I was thinking about some of the unintended benefits, deteriments, or just plain surprises of weight loss, and I'm curious what others have experienced.
1. How cold I get
2. The fact that I will run across the street when the big red hand is blinking rather than wait for the next light
3. I like shopping more than I thought I did
4. I actually can see weight gain in my waist before I get on the scale
5. My cholesterol did not go down
6. My blood pressure, which was normal when I weighed 261, is now really low (almost scarily so)
7. I will pose for photos now
8. I enjoy running
9. I'm more open to social situations
10. People talk to me more, like in grocery lines, etc. (sad, but true)
My surprises:
1. that I really do have bones under there
2. that exercise won't kill me
3. that men didn't quit flirting with me cause I got old, but cause I got fat (sad but true)
4. that green stuff tastes good
5. that fast food restaurants are still thriving without my business
6. that HulaHoops and Jump Ropes aren't just for kids
7. that going swimming doesn't have to be embarassing
8. that I'm now not too shy to sing in public
9. that my teenage DD thinks I pick out some stylish clothes (LOL)
10. that DH thinks I'm HOT
11. that needing fewer medicine frees up more money for clothes shopping
My biggest shocker: I wasn't Fat because my health was SO bad, my Health was So bad because I was fat.
My biggest shocker: I wasn't Fat because my health was SO bad, my Health was So bad because I was fat.
That's such a big one, lilybelle, one that I think a lot of people need to think about. I didn't really have a lot of health problems even at 275 (I'm sure they were on their way, though), but I've heard a lot of people claim they can't lose weight because of their health problems. You're proof that it can be the opposite -- you can become so much healthier after losing the weight!! It seems obvious, but I think a lot of people don't really grasp it.
My surprises:
1. I can be an athlete (the biggest shock by far).
2. My bones stick out, just like they did when I was a kid (I thought they were lost forever).
3. I really do like vegetables.
4. You can lose weight for a full year without actually hitting a plateau.
5. People treat you VERY differently when you are at a more "normal" weight. I hate this one, but it's so true.
6. I like being tall (when I was very heavy, I hated it because it made me such a HUGE person in all ways -- more noticeable, I guess).
7. I'm much more interested in supporting other people's weight loss efforts than I thought I'd be. It's like I'm on a mission to tell everyone they can do it, and that they can be runners if they want to!
-that I actually like and enjoy the healthy foods I am eating now more then the junk I was eating before.
-that all along I really DID have control.
-that men are really, really flirtatious (it HAD been awhile)
-that my hips, butt and boobs weren't "meant" to be so big.
-that I'm as narrow as I am.
-that I have as many bones as I do. And that I would like them so much.
-that I would enjoy clothes so, so, so, SO much.
-that I would learn so much about nutrition
-that I adore being active
-that SO many people would notice and be so very complimentary.
-that SO many people would want advice from ME. Too funny after all these years.
- that people "take" to me better now.
-and I to them
-that living a healthy lifestyle and eating properly absolutely DOES NOT feel like deprivation - in the slightest. Not even a little teeny tiny bit
-that my kids would be so incredibly supportive and proud of me. Ditto my parents.
-that my hubby would also be so proud of me and just how much he loves to "show me off" and compliment me and just can't get enough of me in general. Bless him for putting up with me for so long being as heavy as I was and never saying a word.
-that I can exercise every day and live to talk about it
-that I would be able to and NEED to shop in junior sized stores
-that I now need to look for the smallest size in the regular sized stores and even they're usually too big, as opposed to the largest in the plus sized ones.
-that absolutely each and every area of my life would improve DRAMATICALLY.
-that I would enjoy being thin as much as I do. I hadn't a clue it would be THIS marvelous.
Last edited by rockinrobin; 07-12-2007 at 04:24 PM.
~ that I actually could lose weight....I had convinced myself that I was supposed to be 250 pounds.
~ how much happier I am now.
~ how much I enjoy everything I do....even running errands is no big deal whereas it used to feel like a chore because of all the getting in and out of the car, tromping across the parking lot, etc.
~ how much energy I have. I used to be tired ALL the time, now I go, go, go!
~ how proud and supportive of me my kiddos are, and that they verbalize it to me.
~ how good sizes 6-8-10 feel. And how good it feels to not have to shop in the plus sized stores.
~ that it was within my power to be healthy, it was within my control, that I didn't have to just accept being on BP meds....they're completely gone now for good.
~ how much money I now have in my wallet that was never there when I hit the drive-thru 5-10 times per week.
~ that by watching me my kiddos are making better choices. Fast food now means Subway, not McDonalds.
~ how many guys hit on me. Unbelievable! Oh, yeah, and guys of all ages. It really thrills me when these 20-somethings hit on me! Shallow, yes, but fun? YES!
~ that my DD15 (who's 5'0" and 94 pounds) was talking to a friend via computer and told her friend that DD and I now look just alike....she feels like I'm her size 00, which to me translates that she sees me as normal now, not obese.
~ that I don't mind stepping on a scale. I used to avoid it at all costs, now I just do it.
~ that I would look forward to daily exercise as "my time for me" instead of a chore.
~ that I'm willing to try things/activities that a year ago I wouldn't have have even dreamt of.
~ that people just start talking to me wherever I am. When I was heavy, I was invisible.
~ that I have sexy undies. Always wanted them when I was a size 20-22, now I have them.
So many things (a few that were touched on above).
* Being cold ALL the time. I am sitting in my office under a blanket right now.
* That I am a tiny, small-boned person. I always thought I was a big girl, I have tee-tiny wrists and ankles and my collar bones are really noticeable.
* That losing weight and keeping it off is actually easy for me. Quit eating junk, start eating healthy foods, estimate calories in my head, get right back on track if I eat offplan. 2.5 years maintenance - easy. I would never have believed it.
- I think the bones thing has surprised me so much. At first, I did think I had a tumor or something only to find out it was a bone. Luckily, I have a skinny husband so I can compare parts just to make sure something is supposed to be there.
- My feet were and are fat. I've lost over a shoe size from my highest weight.
- I'm not as big boned as I thought. I thought my wrists were skinny looking at 8 inches. At 7 inches, they are even skinnier. My shoes at size 11 also weren't as skinny as I thought because now I am 9.5. I'm still not a small girl but my big feet, my thick wrists and my thick neck have all shrunk.
- I wasn't in as good a shape as I thought. I thought I was fine at being over 300 lbs because I could do so many things and didn't hold back. Now that I am in the lower 200s, it is amazing how even easier things can be.
- That shopping can be confusing. I liked being confined with a small selection of clothes. I'm still learning to shop in the misses section but it is a bit daunting. I went shopping last week, took about 30 things into the dressing room with me and came out with 5.
- That I still don't see much a difference in the mirror even though I've lost well over 100 lbs. Sure I can see collarbones but do I really look that much different?
Nelie wrote: That I still don't see much a difference in the mirror even though I've lost well over 100 lbs. Sure I can see collarbones but do I really look that much different?
Oh, Nelie, thank you for putting that into words. I look in the mirror and feel like I see the same girl I've always seen. I don't notice the difference until I run across an old photo, then I'm shocked!
1) The cold thing. I actually look forward to temperatures above 80 now!
2) The blood pressure thing. I measured it once after walking to the store...on one of those store things...and even after walking for 30 minutes uphill it was only 102/57...lol
3) The bones! Collar, hip, breast, ribs..all of them protruding everywhere except where the TONS of excess skin covers them.
4) The strangers talking to me is a big one! People make eye contact when you are thin, you get more help from employees and doors are held open. I actually was annoyed when this first started happening, now I just make sure to go out of my way to do these things for heavier people.
5) That my resting heart rate can get as low as 41!
6) That shopping is not so easy when you are built like a linebacker but have female DNA.
7) That I actually CRAVE Salads and whole wheat pancakes...lol
8) That I feel literally depressed on my "off" cardio days. Love endophins!
9) That muscles actually have ripples that you can feel without fat covering them!
10) The biggest thing....that once I decided to do it, the doing it part was easy and that it seemed to happen overnight.
The thing that really struck me was when you all said something about being surprised when you realized that you could do it.
I'm not sure what is different for me now than in the past, but that's exactly how I've been feeling. It's the strangest feeling (for me) but it's like I somehow realized that after all those years of thinking I had no control, suddenly I realize that I DO have control-- kind of like when Dorothy says "I want to go home," and Glinda the Good Witch says "Oh but my dear, you've had the power all along..."
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would endure a summer in St Louis without being heavily dependent on the air conditioner in my car. It works fine, but I realized today that I've only used it 2 or 3 times this summer, and at least one of those times was because it was raining buckets! I just don't get hot any more; as others stated I'm usually cold since I've lost weight, so the windows open in the car feels pretty darn good!
What has surprised me is how easy it has been. I mean, I count calories and I try to exercise at least four or five times a week, but it's not like I'm starving to death or killing myself. And still, every week, about two pounds gone. Why did I have myself convinced this would be SOOOOOOOOOOOO hard? Why did I wait so long to try and lose the stupid weight?
The other thing is how much my body can do. I guess I didn't notice losing abilities as they went slowly over a period of time, but I'm sure noticing them coming back. Being able to tie my shoes easily. Running up a flight of stairs. Making six trips to the basement for jars. Weeding in the garden for two hours straight without pain. Amazing stuff, huh?
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this thread. I am printing it out and saving it to my hard drive. How motivational!
One thing I wonder, though. There are a lot of comments about how differently people treat thinner people than fatter people. I believe that it's true - though I never did before I watched Jay McGraw get into a fat suit and I was amazed at how surprised he was at the way people treated him. I just thought that's how things were.
However, how much do you think it's specific to a smaller weight and how much do you think it's related to the confidence that being in control and having conquered a HUGE milestone brings? I know that when I feel good - regardless of whether I feel that way because I had a good "weight-control-friendly" day or because of something else, people respond much better to me, and I'm sure it's related to the vibes that I give off. In other words, how many of the good things mentioned above are directly related to the weight loss and how many of them are more closely related to just feeling better about ourselves?
The cold has been a big surprise to me. I live in hot and steamy Mississippi, but I carry a sweater with me everywhere nowadays. I used to be such a sweat-er!
People do treat you differently. I don’t know if it’s me or if it’s them. I’m sure part of it is me, but it seems like people are friendlier.
It wasn’t as hard as I always assumed it would be. I haven’t had to deprive myself like I thought I would.
I love seeing the veins in my hands and lower arms. When I’m exercising, I get such a kick out of watching them.
Another one with the blood pressure. I used to have borderline high. Now it is always low.
The confidence from being able to lose weight has crept over into other areas of my life.
It surprises me how people are surprised to hear how I lost weight. Everyone assumes it’s surgery, or some “magic” pill, or some special combination of food. Most people don’t want to think that it is as simple as eating less and exercising.
I’m surprised by how much more energy I have. I have always been a busy person, but usually I was exhausted at the end of the day, and I was never able to do as much as I can now.
I’m surprised that it’s still as hard to find clothes as it is. When I was wearing size 28/30, it seemed like all the clothes on the rack were too small. I would always just look for the biggest size there. Now they're still either too small or too large. It’s still hard, but I’m much happier when I see the clothes on.
What has surprised you about weight loss?
Terrific thread!! Thank you all so much for sharing and inspiring. I WILL be one of you SOON and post my list. 
