November 20, 2014

Helpful Hints after Weight Loss

OK, Maybe Some Hints are Not So Helpful

Guest Post by Heather Lee

Remember the awesome guest post back in August called "Goodbye Girls?" Well, Heather Lee, a favorite Cranky Fitness commenter, succumbed to my pleading and whining and has penned another post for us, hooray! She also has a lovely blog of her own, The Spotted Cat so it's really not fair of me to exploit her talents over here, but whatever--I'm kinda ruthless like that. She's so dang nice I couldn't help taking advantage of her good nature. 

So please welcome Heather Lee!  --Crabby

If you hang around the weight-loss world long enough, you’ll probably see lists along the lines of “Things Nobody Told Me Would Happen as the Weight Comes Off.” Having been on this road for a while now, I can verify a lot of them through personal experience. Some are vexing, most are funny, and all are worth it.

But why do so many of us get blindsided by these things? For me, it’s because I looked at The Start Point (overly rotund!) and The End Point (fit and sleek!) without bothering to think about that whole Middle Part. You know: The Hard Work. Most of us don’t want to think too much about that part, and that’s when we get surprised.

So here is my list, both in the interest of helping other Cranketeers and because I like to make lists. Enjoy!



Holy CRAP, I am COLD!

Being a perpetually cold person, I’m used to freezing. This is coming from a woman who has blankets in her office chair even in the summer because the AC ices me out. I have always been cold. I didn’t think it was possible to be any colder than usual. Well…

via quickmeme

Right on, Thorin. The mountains are freaking cold.

At this point, I have actually frozen my butt off (really, it’s way smaller). Every day this week I’ve been wearing a microfleece thermal, long-sleeved T-shirt, a heavy-duty hoodie, a knit hat, warm pants, and fuzzy socks. And this is just in the house. Boots, scarf, extra hats, gloves, and a wool coat get added if I have to go outside. This is insane. So be ready, folks, especially if you’re already prone to cold-bloodedness. Unsexy hats and chunky boots could be your new friends.

Wait, what happened to my clothes?!

If you’re not thinking about The Middle Part, you might not realize what’s happening to your wardrobe until parts of it begin to fit strangely and, in some cases, fall right off of you. Underwear is especially bad about this because we tend not to pay much attention to it until it’s doing something weird, like bunching up in the seat of our pants when it gets too dang big. Keep an eye on the rest of your wardrobe, too. While the underwear problem was the biggest surprise to me, it was followed closely by the shoes. Yep. Half of my shoes are too big now, and so are my hats. Just goes to show we really do lose weight everywhere (except where we want).

Wait, what happened to my other stuff?!

Fluctuating clothes sizes are weird enough. The real zingers are other things you use every day, like your office chair. It took a few weeks of my neck being sore to realize my chair could no longer raise high enough to keep my monitors at eye level. My butt is so much smaller I can’t sit far enough up in the chair now. On a similar note, hubs recently pointed out that he and I have both had to readjust the driver’s seat in the car due to our decrease in size, so watch out for that. And be sure you don’t stub your toes when stepping up to the sink in the kitchen. My back no longer hurts when I’m doing the dishes because I don’t have to lean forward over my foofy stomach. Bonus!

I forgot how anatomy works.

If you’ve been carrying extra weight for a long time (like me), you might have forgotten where some of your bones actually are (like I did). A few months ago, hubs and I were chatting while getting ready to sleep and I had my hands folded across my ribs. Feeling a big lump beneath my fingertips, I was like, “Aaaaigh, what is this hideous mass?!” Yeah, it was my sternum. Totally forgot that was in there. I might have had similar reactions to the joyous reappearance of collar bones and hip joints, but they did make for pleasant surprises.

Losing weight is a different experience for everybody, and I think we tend to get so lost waiting for The Big Changes that we forget to look for the smaller ones. Even annoying stuff like surprise chair adjustments and too-big footwear are signs of progress, and that’s what you’ve got to keep your eye on. Every step you take towards The End Point (fit and sleek!) is progress. You earned it, and you should absolutely get to enjoy it. Besides, who doesn’t like new shoes?


27 comments:

  1. Thanks, Crabby! One thing I forgot to mention on the wardrobe thing... Goodwill and second-hand stores are awesome resources for transition clothes. They're great for finding cheap jeans and work clothes when you're between major size overhauls. :-)

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    1. Thanks so much Heather! And on second hand stores--they're great even when one is not so much mastering the weight loss thing. I love the idea of old clothes finding new homes, and charitable causes benefitting etc. Plus I've scored some great stuff myself!

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    2. I have gotten to be a thrift store snob. I refuse to buy anything that says White Stag.

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  2. Thanks, Heather! I got a good laugh this morning. Although it is sort of hard typing my thanks with these gloves on...

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    1. Happy to help, DRG! I have actually worn my little knitted fingerless gloves while working the past couple of days. :-P

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  3. Ha! In addition to being cold all the time, I also couldn't sit through a movie without my butt getting sore. Less padding!

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    1. Oh, good one! Long periods sitting in hard plastic chairs are definitely a lot more challenging now. :-D

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  4. How awesome to have to "endure" these changes! Looking forward to that!

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    1. They make the process a lot more interesting for sure. Keep it up! :-)

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  5. This was a fun post to read - I've never a lot of weight so I had never thought of some of these things. I am cold all the time though - I wear gloves a lot during this time of year!!
    The bunchy underwear made me laugh but I can see how it could happen.

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    1. Thanks, Kim! The cold thing surprised me because I was a skinny kid and was freezing all the time then, too. This new level of cold is eye opening. And eye watering, ha.

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  6. Yes, those of us who are always cold, like me, do get colder. Now that the cold has come, i won't thaw out until May, and i live in the swamps in south Louisiana!

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    1. Hehe, I know what you mean. I get a brief thaw in the spring before the AC has to come on, and then it's right back into the hoodies!

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  7. As my friends like to tell me I melt from the top when I lose weight and one place that I measure my progress is on my back as my spine becomes fully exposed. I am tempted to get some permanent marker and draw a line and date as I go. The only way that would work is as a tattoo. So NO!

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    1. Ooh, I hadn't thought of looking at my spine. Good idea! In lieu of a tattoo (LOL), you could have a friend trace your outline on a piece of butcher paper, tack it to the wall, and mark your progress on your paper spine. :-D

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  8. I just realized today why I have been SO. COLD. since we've been getting temps in the 20s and 30s. Because I've lost 50-some pounds since last winter, that's why! What a difference. I just can't get warm enough these past few weeks. Hoodies, sweaters, slippers, fingerless gloves, scarves upon scarves...

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    1. Seriously. We got a major cold snap last week, complete with snow and hideous wind chills, so I rediscovered the wondrous warming capabilities of scarves. The heating pad is also super helpful these days.

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  9. Cold, yes. I've always been cold-natured, but minus thirty pounds of insulation I'm colder.

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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    1. Same here, Mary Anne, but my insulation was faulty! :-D

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  10. I went almost every day to a local thrift store when the weight was coming off in the beginning. I also experienced feeling cold. I had lost my insulation!!! I could sleep on my tummy. I could no longer stack my legs when laying on my side because my knees banged into each other. I can also feel my collar bone. All this is still strange! But since I AM rather strange, it is alright. :)

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    1. Oh, yes. I can sleep on my face now and it is glorious. Very good point about the legs stacking, same problem here. I had to buy a body pillow to fix it. And hey, strange is good! :-)

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  11. Yes! Cold. All the time and I used to be hot all the time. Now, I'm ordering long underwear and fleece lined tights. I discovered Cuddle Duds are great pajamas even under four blankets.

    And my wedding ring! Tell off my hand and down the heating vent last week. The wonderful HVAC people came over and got it out for us (Hurray!). I took it immediately to be sized down - again. I never realized how much padding was on my hands. And yes, they're cold all the time. I'm looking for fingerless gloves.

    Thanks, Heather. And I thought about your other post recently--gotta replace my bras. . . Again!

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    1. Right?! Dang underwear. As I told a friend yesterday, one day it's like, "This doesn't feel right. There's a load in my drawers! Oh wait, my drawers ARE the load."

      I can sympathize on the wedding ring issue. Mine fell off months ago, so I'm just waiting until I finish shrinking to get it sized again. It's a good problem to have, though. :-)

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  12. Dropping a size has been so exciting..but I too recognize the cold and now all my pants feel a bit droopy! Would I change that? No friggin way! My daughter did this with me and I'm so proud of her. Way to create a family lifestyle. That's my focus.

    Great post. Made me giggle!

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  13. Thanks for telling about the signs of progress. Though I've just started to loss weight, I think this post can help me a lot.

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  15. Your openess and sharing – thank you.

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