How did losing weight change things for you?

[Sweetasstevia]

Hi I've been on WW about a month and am half way to my initial goal weight of 12st 2lbs ( I've lost about a stone). My question is what does it feel like once you reach your goal could you see / feel a big difference in your body? I'm still wearing my size 18 clothes they were tight to start but now fit comfortably, bit loose in fact. I can't quite commit to buying anything smaller though as I've been size 18 forever. I can know my tummy is smaller but I don't feel hugely different yet.

It a changed everything for me, I've gone from a size 22 to a 12 (sometimes a 10) and I just feel so much better. I'm happier, more energy, clothes shopping is easier, I let my DP see me in my pants! you name it, I'm loving it!

Wow excellent Super! How long did your weight loss journey take? I've got a bit of a mental block right now in that although I'm losing weight I can't image myself ever being less than a size 16 maybe 14. I'm quite tall though so maybe that's why?

I thought the same thing to be honest, I kept saying I'd be happy at size 16 if I ever got there. Now I think I'd be horrified if I got back there. I think don't aim for a size, set small goals that feel achievable, and in the long run go for feeling happy and comfortable. For me, getting to a 12 was great, but it wasn't until the day before I got to goal that I looked at a pic of myself and thought, hey if I don't ever lose any more I'm happy like this. Wrt to time, it took me a week short of 16 months to lose 8 stone 2lb. Feel free to pm me if you want any encouragement!

Could i ask did you do exercises that helped with the tum? I am in the early months but so far have problems with whatever exercises i try and so keep wondering if i should just give up on the exercises.

Oh, it's wonderful, our lives are completely different. I lost three stone and DH lost five, and we've kept it off for three years now. It's hard to explain, but we feel so well all the time, although we didn't feel ill before, or more accurately, we didn't know what it meant to feel well all the time. We never exercised when losing the weight, but have recently taken up cycling simply because we have a surplus of energy that we need to get rid of (we're both loitering round the 50 year old mark with full time jobs)

Wow you are all very inspiring! :) I love the idea of having more energy. I'm feeling much more positive today - I can see that my legs and arms are slimmer and I'm really grateful that the weight is coming off relatively quickly.
What did you do with all the clothes that were too big for you? - I'm quite attached to my clothes - always dressed well despite my size so donating them is going to be hard for me! (Even if I splurge on a new wardrobe!)

I sold some of mine mine on a FB selling group started by another WW member, called We Are Never Going Back, and some on eBay. I clung to mine for ages too and then I'd put something on and it'd look ridiculous and I'd think "ahh, just get rid"!

I think you do have to get rid don't you? otherwise they are there in your wardrobe allowing you to slip back to old habits! Did you have to buy lots of different sized clothes during your transformation Super or did you wait till you reached goal and then treated yourself to a mammoth shopping session. Also did it take you a while to buy clothes to suit your new figure - like fitted skirts or clinger tops - my mum lost loads of weight a few years ago but still dresses in huge kaftans and tunics :(
I'm a bit clothes obsessed - can you tell?

Clingier I mean!

I just wanted it gone once it was too big, I'm massively clothes obsessed so I have replaced constantly throughout. I got a couple of dresses I really loved that were size 14/16 taken in but in, but it was prohibitively expensive so I had to be really selective! My style has changed a lot, previously I wore what I could find in plus sizes, not what I really wanted to wear. I always kept my arms hidden and struggled w shorts in summer. now I wear skinny jeans, vests, tighter fitting dresses and skirts, and short-ish shorts. I still have body anxiety, but I just feel like I've got so much more choice now. I LOVE Oasis and Warehouse, previously I could never have shopped there so it's been a revelation.

Trying to post a pic but it won't work, this is my before and after pic

Well bloody done super - what a fantastic achievement! I lost a similar weight a few years ago and identify with everything you've said. Unfortunately, for various - including medical - reasons, I have put it all back on.

OP - I started ww recently too and determined this time.

Wow Super you look fabulous! You are amazing :). Have WW approached you to appear in one of their before and after success stories - if not they should! What was the trigger that got you losing the weight? For me it was struggling to do up my fat day jeans and wheezing when running after the kids.

Any tips on about getting through weight ruts or hard pms days when you want to eat all the carbs you can get your hands on?

Thank you! I did WW with one of my closest friends, she's going to be my maid of honour, our leader keeps suggesting we should get in touch with the magazine. I couldn't think of anything more terrifying! The lightbulb for me was a combination of her joining and doing so well, while I put off signing up. I suddenly realised "in going to be the fat friend in our group"! Then I went to Nice on holiday with OH and I could barely do the seatbelt up, I was mortified having to ask him to help me. When we got home and I saw the photos (incl that before pic) I decided enough was enough and signed up.

I'm pretty lucky to have a good support network so I would whinge and moan about wanting to eat crap and my best friend or my DP would sympathise and then distract me. But I never once went off plan or cheated big time with a binge or blow out and I guess it's because I'm a bit obsessive about succeeding. My approach to everything has always been "do it, do it properly, or don't bother. And if you don't do it, don't whinge about it" - not necessarily a good approach in other things but handy when it comes to weight loss. And I found success addictive. I cried the first time I stayed the same on weigh in day! I've chilled out a bit now and I don't recommend it but it worked for me!

Super, you look absolutely amazing. What a transformation! Well done!

My transformation wasn't quite so 'wow', but I lost 4 stone and went from a size 18 to size 12 four years ago and have kept it off ever since. It took about a year.

Clothes shopping is the biggest thing for me. I absolutely hated being limited to plus size shops and ranges. The freedom of being able to walk into any high street store is amazing.

I have to ask sorry! bit how about loose skin? I'm in my 40's and I've had two kids so it's likely the skin on my tummy is never going to be as firm I'd like it realistically. Can loose skin be minimised by exercise or is a post weight tummy tuck the only way to get it to fit your new size - I'm asking this generally as I'm not sure it applies to you Super as you are lots younger than me.

Thanks Deluge - for once my hair was actually doing what I wanted it to!

Believe me i'm not that much younger than you, not far off 33. I have a small to middling amount of loose skin - on my inner thighs mostly, and under my arms. My boobs are completely empty and sadly my tummy well, thats never going to be fit for viewing. But I have heard that your skin can take 2 years to catch up and toning and whatnot will help it. I read on a thread here that the only way you can get rid of the 'apron' is by surgery which I sadly cant afford but I figure you can hide all this in clothes better than you can 8 stone of excess weight!

Thanks for sharing your experience Super - I agree a little loose skin is very little pain to go through in exchange for a healthy fit you. Congratulations again on a fantastic achievement!

Things changed for me when I conceived two lovely DCs after losing 2.5 st and two failed cycles of IVF

so you just leave it a bit. You'll soon find that your clothes go from looking comfortable to making you look like a bag lady (in the nicest possible way ). You know then that you need some new ones.

I also think all this 'I've always been' is clothes manufacturers messing with our heads. I'd always been a 12, in my late 30s but now at the same weight I was in my early 20's I'm a 10 (and I'm definitely not more toned!)

You will start to drop the sizes.

It seemed very slow at first but I dropped from a size 28 to a size 10 or sometimes even a size 8. In some respects I don't feel any different just as I don't feel any different now at 61 than I did when I was 21 (apart from a few aches and pains.) However I have more energy and feel a lot less self conscious.

I was really worried about being left with excess skin but my face, arms and legs aren't too bad probably because I went to the gym and swam most days whilst I was losing weight. Also I used firming creams to help keep the skin elastic.

After loosing 10st tummy was never going to be perfect but then at my age they never are. No one can tell when I'm dressed. Fortunately I declined my GPs suggestion of a tummy tuck because there were no medical grounds and it would leave a scar. Since then I've kept up with the exercise, lost another 1.5st and my tummy has been improving all the time.

Super, I'm on my phone; do you mind if I screen grab your before/after pic?
(I won't show it to anyone).

What you've achieved is absolutely incredible and something's really switched in my head seeing your transformation.

I love that i am pleasantly surprised when i see photos of myself. Whereas before i was only ever seeing bad photos of myself. I didn't want to face up to the fact that i actually was that fat. I had a health scare - high blood pressure - and realised that i didn't want to be on tablets for the rest of my life and didn't want to leave the kids motherless as children. I lost 4 stone and went from a 22 to a 16. I still want to lose more but am happy like this for a bit (have stayed the same for 9 months).

I got rid of my large clothes so i can't go back there really, it was hard as i had some nice clothes that were hard to come by at that size. I bought a load of styling books so i could work out my new look before i bought a whole load of new clothes. Not in the style of the old me. Very refreshing. People i know well and see daily didn't recognise me in the street, which was lovely and mainly down to my new style (my work clothes are quite boring and we met during down mainly at work).

I have lots of wobbly bits under the clothes but no-one sees those. I was most surprised that the fast let in the reverse order it appeared. Doble chin went first . Then fat arms and ankles. Still have the belly. Hips have since appeared. Its all very interesting. I now think need to do some exercise to shape up what's left.

You're more than welcome to - on honeymoon tho so I may well have to jump back on the serious ww wagon when I get back, can't stop eating!

Thanks, Super :) Have an amazing honeymoon x