Was losing weight everything you thought it would be?

I realised at age 40 and after having 4 kids I was never going to be smaller than 11st. I said to myself "this is who I am...this is who I'll always be and I'm happy with it"
I vowed never to stress about my body image or go on another diet. I was finally happy! Then less than a year later I stepped on a scale and was up nearly three stone! I don't feel good about myself. I'm tired, have no energy and hate the way I look. So I decided to get a grip and drop the weight. I'm only down just over one stone but I'm starting to see the real me again. I want to be able to take the kids to the park and run around with them and still have more energy. With the extra weight i just can't.
So I'm losing weight for my health and for my kids. I'll be 41 in mid May and hope to be back down to 11st. If not at least I'm well on my way.

Actually kids were the reason I finally did it.  Ross and I want them, and we knew that with my weight as it was, no doctor on earth would recommend trying for kids.  That would be a high-risk pregancy par excellence.  Health and life, the two reasons. 

Also obesity causes fertility issues too in some cases. In my support group, fully 15% of women had unplanned pregnancies within a year of dropping 30% of their excess weight. I wonder if it was a coincidence.

Also obesity causes fertility issues too in some cases. In my support group, fully 15% of women had unplanned pregnancies within a year of dropping 30% of their excess weight. I wonder if it was a coincidence.

Oh dear!  We're ready, but not THAT ready 

Also obesity causes fertility issues too in some cases.

Around age 30, I was diagnosed with PCOS - and I have never conceived any children (and not for lack of trying ).  It's a strange one, because it's a chicken or the egg sort of puzzle.  Being overweight can affect fertility (just as being underweight can).  But PCOS has been shown to make women more likely to put and keep weight on.

The PCOS plus the high blood pressure -- along with my family history of heart disease & late onset diabetes -- my doctor had plenty of reason to warn me back when I was so heavy, with my having so many strong indicators toward Metabolic Syndrome X (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolic_syndrome).  It was high time (past time) to make some changes.  Fortunately, even just losing as much as 10-15% of the weight you have on can (and did) make a big difference!

Well I had 4 kids all totallyl unplanned. Each one was a birth control baby. My first pregancy was the only one which I wasn't overweight. My second I was about 20lbs over weight and by the time I had my 3rd I was 60lbs overweight. So being overweight never presented a fertility problem for me. But I'm a natural breeder    and still at nearly 41 I have to be extremely careful.

Well I had 4 kids all totallyl unplanned. Each one was a birth control baby. My first pregancy was the only one which I wasn't overweight. My second I was about 20lbs over weight and by the time I had my 3rd I was 60lbs overweight. So being overweight never presented a fertility problem for me. But I'm a natural breeder    and still at nearly 41 I have to be extremely careful.

Beating the odds all over the place, eh Pebbles?

Beating the odds all over the place, eh Pebbles?

I'm not expecting weight loss to solve all my problems, I find that along the way I've become a lot happier with me & more comfortable in my own skin - however roomy it may be.  It's a good thing.

For me, like you, it has been about my health and I have found I am feeling loads better in the last couple of years, as I am taking care of myself and not focusing on the weight, but how I feel physically.

However, I have found that there are definitely people on the periphery of my life that like to judge, monitor and scrutinise in a way that I was never exposed to before looking after myself better. It takes some mental strength to shut out their insecurities, which can drive me nuts at times!

However, I have found that there are definitely people on the periphery of my life that like to judge, monitor and scrutinise in a way that I was never exposed to before looking after myself better. It takes some mental strength to shut out their insecurities, which can drive me nuts at times!

Oh that happens alot! It is depressingly common to lose friends as you lose weight. Not the real good ones, but there are some who think of you only as the "fat friend." Who like to take you shopping with them cause you can't buy anything or try on anything but can spend the entire time fussing over them. Those friendships, or rather "friendships," don't survive weightloss.

There is a plus side: it does clear out the flotsum. The ones who want the best for you, will be there for you, and those are the best.

Even with good friends it can be a bit awkward.  Especially if they are heavy.  It's hard to make sure they don't feel slighted or left behind by your weight loss (even though obviously it's nothing to do with them). 

I haven't gone out of my way to lose weight and I haven't lost friends, but I am just amazed at women who feel it necessary to judge, monitor and scrutinise their own and other's bodies. It seems negative, divisive, and a waste of time to me. I try hard to surround myself with people who care about character and not looks. It's the only way to stay sane.

I lost 70lbs about four years ago and have kept most of it off, though it crept up, I've got it just about back to where it was over the last 6 months simply by being more careful of what I was eating.

Even though that was 4 years ago and I'm 26 now and I still see the fat girl. Men tell me I'm sexy and appealing and I just don't buy it. I do feel better about myself and I'm more confident with more friends, but there is still the voice that says "you fat girl..."

I've been up and down with my weight for most of my life.  In 1999, I was 110 pounds (I'm 5' 5") and after I moved to London in 2000, I went up to 167 pounds by 2002.

I realised my carbohydrate addiction was going to cause me to continue spiralling out of control, so I have altered my eating habits and it's taken me 6 years to get down to my current weight of 122 pounds.

I started addressing my carb addiction in 2002 and lost 15 pounds in the first year, very slowly. After meeting my husband in January 2005 (who was also struggling with his weight), we both committed to changing our habits and we both lost a lot of weight without a great deal of effort.

I read in a magazine the other day that it's best to get happy first, THEN try and lose weight, rather than losing weight to try and get happy.  Looking back, perhaps that is what enabled my husband and me to drop the weight so easily.

Incidentally, I cut out bread almost completely for the past month, as I had read about how it can make people feel bloated, and it has made a difference.  When I am eating at home and can control what I cook, I only make brown rice, brown pasta (that is, whole wheat and not white), etc. rather than the white versions of those foods.  I avoid white potatoes, etc. 

Since cutting down on bread last month, I have lost a further 3 pounds and I have noticed a lot of belly and back fat finally disappearing (those have been the most difficult places for me to lose weight). 

Although I am a low carb person, and plan to remain that way permanently so as not to regain the weight, I have found two things that are encouraging:

1.  Low carb eating also keeps my appetite low.  The carb addiction means that I cannot stop eating once I start if I start eating carbs at the wrong time, but by balancing carbs with protein, my appetite remains within control at all times.

2.  I do still eat sugar, but only under very controlled circumstances:
     A.  Never before lunchtime
     B.  Never by itself, so:
     C.  Always AFTER a significant portion of protein, which means only after a substantial lunch or dinner.

So, nothing is actually off limits (therefore, there is no need to feel deprived or to cheat), I only have to be careful about when I eat it. 

My husband brings back high quality Swiss chocolates on his travels (as he works in Zurich during the week), and we sometimes eat 2 or 3 small pieces of chocolate after a sufficient portion of protein at dinner, and our sweet tooth and chocolate cravings are then completely satisfied.

Losing weight was never really a goal for me, and I didn't really have any expectations about how I'd feel when I did it, but I am glad to be 122 pounds now - it's so easy to go on long walks and I have loads of energy that I didn't have before.  I enjoy shopping for clothes and looking in the mirror, which I used to avoid, so it's nice to feel a bit better in those ways again.

Mort,
I haven't read everyone's reply to your post, but this past year I have lost 90 lbs. I still don't believe it. I feel SO much better, I can move better and I know I look better and it is so nice buying smaller and more fashionable clothing (though in the US they have gotten so much better over the years with plus sized styles) but most of all I KNOW I am 100% HEALTHIER. I agree with you though, I don't feel too much differently, in fact I still have 15-20 more lbs on the bmi chart to go and body fat I personally want to lose. I just feel happy with the fact I lowered my cholesterol, saved myself from obesity problems, helped my PCOS, and all sorts. So I don't feel too much different and it really isn't everything I imagined at all.I suppose I'm still a work in progress but I am happy with my accomplishment so far. I hope you see it that way too.