What nobody tells you about losing weight

Sometimes you lose a certain amount of weight, and you still have the muscle memory of moving a larger body so you will propel yourself half way across the room when you stand up. Or if I’m going to stand up on a chair or ladder, my muscle memory thinks we need more umph than we do! Whee! 😂

It never occurred to me that I might dislike my body shape once I lost weight. I’m also seeing the age in my face and skin in a big way- I’m only 37 and have been wearing sunscreen daily my entire adult life so WTAF. I guess my genetics used to be hidden behind extra weight, and now I’m feeling exposed.

I still wouldn’t take back the extra weight. It was worth it.

EliseTK1 wrote: »

It never occurred to me that I might dislike my body shape once I lost weight. I’m also seeing the age in my face and skin in a big way- I’m only 37 and have been wearing sunscreen daily my entire adult life so WTAF. I guess my genetics used to be hidden behind extra weight, and now I’m feeling exposed.

I still wouldn’t take back the extra weight. It was worth it.

I saw the same after first losing, but it is going away as I've gone into maintenance. Perhaps it will improve over time for you too?

That your fat will rearrange itself while you are losing and your body will look weird!

That it's not unusual to wake up sore because the positions that were comfy when you were heavier aren't so comfy now! Bits that used to act as cushions don't anymore!

No one calls you obese anymore
How strangers notice and encourage your increased fitness.
How you have so much more energy. I feel like I had ADHD, I can't sit still anymore.
I have gone from less than 10,000 steps a day to over 20,000.
You realize the foods you thought you loved you don't really want to eat anymore.

EliseTK1 wrote: »

It never occurred to me that I might dislike my body shape once I lost weight. I’m also seeing the age in my face and skin in a big way- I’m only 37 and have been wearing sunscreen daily my entire adult life so WTAF. I guess my genetics used to be hidden behind extra weight, and now I’m feeling exposed.

I feel the same, but it seems that others who look at me don't feel the same way about it. Meaning, all I see are wrinkles and sags - but others just seem to see a thinner me. (((hugs))) This has been a brutal part of the journey, that while I have lots of feels about it, I have chosen to keep on the path and stay a healthy weight (instead of obese category 3).

No one told me that I would start thinking about food in three categories 1) protein 2) carb 3) oil. Literally food has become "what will this do for my dietary goals." I was going to make some dairy free mac-n-cheeze and at the store realized that I would be unhappy (and also unwilling to eat it) if it didn't hit some serious protein goals. I bought some tofu (which will make it look less like mac-n-cheeze) and at the end of the day this will help me out in my weakest link! When you have an allergy to whey, it is amazing how much harder it is to hit protein goals.

mooreks81 wrote: »

palwithme wrote: »

kgb6days wrote: »

How cold you get without a thick pad of insulation

You too? I thought I was the only one. I am freezing all. the. time. I just hope my body gets used to it.

You will not get used to it. I've always been cold when I'm skinny. The only protection you might get against it is building muscle, as that also keeps your motor/metabolism running. But still, less fat = being cold.

The other thing that people have mentioned here is that less fat = more uncomfortable when doing things like yoga, pilates, and other mat work. Any position on the knees or elbows like low plank is worse when you're thinner, even if you are stronger (or equally strong but the moves are easier because there's less body weight to lift.) Once again, sometimes building muscle can provide a cushion that helps with this situation, but given where muscles go, that usually doesn't work (they're not ON the knee, for example.) Just use a thick mat or the other cushioning equipment when you're doing this kind of exercise.

My protection against being cold in the winter is to hop on my treadmill desk! Kills two birds with one stone.

The bolded may be common things, but they're not universal. It only takes one counter-example.

I'm not colder when thin (this time, though I was when I lost weight in my 20s - and then, the coldness didn't last, even at similar weight as time went on).

I absolutely have had no additional problems with discomfort in bony areas when doing mat work type stuff as a thin person, vs. when I was fat/obese: Maybe less discomfort, in some cases, even, because less weight bearing down. And it's not because my goal weight is high, so that I'm still well-padded. I overshot goal and got down to BMI 18.7 for a while (too low, 116 pounds at 5'5"), have been at BMIs in the lower 20s most of the past 6+ years (weights in 120s pounds).

I have no idea what makes the difference, but since I feel like a counterexample, I don't want people who are on the path to think these are things that happen to absolutely everyone, and are necessarily universally permanent. They may be common, for all I know, though. (I doubt that I'm a special unicorn and super unique, though.)

Muscles are always good, of course, for a lot of reasons - 100% agree about that. I maybe have a bit more muscle mass than average for my demographic (F, 66), but am not dramatically muscular in a more general sense. I also 100% agree about the usefulness of being active more generally.

Like @AnnPT77 I have an easier time kneeling without the extra mass than with.

My flexibility hasn't improved much, so some body positions still make me ache after a short time, but I don't find pain if I sit/kneel with good form.

There is hope!!!
I shattered my tibia in 10/15. Requiring 3 plates and 20+ screws to put it back together, in that joint area. I could not get down on my left knee for more than 2-3 seconds and excruciating pain with that. Now with almost 100 lbs off (was at 107 lbs off in April) I can stand weight on that knee a bit longer. At least long enough to do 10 knee type pushups or to get into a plank position. Should get even better with 35-40 more off!

Losing weight actually helped with my mat classes. If you’ll pardon, I no longer felt like a “fat dachshund” floundering around on the mat.

I used to get lots and lots bruises from wedging elbows and knees in tightly for various poses. Nowadays I only see the bruises for certain arm balances.

And I guess I was fortunate enough to have always had instructors who stressed good knee posture and knee protection, even back in the obese days.

But, these days bow and locust/Superman poses can be a bit painful on the pelvis and pubic bone areas, since there’s no fat there or on belly to pad.

dralicephd wrote: »

EliseTK1 wrote: »

It never occurred to me that I might dislike my body shape once I lost weight. I’m also seeing the age in my face and skin in a big way- I’m only 37 and have been wearing sunscreen daily my entire adult life so WTAF. I guess my genetics used to be hidden behind extra weight, and now I’m feeling exposed.

I still wouldn’t take back the extra weight. It was worth it.

I saw the same after first losing, but it is going away as I've gone into maintenance. Perhaps it will improve over time for you too?

Also a thing for me. I DO still have a lot of lose skin on my arms/stomach/thighs but the face/neck stuff looking too sharp/gaunt/wrinkled has faded a TON with time in maintenence. It's been about a year of maintaining for me and my face looks much better.

Or I'm more used to it but I look more like me to me now.

1. That standing on the scales is the biggest mind-bend you'll experience.
2. Its not been healthy getting obessing over numbers on a scale... measurements and a goal piece of clothing are much better
3. Mental health is more important than physical health... look after that more than your physcial health... They end up going hand-in-hand.

I knew my body would change. I just didn’t realize how much I would want to touch the changes. I love feeling my face and finding cheekbones. I love feeling how my waistline goes in now. I even like to touch my arms which are skinnier. So weird. But I don’t see it stopping anytime soon.