How did you feel when you lost weight?

[BeachedOff]

I am looking for a bit of hope and motivation please.

I am 3-4 stone overweight and feel awful. I never have any energy and my body just aches all the time, especially my back. I think this is down to the extra weight - I am only in my early 30s. I have young kids and think my pregnancies have taken their toll on my body too.

I was wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and then felt much better when they have lost the weight? If you have felt better, in what way?

Thank you

@LittleGlowingOblong Basically, i just cut out all the rubbish i ate. I was a complete crisp addict and also ate far too much bread and toast. I concentrated on lots of salad and protein and switched to Warburton thins and wraps instead of bread. Upped my water to at least 2l a day and generally just made sure i moved a whole lot more. Before i was a complete couch potato and would think nothing of sitting and bingeing a five or six part drama on tv whilst munching through a share bag of crisps and/or a mountain of chocolate. I never dropped more than 2lb a week but this helps because i know that if the scales start to creep up again, as long as im careful the following week or two, it tends to drop right off again. Good luck with your weightloss, i promise you will feel better for getting it done!

I have lost 65lb since April and I don't feel much different (I was pretty fit before so no real changes there). The only thing I have noticed is fewer aches and pains and no plantar fasciitis.

Mentally I don't feel any different either. I still think of myself as the same size even though I've lost several dress sizes (am a 12 now), I'm not sure what that is about - bit of dysmorphia? I can see I look very different in the mirror and people react a little differently to me. Maybe as I lose more, this will change. That said, I obviously prefer being slimmer as clothes look nicer etc.

Tired at night .

Amazed I no longer need super, wide shoes .

Now I can choose my footwear to a point.

My stomach will never be completely flat like it was before DC but I no longer look 6 months pregnant 😂 I lost around 60 inches off my entire body and although I no longer do workouts 3 times a week, I do walk every day for at least an hour & aim for 100k steps per week. I also do dance classes which really gets the heart rate going and burns calories. I still calorie count and use MFP and eat around 1500-1600 per day but I do have a day off counting every other week depending on social activities.
I feel amazing, I can run around after my GC and feel years younger. Once I got the motivation to start, I just went for it and it’s been one of the best things I’ve ever done.
For reference, I’m late 50’s and well past the menopause, I’m five feet nothing and weigh 52kg on a petite frame. My BMI is around 21.

Thanks @Ambertonix and it’s great to hear all these inspiring testimonies.

strangely, I’m feeling a bit downbeat… a bit like, you ladies could all do it, but I’m not going to have the strength or will-power. I need to get over my defeatism!!

How did you do it? Well done!!

The difference in how people treat you is shocking/depressing tbh.

What way did people treat you differently can you explain further please.

Well men in the obvious way.. going out of their way to do things, service above and beyond, always friendly, make effort to make small talk, compliments
Many women act like you are worth talking to, compliment you, want to be your friend more, smile more

It's very strange going between 2 weights and seeing the difference, when I'm the same person.

People are generally nicer and men say "hi" and smile when I'm walking about (and I have a resting bitch face so am not smiling first 😂).

I lost 2 and a half stone between July and December last year. Had a few weeks off and I’m back on it now. I had never fasted before last year and it’s like a game changer for me! I fasted 19 hours yesterday and I don’t feel hungry unless i’m bored. If you keep well hydrated and busy you forget you haven’t eaten! I feel like I have so much more energy, I’m more comfortable in my clothes which were too tight! I feel more motivated and positive. I have much more confidence. I feel like I actually want to get out and go for a walk or go to the gym. Before this I felt sluggish, lethargic, achy and had zero motivation for doing much!

Amazing. About 15 years younger. It was brilliant for my self esteem and self confidence. And no more heartburn!

I had to have a tummy tuck to fix mine I'm afraid. But it was well worth it to give me back a more 'normal' shape, and a bit of lipo on my waist gave me curves I'd never had before. It all helped to keep me in the frame of mind to lose another few stone.

I had Weightloss surgery in March 23 and the Weightloss has honestly been life changing. I can walk miles, at speed and not be out of breath. I sleep better. My confidence is up, I have so much more energy and I just feel well! Good luck with losing weight.

@LittleGlowingOblong Honestly i felt like that for years too but if i can do it, you definitely can. Dont think about it in terms of stones you need/want to lose. Instead concentrate on a week at a time doing the best you can to eat well, excersise etc and you should easily see a lb a week come off, more if you have more to lose. Ok, it is slow going but the weight didnt go on overnight so it isnt going to go overnight either but it will eventually and by losing slowly and developing good habits you have more chance of the weight staying off. Good luck.

I agree @Cookiedough123 , fasting has made all the difference for me. Now if I eat during the day I feel exhausted and sluggish – but if I fast until dinner time I feel great, and I really enjoy my evening meal. I’d say the only downside is that I do get much colder than I used to!

But fasting isn’t supposed to be about not eating all day, it’s about eating in a window of say 8 hours?

I have lost 2 1/2 stone - I want to lose another 1 1/2
Now people are noticing and clothes are fitting (including my 'thin' clothes piled in the back of the wardrobe!!
It's great going to a clothes shop and not having to go to the size at the back of the rack
I even ordered clothes on line (which I didn't do as I had to try them on first!)

More energy too

Yes – I fast from 9pm to 2pm the next day, then at 2pm I have a milky coffee with protein powder, and then dinner around 5pm, and if I'm hungry at 7ish I'll have some yoghurt and fruit, or nuts, or cheese and crackers etc etc and a cup of tea. It works really well for me, helps my energy stay balanced. I have PCOS and insulin resistance so the way my body reacts to food is different and it's taken a while to figure out what works for me – this does.

I have a stone and a bit to go. I lost a stone in three months and feel so much better at BMI 26/27 than at BMI 29/30. Everything is easier from actual exercise to just getting around and out of bed in the morning. Hopefully I'll notice a difference again when I get to BMI 24.

Think I noticed it more too because I lost it fairly quickly. I was already fit, had been going to the gym regularly for nine months, but it was annoying me that extra fat & weight was spoiling my efforts!

Yes, I'm constantly cold, my hands and feet get freezing!

I lost a around 8kg in 2021 lockdown. It was quite easy as no socialising. It felt great! All my clothes looked so much better. Sadly I slipped into bad habits last year and now I'm on a mission to lose 4kg and get back into my clothes comfortably 😊

I havent noticed this and Im virtually unrecognisable

I wonder to be honest how much people's responses are governed by your own presentation now, you're probably more smiley and positive and confident/talkative and you're just seeing it back in return

@soupfiend How do you mean unrecognisable?
No I've always been confident, my personality doesn't change. And this is talking about random approaches on the street, encounters in shops where they haven't seen my personality and smileyness

As in I look completely different to how I looked, a massive change, not just a little bit of weight loss, nearly halved myself.

So if your theory is correct (which it might be for you), I would expect to see that for me but people dont treat me differently since the loss.

But then I dont think people didnt treat me well anyway.