I imagine people are asking that because you are an inspiration to them. You have nothing to be embarrassed about! However, I understand how you feel. In this day and age of "The biggest loser" contestants losing 100 pounds in 6 months or less, it is easy for us slower losers to feel inferior. I stuggle with that because my loss has been slow. You are showing that you don't have to lose 100 pounds in a short period of time to be successful.
I really appreciate you posting about this. It encourages me to know that with persistence, I can lose this weight even if it does take 5 years. You should be very proud of yourself. You have changed your life.
I think that I am going to take some of the suggestions of the other posters. I am going to say, "I have been developing healthy habits of diet and exercise for several years and have lost weight because of it." That way the emphasis will be on the healthy changes instead of the weight loss.
I hope that you will tell people that it took years. There is no telling how many people you will encourage and inspire.
When I logged on to this forum today, I was (happily) surprised to see the number of people who'd responded to my post. Then, I started reading. Now there are tears streaming down my face. Each of you has offered me such encouragement and support...I'm just amazed. And to be told that I'm an inspiration to some people! Wow! I can't tell you all how much that means to me.
I'm going to adopt some form of the "I changed my eating and exercise habits several years ago to get healthy, and have lost weight as a result".
Personally I'm jealous that you can tell people what you've lost. Other than shouting it from the rooftops here, I have yet to be able to utter how much I have lost when people ask. I just say "a lot". I have a hard time seeing it as the success I know logically that it is - all I can focus on is my shame from letting myself get so far gone. As if they couldn't tell!
I'm a slow looser, and still have a ways to go. Congrats on such a fantastic accomplishment! I agree you shouldn't feel any shame at all in what you've done. In fact, I think it's great that you're sharing that and showing people even if it takes time, persistance gets you to your goal, which it certainly did for you. Better to stick at it than to say this is taking too long, I'll never do it and surrender.
I see it as a lifestyle change, so for me there's not an end eating and exercise wise.
Nobody's actually inquired into my timeline, though recently at a woman who politely congratulated me on my weight loss and asked how I did it went silent for few moments before wondering aloud how long it'd been since a group of us were at X event [last time she and I hung out].
Said event was last August, at my high weight and just before I began losing ... I could follow her thought process, there :-)
I have a hard time seeing it as the success I know logically that it is - all I can focus on is my shame from letting myself get so far gone. As if they couldn't tell!
I still struggle with this quite a bit myself. Logically I know how hard I've worked and how much fortitude it's taken, but to have gained 125 extra pounds in the first place...well, it's hard to face that down some days.
It doesn't bother me when people ask but also as time goes by, people will mostly stop asking. The newness of it all makes people ask because they want to know how/what/etc. Of course I've found that mostly they want some miracle and I can't give them that. All I can give them is that it was a total change in lifestyle and mindset that got me from where I was to where I am now.
Nelie, I think too that maybe jealousy sets in. I know that when people lose weight and I notice I'll ask, but then as they continue, I actually feel jealous about their success. Human nature sucks, doesn't it?
Blame this question on living in a culture that likes numbers & most particularly, statistics.
I'm reminded of my job, where we're always concerned about metrics for our job performance & our company performance. Nothing can be deemed good or worthwhile unless you can produce the metrics to support your position. Which is fine for the business world, but not so fine when we're talking about a person & her feelings of well-being & competence.
One thing I've learned on these forums is that numbers mean everything & nothing.
You can stand on a scale, check the number against the BMI charts, have your blood pressure taken, your cholesterol levels measured, your EKG charted & your A1C calculated, & etc., and get one sense of where your weight is & how your health is, and whether you are "normal" or "overweight" or "obese." You can go by sizes in clothing lines, watching the numbers change.
And then there's this whole other reality going on inside you, which the numbers will not adequately describe. You can achieve all your numbers & succeed by all measurements & still feel fat & unhappy. And the reverse is also possible.
What I am trying to say is that those "five years" are just another number & you must not let them take anything away from your well-earned sense of having accomplished something incredibly worthwhile. Doing it in five months or five years, whatever, it doesn't matter. What matters is how you feel about what you have done. Right now. And I really hope you feel good.
Yep, my understanding is that this is a place where we can feel like we're in good company among those who have 100+ to lose. Sometimes it's hard for me to encounter someone who has 20 lbs to lose who calls themselves "fat". It's just hard to hear. And in this forum I likely won't encounter that.
i think there is also something very daunting about saying "i have to lose over a 100 pounds" that makes someone's approach to weight loss need to be different than someone who has 20 lbs to lose. losing weight is hard no matter what but there is a different mental game/strategy that is necessary when you have a longer road ahead of you.
I don't think you have any reason to be ashamed. You didn't gain all the weight in 6 months, so people shouldn't expect it to come off that fast. But to echo the thoughts of many, focusing on the healthier lifestyle aspect of losing your weight should be enough. For the people who really push, just tell them its a rather person question, it took the right amount of time for my body to adjust and change the subject.
It's actually been close to five years since my highest weight of 360, now that I think about it. I really don't technically know how long it's taken to plow through this 112 pound loss since a majority of that time was sitting at a plateau of 285.
While visiting family (that I only see every few years) this past month, of course I was asked how long it took me to lose the weight. I explained I'd lost over 35 since the summer and 110 altogether and left it at that. Explaining how was somehow easier, even though it was a more complicated answer.
I also lamented out loud that I couldn't believe I'd let myself get so big, but they were actually very understanding about that. But I don't face these questions much outside of family since I haven't lived anywhere near my old friends in a couple of years now.
Thank you for posting about this.
I know that when people lose weight and I notice I'll ask, but then as they continue, I actually feel jealous about their success. Human nature sucks, doesn't it? 
