If you’ve lost a large amount of weight... what does it feel like to be a normal weight?

[minniemummy0]

I’m finally starting to lose a bit of weight. I’ve given up the diet clubs and am doing better on my own now I’ve got some motivation.

I just can’t imagine what it will (hopefully) be like to be thin/a normal weight though. I can’t picture myself ever getting there. For perspective, I have nearly 10 stone to lose to be in a healthy weight range.

I realise it’s unlikely they’ll be many people around who’ve had that much weight to lose. But I’m hoping they’ll be some people who’ve lost a fair amount!!

So if you have please help me imagine what it will be like if I succeed! Are you happier? Do you feel healthier? Does it make it any easier shopping for clothes? Please share!!

It feels amazing. Clothes are so much easier. I can try on stuff in shops and they fit. It's quicker to get dressed in the morning because I feel good in whatever I put on. I can happily look at photos of myself.

Funnily enough, when I look at photos of myself when I was larger and I think that I look OK. I think it's just that my self esteem was so low before that I thought I always looked awful, even though I didnt.

The downside is that i am always vigilant about my weight and worried that it will creep back on. It gets tiresome.

I havent lost a massive amount but two and a half stone. I do feel like I look a lot better but more importantly I feel lighter in every way. It is easier to move and there is less impact on my knees and I feel healthier. Keep it up OP you will reap the rewards.

I've lost 7st in total and gone from a size 20/22 to a 12/14.

It feels weird tbh, my brain doesn't see allow me to see it properly but I know that logically I must be smaller because my clothes are.

I am more confident in myself because I always felt like I had to hide away before, I don't feel quite as wobbly (I have loose skin but I guess it's a bit better than fat!), I feel healthier and definitely have more energy and freedom of movement and I can try on/buy all sorts of outfits now instead of being limited to the corner of a store or the back of the rails which is a boost!

As 2cats says though, I think I am actually more obsessive and guilty about my eating now than I was before because going back to that scares the crap out of me!

I lost 8.5 stone via a gastric bypass. My head never caught up even at my lowest. Clothes were easier and it was exciting to have choice, but even at a size 10/12 I’d take 16/18 into the dressing room. I cried when I got into a topshop tshirt!

I’ve put on some again and want to get rid of it in the new year, but I never felt ‘worthy’ of being slim: stupid really.

What I found hardest was not being invisible - the bigger I am the less people see or hear me!

I lost 3st a few years ago and went from a size 16 to a 12. I looked good and felt AMAZING. I'm tall and looked really healthy at that size. I worked out a lot so was super toned too.

Since having DD I'm a size 18 now. I look awful and really hate my body. Saggy, stretch marked, flabby. Need to lose 4 stone to get back down to a size 12. Finding it so so hard though. I just love food

Hopefully this thread will inspire me.

I used to be 15st. I then went down to 11st. Oh I remember well it felt so so so so amazing, for the first time in my life I felt excited clothes shopping, like I could wear anything I wanted. I felt beautiful and small and nice.

I crept back up to 13/14st and feel like I used to. I want that feeling back so bad. But my actions don't show it.

I’ve gone from just over 15 stone to 10stone 8 lbs and I’m still aiming to lose a bit more , at my current weight I’m a size 12 , originally I was an 18 verging on a 20 . Clothes shopping has improved drastically and although I’ve always lived in jeans / tops this summer I ventured into dresses which was fun .

I've lost 8 stone in total & some days I still feel ungainly but mainly I feel like pp- I've gone from an 18/20 to a 10 and it's easier to buy & wear clothes. I also wear less clothes, so no hidey cardies for example.

I’ve lost four stone in the last six months - and like you, I’m doing it on my own but with the aid of an app (and a diabetes diagnosis to motivate me!).

I’ve dropped three dress sizes so far and although I still have a way to go, it feels really good - mobility and sleeping is much better, kicked my sugar habit and have far better willpower with food than I’ve had in twenty years. I’m also well on the way to reversing the diabetes. So it feels pretty damned good.

As others have said, I’ve now got a much wider choice of clothes (a bit too much sometimes, it can be a tad overwhelming after quite a limited choice tbh!) and my worry of suddenly look old and liney with less fat to pad out my face hasn’t happened (yet) - it’s a shame it took diabetes to kick my arse into gear, but I’m so happy that I’ve kept at it as I didn’t know if I could.

Good luck Op!

I still bloody miss cake though!! 😁

I’ve lost 7 stone - not quite there yet and want to lose another 1.5 stone
I feel fitter - don’t get out of breath eg today was on 7th floor of shopping centre car park n didn’t use lift
I’m enjoying more choice clothes shopping although still not feeling I can wear some things - maybe when I get down further
I love my much skinnier legs though and am wearing shorter skirts and dresses
Generally feel more confident
High heels are more comfortable
I can wear skinny knee length boots

I lost 8 stone and it feels amazing. To be able to go Into 'normal' shops and not Evans. My legs no longer rub together at the top, I can sit on aeroplane without taking loads of room up, I don't sweat loads on holiday and I look so much better in summer clothes.
I'm no longer invisible or stupid, I'm treated with more respect, noone stares anymore, no snide comments.

It's sad really but I really was treated completely different as a fat person.
It's gradually creping back on and I need to gain back some control!

I lost about 4 stone going from size 18-20 to 12-14.

I didn't notice the effects straight away but now I've lost it and am a healthy, happy weight, I would wish it for anyone and love to support someone going through what I did.
I didn't do any fad diets or mega exercise methods. I just used MFP and made myself do a little bit more exercise.

I didn't used to do any exercise as I felt so embarrassed but which is obviously a self fulfilling circle...
Now I am slimmer I regularly cycle, run, walk, and this summer started stand up paddle boarding (which I would never have done before because wetsuits)
Because I know I can run at least a 5k it doesn't seem hard to try, you know, I just do it because I know I can. At my heaviest I couldn't run the length of a rugby pitch.

I don't care for clothes much but when I do want to buy something a) there are more that fit me (never seem to be many 18s) and b) I don't hate myself in them all, which I used to.

I'm healthier. I know having a healthy BMI has given me more confidence looks wise but genuinely my main benefit is that I'm happier being healthy and I'm giving myself the best run into old age (well middle age - I'm only 37 lol). You see all sorts of scare stories about links with obesity to cancer, heart problems, diabetes... we all know them.

I had two very slim attractive best friends through adolescence and used to compare myself all the time. It wasn't healthy or a constructive use of my life. I don't do that now.

I used to feel guilty eating 'nice' food - I don't any longer. I eat whatever I like really but am just more sensible. If I've had a pizza one night I don't have a chinese the next night. I might just eat half a chocolate bar (or buy one of those Duo type things) and I keep the other half for well over a week, sometimes.

Sometimes I put on 3 or 4 lbs and then I start using MFP again and make myself walk a bit more.

I'm so glad I did it. It's massively changed my life. I used to get thigh burn in the summer and would hardly wear any comfy summer clothes as I was so ashamed.
I don't get thigh burn now and can wear what I like.
I feel so happier and am not everyone's 'fat friend' anymore.

I was quite hard on myself at the start but it all worked for me and whilst I know everyone has different lives and circumstances I wish people would give themselves a chance to try it and potentially make themselves happier and healthier.

Well done OP and anyone else starting out. It is tough but it's your choice and you can make yourself so much happier.
Good luck.

I’ve gone from 17.5st to 15 stone I’m still obese (vs morbidly obese) as I’m quite short but I feel so much better about myself already.
Still more work to be done though, watching the thread with interest

I lost 6 stone fairly slowly over a few years. The main thing I notice is that I have much more energy. And yes, it's easier to buy clothes. But I really really like the energy.

Think my post sounded smug or sanctimonious at the end. I didn't mean it like that and I know what worked for me wouldn't work for everyone.
Also the 'fat friend' was my own self critical voice - I'm not sure other people ever actually thought that.
Wasn't trying to fat shame.

I lost 120lbs, and almost halved my weight.

That was 6 years ago, and tbh, I still struggle to see myself as slim and I think I look worse now because I have lots of xs skin, which is saggy/loose.

I guess I look ok in clothes because I sometimes get compliments on how much I've lost and how much better I look now.

I've had a stressful few years and had put a bit back on but I'm slowly losing it again.

I'm definitely not as obsessed with food, and my tastes have really changed and I still eat a lot less; I just don't always eat the right things (still).

I've gone from a size 24/26 UK to a size 12/14 (sometimes 16 in some shops). Without the loose skin I'd be a size 10. I can't actually bear to look at myself in the mirror unless I'm fully dressed as I look awful. I'm definitely healthier though, and a better role model for my dc.

I lost 3.5 stone in 9 months two years ago. Over the course of the last year though I've put on all but about the half stone. I'm so disappointed in myself and desperately need to get motivated again. I felt so happy at my lighter weight but I just became complacent and began eating the rubbish again.
Good luck with your journey, op and anyone else going down the same road xx

I'm very short, 4ft10, and have been 8st, which sounds very light but was actually pretty much perfect for me. It's the top end of healthy bmi for my height.

It felt great, though I do remember being very hungry quite often. I didn't look quite as good at 9st but was far more comfortable. I was a 'cute' sort of chubby and not bloody starving all the time!

I slept better, could walk faster, run further, swim for longer, summer in general was far more comfortable in loose pretty cotton dresses and sandals but winter is hard. I felt constantly cold to my bones without all the extra insulation!

I never had any loose skin as I went from 12st to 8st over about two years so pretty slowly. I did zumba and yoga too.

Now I have ds I have ballooned again to over 13st. None of my clothes fit properly, though I'm rarely cold. I often feel lethargic and generally unwell. Everything aches, all the time. I get out of breath going up the stairs and my asthma is so much worse.

My skin is worse too.

I've just started loosing on my own too. I've decided to stop dieting completely because I always end up putting it all back on, but just eating good food, mainly plants, only when I am hungry and stopping when I'm not hungry anymore.

It's quite the learning curve, but I've ditched the scales completely and some of my clothes are starting to feel a bit looser (as in I can actually get into them and not get stuck half way) so something is working it seems.

I'd be happy to be back in a size 8/10 again (would probably be equivalent to 12/14 if I was average height)

Fabulous! I "only" lost two stone but it has made such a difference. Getting dressed is no longer a depressing exercise. Clothes dont dig into me. I am still far from model-like but to me my body is fabulous . I dont really know how i did it but think my appetite just disappeared (yes i do fret a bit that theres something sinister causing it but my skin and hair are fine) so it wasn't that difficult. My initial goal was to watch/reduce what I ate for two weeks only. After that it was easy to say another two weeks, then a second months and so on. By the end of 2 weeks I was seeing results so encouraged to keep going.

I lost 3 stone and then had some loose skin removal surgery. It was utterly life changing.

The sad part was that whereas when I was big, I was invisible, people now (men in particular) would double take to hold doors open, stop to let me cross the road etc.

So not only do I feel different, I'm treated differently too.

I’ve gone from 17.5stone to 13.5, still got another couple of stone to lose but already it feels great! Things like bending over are just so much easier as is crossing my legs and just generally moving. Going into shops and knowing I’ll be able to fit in most things is brilliant (I’ve gone from a 22 to 16). Keep going op! Xx

I've lost 3 stone in 9 months from 10 & a half stone.

Now a healthy bmi for my height & i feel a lot better for it.

I've taken up running more seriously & done a half marathon but most of weight loss was calorie counting using mfp which was hard work. I have changed my eating habits though so hope not to put the weight back on.

I've recently lost 4 st , going from an 18 to 20 to a size 14. I think the main things I noticed are:
My confidence is better, I am happy to be in photos and meet people, I used to be embarrassed before .
Clothes fit, I can go into any shop and find something that fits.
Physical work is easier, I run up the stairs etc and I'm not out of breath.
I'm just physically more comfortable, no rubbing or chafing, nothing too tight or digging into me, I've plenty of room in airplane or bus seats, that's a unexpected one !

I've lost 8 stone in just under two years. Size 24 to a size 10.

In some ways it's great. I love the clothes I can wear, I love the way I feel when I look in the mirror, I love feeling healthier. I'm still the same person though and I battle every single day to be 'good'. I feel like I'll never be able to eat 'normally' again and there's a fat bird inside me just screaming to be let out. I turn down invites out because I worry that I'll be pressured to eat/drink more than I want to and then gain that week. Some days I do miss being fat and not caring.

Probably not what you wanted to hear.