What They Don't Tell You

Everyone talks about how awesome it is to lose weight.  They show off their new clothes and they talk about how much energy they have now. They don't talk about the weird stuff or the odd stuff or the heaven forbid BAD stuff that goes along with losing weight.  So I'm going to list some of those things here.  But before I do that I will say one thing:  No matter what I would still rather be here at a healthy weight than at my heaviest.  Not because I was fat but because I wasn't healthy and I was almost always in pain.

Ok, here goes. Things they don't usually tell you about losing weight.

You're going to fart...a lot.                                                   
 Eating healthier for me means I seriously increased my fiber and protein intake. I eat a ton of fruit, vegetables and lean protein.  You know what that also means?  Gas.  Yep. I am so gassy.  Fart city.  My fiance says I'm a "Delicate Flower." 😂

Those things that you hate about your life?  They're still there when you lose the weight.                                          

People have this idea that losing weight is going to make their life so much better.  And in some ways it does (I'm healthier, I have less pain and more energy...).  But the bad stuff is still there.  I'm still disorganized, I'm still terrible with money and I STILL deal with depression and anxiety.  In fact during this past year I have had worse symptoms of depression than I've had in a long time.  I've had to change medications twice and I'm seeing a therapist regularly.  Would this have happened if I hadn't lost weight?  I don't know.  When I started eating healthier I took away one of my coping mechanisms.  I ate a lot of sweets and junk before.  Bad day?  Have a cookie or three.  Stressed out? How about a candy bar? No energy?  Fancy a coffee or how about a Mountain Dew? Now that I am eating healthier I've had to confront my feelings and figure out healthy ways to cope.  Turns out exercise works too. So does medication, meditation, therapy and communication.

Stretch marks and loose skin are going to happen.                  

 I had stretch marks before I lost weight.  And thankfully I don't think I've gained too many more of those from losing all the weight.  But loose skin?  I've got plenty of that.  I have bat wings on my arms, wrinkles under my butt and the skin on my belly looks like a Shar Pei puppy. I also have loose skin on my neck, back and legs.And don't get me started on my boobs.  It sucks and it means I have to wear some compression clothes when I run because of discomfort. But I wouldn't change it for the world.  Really.  I earned this shit.  However if someone offered to pay for surgery to tighten it up I would seriously consider it.  Not because I think I look bad or I'm ashamed of it.  I wear tank tops all the time bat wings be damned!  My real reasons for wanting surgery?  I don't like how it feels when I run.  If I don't wear compression clothes when I run?  I get some serious pain from skin movement.  OUCH!  Again, no matter the pain or how loose my skin gets I would still rather be healthy.

You won't always feel motivated. 

I get ask how I stay motivated all the time.  I don't.  I have days where I don't feel like getting
out of bed for a run. I have days where I want to eat all the chocolate and all the chips and pizza and top it off with a hard cider.  But I get up and I go for a run, even if its a slow and sluggish run.  (I run three days a week.  I'll post more about that later.) And for the most part I stick to my normal diet.  Because I figure I have two options. Stick to the course I'm on right now and eat healthy most of the time.  Or return to where I was before.  Maybe there's another option, somewhere in between the two?  I don't know.  I don't really want to find out.  I just keep putting one foot in front of the other and making decisions one day at a time.  Do I always feel motivated?  Do I always eat healthy?  Nope. I'm human. Weight Watchers talks frequently about "Finding Your Why." Everybody's why is different. My why is the mental picture of myself using a walker or a wheelchair to get around because of my joint issues.  My why is my family history of heart disease and colon cancer.  Some day I'll probably write a whole other post about that.

You're going to lose hair. 

Putting your body into a caloric deficit for a long time stresses it out a bit.  You will burn your body fat stores. (Woo hoo!) But you'll also lose hair (Doh!).  I have seriously curly hair and always lose hair in the shower so I didn't notice it as much at first.  And then I went for my first major hair cut in a long time.  The hairstylist was concerned about breakage and the amount of hair that ended up in the sink.  Oh yeah... I freaked out a hairstylist.  I had to tell her it was normal and that I'd lost about 50 pounds at that point.  Now its all starting to grow back and its driving me crazy.  I now know why so many women cut their hair off when they lose weight. 

I'm sure there are more things that I'm forgetting. I guess I'm saving those for a later post.