I would say that 99% of the time my weight loss is fantastic but I have noticed a few “side effects” of weight loss so I thought I would share a bit about that side of my “journey”.
- Being cold – I used to have a whole lot of insulation so now when the temperature drops I feel it! A plus side of that side effect is also that when it is hot I don’t feel the heat quite so badly!
- Perception – this goes in hand with number 5 below a bit. I know I am “smaller” and weigh less but I still get a surprise when I see how I look sometimes.
- Weight plateaus – these are very frustrating. You are working hard, eating well, exercising had and yet you aren’t loosing weight. I had this for a while before starting to work with Felicity Neale and with her hard work and assistance I got through that one. Now we take everything on a week by week basis and adjust as and when required. We have also discovered that stress, lack or not enough sleep all plays a big impact on my weight losses/gains and so now I work hard to keep them in check.
- Loose skin – this is probably the biggest side effect of them all! I have lost a lot of weight and probably have toned up as much as I can / will but there is still obvious loose skin on my arms, legs, stomach and back. I am working on having surgery to remove the excess skin but I am still quite conscious of it and how it looks to me at least and trying to hide it so it isn’t obvious. I have seen some people say that if they knew about the loose skin, they may not have lost weight. I never would say that. The benefits outweigh this “problem” and I can work on fixing the problem with weight loss surgery which is on the agenda.
- Shopping – you would think that shopping now would be great and on the most part it is. Before I lost weight I would be able to shop in only a few shops and even if I went to buy clothes I would have to go to a small section of the shop and would have very few options so would buy what was available and not necessarily what I liked. Now when I go shopping I can pretty much shop everywhere and know that as long as the clothes are in my current size they will fit and probably look ok and that is actually a bit overwhelming! I have gone in to shops before and had to walk out quite quickly because of the variety. I am sure I will get over it but it is a very strange feeling!
As I said at the start, I wouldn’t change the fact that I have lost weight but I think that it is good to reflect upon the unexpected side effects.
