How has losing weight changed your life?

[alittlebitofjoy]

I’ve been on MJ for around 11 months and have so far lost 3.5 stone. I’ve still got a couple more to go but for the first time in a long time I feel like a ‘normal person’ not a ‘fat person’.

It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe but for me it’s about stuff like…

1. Wearing jeans and not needing a big, long top to cover my belly overhang.
2. Discovering that if someone drops something on the floor I can actually get on my knees and pick it up, get back up again and not have to haul myself up using furniture or a person (I can just do it!)
3. Getting ‘second looks’ from men in public when previously I was invisible.
4. Trying on ‘thin clothes’ from the bottom of my wardrobe and being totally shocked to discover they actually fit.
5. Genuinely enjoying clothes shopping and dressing my body rather than shopping in order to disguise my body.

In a feminist sort of way I dislike the fact that so much of my identity has been changed by a reduced body size but at the same time, I’m really enjoying all the benefits!! I feel ‘normal’ for the first time in my life.

Wondering about others who’ve lost weight and how it’s impacted your life?

So many ways

More confidence...I am now working full time rather than a sahm. I don't think I would have done that when I was obese

People are nicer to me...both men and women. Sad but true.

My DH looks at me differently

Clothes look a million times better..like you op I'm choosing clothes I genuinely like rather than what fits and covers me up

Regaining my vanity...I am now care so much more about how I look in terms of hair, make up etc

It’s the health and fitness benefits that I am the most happy with. My BP is significantly lower, I can run and exercise however I want now and I don’t hate it or feel self conscious when moving around. I don’t snore and my sleep is much better. I think I probably had undiagnosed sleep apnoea when at my heaviest. That’s all gone now. I am less tired and have loads more energy, so get more stuff done around the house rather than sitting all the time.

People out and about are friendlier and more likely to talk to me. I know people will say that’s because the weight loss has made me cheery and confident but that genuinely my demeanour has not changed. Just my outward appearance. I do wear more fitted clothes and have a specific style now, so maybe that makes some difference.

It's health and fitness for me too that are the biggest wins. My life has changed significantly because at over 22 stone I'd stopped being able to walk more than 5-10 mins max. In large part due to extreme lipoedema. The anti inflammatory part of the meds has changed my life, my legs are signficantly smaller and I can walk for up to an hour now. This has changed everything for me.

On less important but still valuable basis,

-wearing clothes I actually like instead of just leggings and a long top. I bought jeans last week for the first time in about 16 years

-not feeling over full and lethargic all the time

-sleeping better

biggest win is healthy blood pressure and off the bp meds.

Second biggest win is sleep apnea cured,

third biggest win is normal cortisol levels down from high

Fourth biggest win, is healthy cholesterol from unhealthy,

on a vanity point, I really like my appearance again, I’m enjoying clothes, getting dressed, even putting make up on as my face is slim again.

on a fitness level being able to run without getting out of breath, I work our most days and it still surprises me.

confidence up, I was always confident to be fair, but now I’m confident in my appearance too

Downside is attention, creepy men looking again, although sometimes an upside when it’s the non creepy ones..

downside too, spending roo much on clothes,,,

I can ride horses again. It was my passion as a child and adult. I stopped when I had dc and by the time I had the time and money to take it up again I was too heavy to do it.

Plus lower BP, health benefits etc, and like others have said. I can dress they way I like, rather than what fits and is comfort

Another win for me is no longer trying to hide when people took group photos. Or avoiding mirrors because I couldn’t bear to look into one.

I had my ‘over 45’ health check the other week. blood pressure, cholesterol that kind of thing.
my ‘over 40’ one was only about 3yrs ago having been delayed due to Covid and the improvement in these numbers is fantastic.

For the first time ever after these sort of tests the results for everything were normal, actually great.

I was also able to truthfully say that I was active, ate well and didn’t drink much alcohol, which is related to the lifestyle changes I made alongside WLI.

my estimated heart health was six years younger than my actual age, which is amazing. Obviously I could potentially die of various other things instead, but genuinely the injections have quantifiably increased my life expectancy in this respect.

Alongside the improvements to my health and fitness, better now in my early 60s compared to my 40s

• I have a choice in clothes. I can walk into any shop and easily have a choice as opposed worrying about if they will have anything that fits me. ( I do still have a fear of Zara though 😂)
• I no longer have a fear of seat belts on airplanes
• People no longer look uncomfortable if they are next to me on a plane, train or bus.
• I am not afraid to eat in front of people whilst worrying about what they are thinking about me. Yes I can now choose the last pastry without people raising an eyebrow thinking I know why she is fat or hoping that fatty is going to take the last piece of their favourite cake.
• I love being an average size person in the exercise classes I go to - it means my size attracts no attention at all

• Being able to walk into any shop that sells clothes and knowing I will fit in them, not being relegated to the ‘curves’ range that’s only sold online (wouldn’t want fatties bespoiling the aesthetic) or hidden on a tiny rack in the back of the top floor.
• being able to run around and mess about with my daughter and not gasping for breath or calculating the size and strength of the play equipment.

I do still have the anxiety feeling when walking past a group of teens or blokes-blokes after years of being conditioned to expect some kind of fat joke or snide look and giggle, but hopefully that will fade with time.

So many!

No longer in pain - could barely walk a mile due to plantar fascilitis. Disappeared within a week of starting MJ.

Able to exercise consistently and probably the fittest I’ve ever been. Even taken up running for the first time in my life. I can also run around after my two young children and we’re far more active. We did a 28km cycle back in October in Ireland and it was amazing to do with them.

I rarely get sick now, was ill constantly with whatever plague the kids brought home - no joke, was prescribed antibiotics pretty much every 4-6 weeks before I started.

More shoe choices as my feet are now standard wide not ridiculous triple EEE+ wide. Trainer shopping is my new addiction!

HBA1C was 38 now 26 - stopped type 2 diabetes in its tracks. Blood pressure is also consistently in the healthy range and for the first time in 15 years, my inflammation markers are within a normal range.

Sad but true - Drs now listen to me. Was finally diagnosed with endometriosis last year after years of symptoms - was continually fobbed off because of my weight.

The choice in clothes is better but I do struggle with body image still - but everyone does say I look amazing, brighter and just more well in myself.

I was obese all my life, since childhood. I lost 13.5 stone on MJ, and am a healthy weight for the first time ever in my life. It has changed absolutely everything for me - my life is unrecognisable from before. The main things for me are
-tonnes more energy
-sleeping better
-being able to exercise every day and actually enjoy it
-being able to wear whatever I want
-enjoying a day out clothes shopping knowing size isn’t an issue
-confidence to try new things and meet new people
-confidence to assert myself at work and improve my career prospects
-enjoying going out and socialising without worrying what I look like or what others think
-going from a lifetime of always being the biggest in the room to now often being the smallest

I could go on forever. It has been so completely life changing it really does feel like a miracle!

I love this thread as am dithering about going on mounjaro

I don’t even think about the things your mention OP when I think about life changing results. For me that looks like reducing my risk of strokes and heart conditions, reversing type 2 diabetes; reducing pain to zero in many areas and lifting me out of a very long terms depression. The clothes aspect is nice but not life changing for me.

I totally agree with these.
Mine is also shopping in high street shops, I've never bought anything in Zara or H&M before. I'm in complete shock to fit in a size 10 top, my size 20 brain cannot comprehend it. So many more styles of clothes; fitted waists and not needing to buy something in stretch.
My health is much better now I'm active, no foot or knee pain. I no longer snore but my knees touch when curled up in bed, that's a weird sensation.

I have that on sizing, I’m a size 8 and I bought some jeans recently and thought god they are tiny when I got them, there must be tight, but they fit fine, even a bit loose, funnily enough I don’t think that once I’ve worn them,but something new I look at it and think christ there is no way. My size 18s now look enormous,

Agree with many of the things already listed.
I don’t see this mentioned here but for me one of the best things is that my stress incontinence has disappeared. That means no more worrying about accidents when I’m out and about, longer dog walks without the fear of getting caught short, no more pads or pants, no more rushing to get into the house and to the loo without wetting myself. I never told anyone about it as I was too ashamed, but I knew that my weight was a major factor - that alone has made it worth it!

Health, strength, stamina and fitness have been my biggest gains. I don't recognise myself sometimes.

Mine are:
Carpal tunnel vanishing after jab 3
Joint and nerve issues gone
Lower BP
Can actively enjoy sport again
Back into clothes I love (and spent quite a bit of money on)
Feeling ‘normal’ in a group, not massive!

I am proud to show off my figure. So not just not hiding the flab, I am gallvanting around the gym in tiny shorts and crop-top and feeling good! And as I feel so good, I have been going to gym daily and am the fittest I've ever been.

Sports - soooo much easier! Running, push-ups etc - how much more pleasant are they when not carrying an extra few stones on my back.

Getting rid of my huge boobs have improved my life immensely. I was always big boobed even when I was not overweight, but they have now shrunk to a reasonalbe size. I don't have to limit myself to v-necks, as anything higher created a huge boob-shelf. I don't need to spend a fortune on bras and bikinis from specialist shops. I now have a million cute little built in bra gym tops instead of previous industrial strenght sports bras.

I actually like my holiday photos. There are quite a few years where, if you look through family holiday photos, you would think DH was a single father. I deleted mine, because the photos were so 'unflattering'.

Getting dressed every morning doesn't ruin my mood for the entire day, as all my clothes made me look like a barrel. Because I looked like a barrel.

I don't dread seeing people I have not seen for a number of years.

I’m 54 and I’ve been obese all my adult life. WLIs have changed my life because I no longer want to be invisible - I didn't want people to see me trying to squeeze out of my car in a car park space, find a seat in a restaurant that gave me enough room to get in and out, I didn’t want people to see me looking at size 20/22 clothes, being out of breath walking about etc etc.

I started Couch to 5K recently and I felt tearful on my first jogging bit as I’d never have been able to do this 84lbs ago.

I’m surprised so many people consider what they look like/size their clothes are to be the life changing factors. For me they are just ‘nice’ things. Life changing is the impact on mortality.

I may be more vain than other people, but for me it indeed is life changing if I am miserable all the time because I hate how I look, or not.

I hadn’t really considered this. I was miserable, long periods of depression which had lifted but I hadn’t attributed it to feeling crap about how I looked. Maybe it was and I am just not thinking this through

I thought my life was going to be way more glam than my fat life but it’s the same with a higher Vinted bill. I thought I’d be more social, more fabulous. I’m just me but I take up less volume. And I cost less at dinner. But I’m the same!

That made me laugh! I’ve only just got into Vinted and I’m obsessed.