What nobody tells you about losing weight
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How after being overweight and out of shape for so long, when you do lose it feels like you are inhabiting someone else's body! And it is not easy to switch off the 'overweight' feeling. I had to go and get a new pair of jeans. In January of this year I weighed over 230 pounds, as of today I am 177, and I have firmed up more than I dared to dream of. I thought there was something wrong when I pulled on a size I haven't worn in decades, and it took me a few minutes to realize it was ME that was in the mirror. My first time seeing myself in a full length mirror since July of 2020.36
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Nobody told me I'd end up needing new makeup. That my skin tone and texture would both change from eating a better diet and drinking more water. That the fine lines around my eyes would be more prominent when they didn't have fat filling the area, while my eyes themselves look bigger. All this together meant throwing out my old makeup and starting over with a sheerer foundation in a different shade along with different eye makeup. On the upside, I feel more comfortable going out without makeup entirely when I want to. But when I do wear it, I have to wear the new stuff because the old version looks wrong. That's definitely not something I expected.23
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That clothes that are "comfy" and clothes that "fit" can be two entirely different things. More than once, I have left the house in a shirt I thought looked good on me because it was comfortable, only to catch my reflection to see it was hopelessly too large to be worn in public. Other times, I put on a shirt and wonder if it's too tight (or clings to me in an unflattering way) and I find it looks really good. I'm constantly reassessing my wardrobe during this whole weight loss process.37
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I have been feeling hairier than usual, especially in the chest and the stomach. Then I realized the amount of hair is the same but its the surface area that has shrunk lol34
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salleewins wrote: »I went swimming this weekend and felt good about wearing a suit in public, at a water Zumba class, for the first time in many many many years. The person I was with was not as comfortable with themselves. I had to hear more than I wanted to hear. She commented on how tiny I was a number of times. Once she even said I looked like I was 15. I had to tell her that I just got out of the overweight range and when I was 15, I probably weighed 30 lbs less. Btw I am 61, for the readers here. Sometime I will ask if looking 15 is a compliment or not? Cuz I am wondering..... I did say that we need to get in the kind of shape where we are happier with ourselves and have more confidence. I complimented here genuinely on a number of things. She also said that she thinks I don't realize how tiny that I am. I do know that I have more to go. I am happy that I have lost a fair amount. I still have goals and that is ok. I do not feel they are unrealistic. I just went there to have fun and forget about problems for awhile.......Need to rethink these outings.
I posted this on another thread as well.
Unfortunately, the majority of the world does not seem to what "normal" bmi/weight looks like in person anymore. I hope you don't give up on something you enjoy because of someone else's thoughts and opinions. Go, get the relaxation/exercise you want/ need.10 -
A very fit and thin friend lent me her jacket the other day and I started to say, "Oh no, it couldn't possibly fit me", and she, "Oh sure it will - we're the same size". She didn't know me when I was heavier and she was super confused as to why I wouldn't think it would fit. Sure enough, the jacket fit like a dream. It's been more than year since I've been this size, but I still think I'm an XXL, when a medium or even a small fits me just fine.22
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When I was XXL and in “W” sizes, sleeves were too long, like manufacturers assumed I had gorilla arms because I was bigger.
Now that I’m in much smaller sizes, sleeves and shirts are too short, and waistlines are baggy yet I have trouble getting pants over muscular calves and thighs. Not particularly big, mind you, just muscular.
I guess I just had in my mind that ill fitting clothes were a punishment for weight and that clothes would magically fit as I shrank.
Nope.20 -
I didn't know it was possible to actually SKIP sizes as you lost weight. Even when you're almost to goal weight. All that "whooshing" does strange things. Pants are the worst since those are hard for me to find anyway because of my height. I bought several pairs in the "next size down" figuring I'd shrink into them in a few weeks. They were way too small when I bought them, but I felt confident I would get there. Turns out I dropped straight past them over a two day period and never got to wear them at all. This happened to me several times during my weight loss, and I'm still losing inches even now when I'm at my goal. Probably because of the strength training. But I wish I'd realized it was possible to skip sizes. I would have saved money by not buying ahead so much. At the time, it felt good to be that confident, so I can't reget it too much. But knowing what I do now, I would have limited my purchases more and stuck to items that could span multiple sizes more easily.18
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@springlering62 ... That is so true about things not necessarily fitting better when you're thin. I actually had an easier time shopping at bigger sizes because my proportions fit the clothing industry's models better. Now I have to special order things I used to be able to buy in stores. Mind you, I'd rather do that than go back to the way I felt before the weight loss. But I'd better not gain the weight back because if I do, I'll have wasted a ton of money on clothes!!9
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BrightEyedAgain wrote: »But knowing what I do now, I would have limited my purchases more and stuck to items that could span multiple sizes more easily.
Ha ha ha, I hear you! So, this is the reason why I don't wear pants. For work clothes it's skirts, period. They can stretch and shrink a lot more easily as my shape changes. Someday after my weight has stabilized I MAY try buying a pair of actual pants, rather than just skirts or exercise shorts, but I'm not sure I'll be brave enough!
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[quote="dawnmcneil10;c-313290
Something else that I struggle with is using up the excess energy without irritating others.
YES! haha both my husband and my sister ask me where I get my energy and I can tell I annoy them both!!
[/quote]
YES! I no longer like just laying around all day, I need to do something....except clean the house...I still hate that!!10 -
I'm pretty sure I was aware I was supposed to get more energy, but I didn't really comprehend. Then when I come home from a two-mile-plus walk past my bedtime because I headed out late, and start cleaning the kitchen and help my (adult) kid with something and then move into cleaning something else only to get her pointed "thought you were going to bed..."
Can I help it I had more energy after my walk than before? It's SO. WEIRD.22 -
That I'd need a better water heater because filling the tub takes more water now.20
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Hopping on the scale too often can get you a little discouraged if the number doesn't move like you think it should. It's better to focus on other indicators of your progress, such as how you look in the mirror or how your pants fit or the fact that you can button your favorite sweater now when you could barely get in on a few weeks earlier. I think these things are far better than the scale.19
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Never thought praising a persons weight loss was rude until reading these blogs. Learning that weight loss is a personal journey. I would not mention to someone their weight gain, why would I mention their loss.11
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I now know what it would be like to lather up and bath another grown up dude. My body feels so different in the shower, it throws me off every single time.14
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Loose skin.6
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That people start telling you that you're too skinny now. And that the weight would come off my boobs first.9
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Loose skin.
Stick with it and exercise. I promise it will tighten up. I’m three years in and stuff is still tightening here and there. There’s a period you go through where everything sags like a stretched out water balloon. Once you’ve reached that pit of gloom and insecurity, it’s all up from there.24 -
springlering62 wrote: »Loose skin.
Stick with it and exercise. I promise it will tighten up. I’m three years in and stuff is still tightening here and there. There’s a period you go through where everything sags like a stretched out water balloon. Once you’ve reached that pit of gloom and insecurity, it’s all up from there.
I am weird and have a weird sense of humor.
I have been shaking mine.
Like an extremely twisted version of twerking.
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