Do you find that the thinner you get the longer it takes you to get ready? When I was at my fattest, i had two skirts and two tops that i thought made me look not so fat. I didnt bother buying anything more because i found it so depressing. I used to alternate between the tops and the skirts, put on basic make up (or sometimes no make up), my hair was always down and I used to get ready for work in about 10 to 15 minutes. Or get ready for anything really because work or non-work I wore the same outfits.

Now, 7kg to go to my goal, it takes me ages to get ready in the morning. I use curling irons, I worry about my legs (stretch marks) and use fake tans and worry about it looking splotchy. I wear make up, I try on several outfits (I have so much more clothes and I cant stop shopping, now that i can) and I worry about whether my shoes go with the outfits or not. I wear high heels,which I never worre before because with the weight and height, i felt like a walking block of giant!! the whole exercise is so exhilarating and amazing and fun and also a bit exhausting! Its 10:50 at night (im in australia) and I am thinking about what to wear tomorrow!! I realise now how much fun it is being a girl and a bit sad that I have missed out on so much and worry that I'll never make it up and also that I gain the weight and lose this.

Does anyone else go through this? the dressing up, the obsessing about whether you look pretty and worry about hiding the imperfections caused by weight and bying clothes because you can and worrying about gaining the weight back and having wasted the money on clothes you cant wear anymore? I am sure this also applies to the guys out there too...

Everything is so much more fun but also more work. its weird coz I never really cared how i looked... well cared but wouldnt admit it because it would make me sad to realise how far i was from how I wanted to be.

Anyway some late night ramblings...

Yeah, but isn't it worth it?

Ha! Yes. Now I actually bother to put in my contacts and wear make up most days. And shave my legs. It's 30* out, why am I bothering to take the time to shave my legs?

yeah its worth it though. I am discovering a whole new closet full of stuff, cannot wait to actually shop again!

Thay is a problem I will gladly take.

*Me!* Right now, I have the "still don't care" attitude. I just wear jeans and hoodies 90% of the time. I don't feel great about myself yet, but things are slowly improving. I'm not wearing maternity clothes anymore and somedays I do put mascara on and do something with my hair. I can't wait to feel amazing again and ROCK it!

Yes, I find this to be absolutely true. First off, I never could find clothes that really fit me well and looked good so why bother (when I was heavier)? Second, somewhere inside, I felt like since I was overweight, I couldn't really achieve much with a whole lot of effort. Now, I feel like the more I try the better the results. It's all rather silly because I think it's important to do your best to look good regardless of the weight, but this is just how I react to weight gain/loss.

i just bought my first full length mirror because suddenly I'm concerned about whether my shoes fit my outfit right lol

i'm much more concerned with what i'm wearing, but usually it takes me less time. so far...because before it was so hard to find something that fit and went with the correct season/occasion. now that's fairly easy to do. i rarely mess with my hair much though, so i'm only thinking of the choosing clothes and getting dressed.

No way! When I was bigger everything HAD to be perfect - hair had to be down and styled around my face to hide the fact that my face was like the moon, makeup had to be fully applied (the more the merrier), and I had tons and tons of clothes (I stayed the same size for a while and racked up quite a collection). Finding the magic outfit that didn't make me look fat took forever and I remember getting really, really frustrated about it.

Now I don't need to obsess over details because I know I look better. Plus my "thin" clothes collection is pitifully small (waiting for goal to shop my heart out), I don't feel like I have to have perfect hair and makeup, and every outfit is magic

Me too! It doesnt take me as long because I don't have too many clothes that are small enough and don't want to spend a ton of money on clothes since I'm not at goal yet. I figure I'll have to bite the bullet in 15-20 more pounds because I won't have clothes that will fit.

Hopefully your new normal will settle in a bit. Congrats, it sounds like you're enjoying it!

If you're looking to save some time in the morning that can be done -picking out shoes/outfit the night before, some ppl shave/shower the night before... I personally have to shower in the AM, just throwing ideas out. Sit down and think through your morning - how much can be done the night before? Even down to setting out your purse and making sure your keys and cell are all with it.

Sounds like, though, you're enjoying the new you and taking care of her. I grew up with no morning routine, mom wasn't into hair/makeup, so didn't teach us such things. I found that my morning routine did get quicker the more I did it, having a set order to everything helped. Sounds a little anal retentive but it does help before the coffee's brewed, and does get quicker.

Hugs, you can do it! What you learned during your weight loss will help during maintenance.