expected an urge to run. I’ve always liked gentle exercise, yoga, swimming, walking. Last December I found myself spontaneously breaking into a little run, for the first time since I was a child. It was so hard at first, running for a whole minute, walking a minute and a half. I found my legs could do it though, without hurting and my lungs got stronger. Now, amazingly I’m a regular jogger and even ran with a community group last Saturday. When I hurt now it’s because I’ve been pushing myself a bit to get more flexible or faster. It occurs to me that daily living at my previous weight was actually living life on maximum challenge all the time. Every physical effort was so hard I could just about get through each day. I’ve now got spare bandwidth to actually exercise and enjoy moving.35
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I got a headache yesterday. And then it occurred to me - just how unusual that was. When I was morbidly obese, I used to wake nearly every day with a headache. I used to have heartburn nearly every day too. But now, 125 pounds later, these events are so rare that they surprise and worry me when they do happen. Being fit has improved my quality of life in so many countless ways. I can't even imagine how I managed through life before.47
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One thing nobody ever told me about weight loss is just how much easier it is to do everything! Normal living is easier. I had to work so hard when I was carrying all that extra weight. Even basic walking was hard. When I consider how much I was carrying, that's not a surprise, really. Then I think about how fast I could still go even when carrying nearly 100 pounds of extra weight and I'm impressed.30
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RelCanonical wrote: »AlexandraFindsHerself1971 wrote: »NeptuneCastle wrote: »Slightly off-topic here but how icky you feel after eating unhealthy take-out, especially in the amounts that you used to. For example, I can only eat half of my old "KFC order" and it makes my stomach feel absolutely horrible! I feel so bloated and get so gassy, I can't help but think, "How did I eat all that and still feel okay??"
I feel that way about food in general. Did I really used to sit down and eat three massive pancakes with syrup AND two eggs AND sausage AND two pieces of toast and a massive amount of fried potatoes? I remember doing it, but these days that amount of food would make me sick.
I have the opposite issue, lol. I can still eat tons of food if I don't consciously manage myself.
Facts. I’m able to eat half of one of those small thin crust pizzas with a side of veggies.
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It does take alot of pounds before others start to notice and even when they do in today's world people don't know if they should say something and what to say. They don't want to offend you or hurt your feelings.Mondowefte wrote: »I No one told me that I could lose 25kg (50lb), and people wouldn't notice.
MFP is a great source of support and motivation. I make it a daily stop. You've done a great job in losing 50 lbs. Don't let the world's reaction to that decrease your joy and pride in that. Its not easy and only a small percentage of people can say they have. So not alot of the world understands the magnitude of what you've been able to do. Keep it up and enjoy your accomplishments.
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Nobody told me that I can feel my body changing even when the scale is not really moving.
Getting stronger, more lean, more fit are my goals. I choose this over any specific weight.
Good stuff happens when I stay focused.15 -
You need to set money aside for new clothes.19
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How often you'll have to buy new underwear
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Sand_TIger wrote: »The last 20 pounds are regarded by many as the hardest, because your body may not want to drip that last bit. It seems easier to drop weight when you have a lot to lose, but nearly everybody (or maybe everybody) slows down at the end. So good job hanging in there!
So very, very true. I'm within the last 15 lbs. I need to my reach goal and actually being at a normal BMI for the first time, likely in my entire life, and the scale hasn't budged for 2 weeks now. Actually that's not true, it's gone up about 5-8 lbs. but that's just water weight. I think the last month or two I had gotten a bit overzealous with the workouts and not eating enough because of it, even though I was at or near my calorie budget. The workout burn was making my calorie net much, much lower and I think that brought my metabolism crashing down. I saw that light at the end of the tunnel and thought "I'm so close, I'll push even harder and I can get there faster!" The body has a funny way of slapping you down a notch or two.
Last week I made some adjustments to what I'm eating, actually eating considerably more than the calorie budget is suggesting now, trying to stay close to "0 calories remaining." I've been eating so much each day the last week, and I'm still not even anywhere near where my maintenance calories will be once I hit my goal... I honestly have no idea how I'm going to manage that. But it does seem to have gotten my metabolism working again and the last few days I've been seeing steady downward movement on the scale. Today I'm still over the 15 lb. hump but only just, and if this continues (fingers crossed!) I should be back on track this week and hopefully at my goal late June or early July.11 -
@jaygunn - just to clear up confusion about your metabolism slowing down - I suspect what is really happening is that when you ate too few calories while amping up your workouts, is that you were putting your body under physical stress and that may have lead to water retention. It's also possible with the high intensity workouts and not eating enough you were so exhausted that after the workout you could have slumped on the couch from fatigue for the rest of the day and actually burned fewer calories than normal (because your NEAT was lower). None of these things are caused by a slowed down metabolism. And your metabolism doesn't suddenly perk up when you start eating at a healthy deficit either. But your energy levels perk up so you move more. And you feel better, so all that water your body was holding on to is released.
But I totally agree on how hard it is to lose those last 10 or 15 pounds! After slowly losing about 15 pounds while in maintenance for the past 10 months, I decided to intentionally lose 10 more vanity pounds and all I've done for the past two months is a really good job at maintaining! Go figure!16 -
@speyerj that could definitely be! Oddly even though I was working out more intensely, I didn't feel any more tired nor any more hungry than normal. But I do work a desk job, from home, so I do indeed spend the majority of the day before and after workouts, just sitting.
That's another aspect of my life that I know definitely needs to change. If I can't just *not* work, I figure the next best thing I can do is get more active during and after. I've ordered a standing desk converter for my desk, as well as a wobble board (essentially a ball with a flat top) to stand on to make it more "active standing" to stay balanced on it. Got an anti-fatigue mat too, in case I don't want to always be on the wobble board. I've also got some new bike parts coming in and getting that out of storage to fix it up and ride, now that the weather is getting better. And swimming. That's going to be a thing I do again. And hiking. Not so much of that to do in the Dallas TX area, but when I finally move back to the Pacific Northwest, absolutely.
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I read this thread a few months back and was surprised by the references to bones.
As a double edged sword, having now lost over 35lbs, I can say Yes, bones are a real pain when exercising! My pilates is hindered by my ribs and hips on the floor!10 -
Sand_TIger wrote: »One thing nobody ever told me about weight loss is just how much easier it is to do everything! Normal living is easier. I had to work so hard when I was carrying all that extra weight. Even basic walking was hard. When I consider how much I was carrying, that's not a surprise, really. Then I think about how fast I could still go even when carrying nearly 100 pounds of extra weight and I'm impressed.
This too! Sometimes when I pick up something heavy like a big bag of dogfood, or a bucket of cat litter, I think about it's weight, and then think about having to carry it around with me, every day, all the time. How it can make my back ache, my knees protest, and slow me down when I move. And then how wonderful it feels to put it back down and NOT carry it.
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Something else nobody every told me about weight loss is how GOOD healthy food would taste. I've enjoyed fruit more than any candy, and a really good yogurt with fruit on it is almost as good as ice cream. I'm amazed at how tasty lean protein and vegetables can be when cooked right. Yes, the body can indeed be trained into craving the healthy stuff, just as I wished would happen back in the day when eating junk.
You know the old refrain "why can't the healthy stuff taste as good as stuff that's bad for me?"
It CAN!25 -
You have to adjust the seat position in the car8
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Kelll12123 wrote: »lemonsurprise wrote: »
- Sitting (particularly in baths) and laying (particularly in beds) will become ever increasingly uncomfortable.
hahaha this... My back is bruised from doing workouts on the floor because my shoulder blades stick out so much now.
No one told me how annoying buying clothes could be. It's great when they fit, but I keep going down sizes and needing to buy more and then not having a purpose for the larger sizes.
On a more positive note, I get hit on a lot more. Three different guys asked me out for Valentine's Day this year
You said yes to all three didnt you?5 -
Probably people do talk about this, but I need to say it anyway:
Your rings will fall off if you aren't very careful. I almost lost my wedding ring the other day, and now I won't wear my rings until after I get a chance to get them resized, when the stores finally reopen here.
Be careful with your rings, people!11 -
That your riding stable will start putting you on Go Fast McJerkface horses instead of the draft crosses and your workout difficulty will increase accordingly.
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