So insta and facebook is full of photos and stories of people on their ‘weight loss journey’ but what actually happens when you hit that target and you start maintaining and living at the weight you had always dreamed of.....what has actually changed and is it really better being thinner and lighter.
The small changes were something I was thinking about the other day walking home from town. I was trudging up the steep hill which leads to my house and realised that I couldn’t actually feel my thighs rubbing together, it clearly had been that way for such a long time as I hadn’t worn through any trousers in well over a year. I remember clearly when I was 17 stone how painful the thigh rub and resulting rash would be, so much so I would try and avoid skirts in the summer months or carry a little bag of talc in my handbag for a quick thigh de-sticking, those that haven’t experienced it will never truly understand the pain, but this is just one of the hundred small changes that you don’t realise but will suddenly hit you and make you realise losing the weight was the best thing you ever did.
To be honest there are just so many things that have changed since losing the weight I could probably spend hours writing about them. On a daily basis I find numerous positives of being smaller and lighter. Ever tried fitting through the tunnels and down slides in a soft play at 17 stone? Its hell, but at 11 stone you will see me whizzing down those slides with the kids. How about going out for an evening with your mates when they are all a size 10 and glamorous and you feel like the fat, frumpy, odd one out, not anymore I finally feel like I fit and belong. Finding underwear that doesn’t give you four boobs or being able to put the armrests down on planes without bruising your leg. It’s jumping on the trampoline in the garden knowing your well under the max weight limit or taking the kids swimming and not even thinking about what others may be thinking about you. It’s running and not feeling everything from my chin to my knees wobble, catching yourself in a shop window or mirror and for a minute not recognising that thinner happy person looking at you. It’s picking a size 12 up in the shop and having to try it on because it might be too big. It’s all those little things that make the struggle worth it and the end you will be as amazing as you imagined.
There are obviously changes which are not so positive but these are still outweighed by the amazing changes (but that’s for another post).
Happy weight loss everyone
Leanne X