"Were you disappointed when you got to your goal weight?"
HECK NO! Like Robin, I was THRILLED! By the time I hit goal, I could fit most of my "thin clothes" (size 4-6), some of my girlfriend's clothes (size 2-4), I was much, much healthier, felt a whole lot better physically, no longer felt the guilt and shame of being overweight in a shallow college town, and people complimented me all the time. WHY in the WORLD would I be DISAPPOINTED?

" Did you look as good as you expected?"
Now, yes, there WERE some things I found disappoint*ing*. I actually did have a pretty flat stomach, BUT despite being flat, it looked like a deflated balloon. I was an "apple" shape before I lost weight, so the biggest amount lost was from my stomach (went from a 33" waist to a 26.5"). I was hoping to confidently strut around the beach in a bikini by the time I hit goal, but that wasn't quite the case. I also had trace amounts of backfat. But yes, actually, overall, I looked as good as I expected - I looked almost exactly like I did when I was 18 (before I ever got fat!)

For those who are mentioning how some parts of you still jiggle, start hitting the weights! If you train hard and lift heavy, I guarantee a good portion of your jiggly will go away. It helps tremendously in reducing your percent body fat (for instance, my percent body fat right when I hit goal was 19% - which I was INCREDIBLY HAPPY about - BUT now it's 15.5-16% even though the scale number has not changed any). I know everyone is different, but for me, being a muscular woman gives me an immense sense of confidence... especially knowing I couldn't possibly SEE all these muscles if there was a layer of fat covering them Like Mel said, your entire body shape will change.

Zenor77 said:
"I just think that western society puts too much emphasis on an unattainable perfection when it comes to body image."

I agree SO much with that. Our society teaches us to basically hate ourselves so that someone else can make money from our insecurities. No one actually has the "perfect" body. If they did, tummy tucks, liposuction, and breast implants would not be so popular. And the models would not be so frequently airbrushed -- and trust me, they are -- I used to do a bit of modeling back in my teen years. I remember doing a shoot for Tommy Hilfiger where I was sitting down with this guy. I was wearing a low cut shirt, but he wasn't wearing one. His stomach ripped/overlapped a little bit because he was SITTING DOWN despite having some nice abs. They photoshopped that right out and made his stomach look seamless

Yes, absolutely congrats on 5 years. It is so encouraging to all of us still losing. I love to hear it.

You may not be a chick, but there's also a whole lot more than 3 of us here . So it's all good .

He sounds like a keeper!

Were you disappointed when you got to your goal weight?
God no. I had been heavy my entire adult life. I weigh less now than I did in high school - I have never been this slender.

Yes - I have some loose skin (particularly on my belly, inner thighs and arm pits). But I look AMAZING in clothes. I love shopping, I love getting dressed in the morning.

One thing I have done is accept my body - I may have lost weight, but my old problem areas are still my problem areas (thighs, belly). Losing weight was great, but it wasn't a miracle - it gave me a more slender version of my body, it did not give me a different body.

Did you look as good as you expected?

I look far far better than I could ever have expected. I never dreamed of wearing a bikini, but I can confidently wear a nice tankini/swim skirt and feel pretty. I always thought I had hideous fat arms, imagine my surprise when my arms turned out slim and pretty.

I'm 39 years old and I was obese for 20 years, I look amazing!

I don't think my mind has quite caught up to my body. By all accounts (friends/family/boyfriend) I am TINY, skinny, going to blow away (etc etc) and I don't see that at all. I think it's because I'm pear shaped. My face is thin, my upper body is small (even I can see that) but I still have a butt and a belly and thighs. I don't think I'm fat per se, but I dont think I am super skinny either (like people around me seem to think).

I was disappointed when I hit 130. First, because it was so hard for me to maintain (I'm more comfortable at 135) and second, I didn't feel any different from say 150. I think part of that had to do with the fact that my body image was still quite damaged from being obese and what I put myself through. Now that I have had a few years for my brain to catch up and my body image is back into focus, my expectations are where they should be. After a lifetime of never being able to lose weight and resigning myself to a life of obesity and never ever feeling "thin" or wearing normal sizes, I was suddenly LOSING the weight. It was just so easy to have these new grand expectations after learning what I could accomplish whether they were realistic expactions or not.

I really think that the disappointment with me was directly due to the fact that my body and self image had not adjusted to my body, which I think was immaturity on my part. I have said before that losing this weight made me grow up in a lot of ways and learning to recognize reasonable and unreasonable expectations has served me outside of weightloss as well.

Did I look as good as I expected? Honestly, I had NO IDEA what to expect. I knew I would have loose skin and that my stomach would never be taut and I was surprised at some developments (like loose skin at the top of my inner thighs. How WEIRD.) Overall, I was elated to lose weight period, but there were things here and there that I was not (and still am not) happy with.

I will say that now I see results a lot faster in regards to muscle definition and I can actually track progress and make fitness goals for myself, which helps tremendously.

So true! All of the women in my family (both sides) are small-framed, petite women. None of them have ever struggled with their weight. Ever. However, from my great-grandmothers on down, there is the "pooch". Wide hips, narrow hips, long skinny legs, broad shoulders... it doesn't matter. Everyone has the pooch. I mean, where else do the babies go? Also, I would say that helped with my expectations re: my stomach. I knew from pure genetics I wouldn't have a flat stomach.

Bargoo- I will be praying for a smooth course of treatment and a speedy recovery!

I think so too!

The secret of my success is being OCD on everything weight related and worry 24/7 about my weight. Not exactly a good thing, it makes for some very big mood swings. If you read in the introduction board I have made a goal to give up the scale and so far I'm winnning and feel better.