The things they don't tell you about losing weight

I bet I have read nearly every book there is about weight loss, but having travelled the path myself there are a few things that they don't tell you. Some a good, some are bad, and some are just surprises

It is easier to get dressed in the morning
I don't stand in front of the mirror in an outfit and take if off again because it makes me look fat.

It is harder to get dressed in the morning
The fitted pants that I wore 2 weeks ago are now too big around the waist. I have to put another hole in my belt because the tightest hole is too loose. I have to wear a padded bra otherwise my ribs stick out more than my boobs. My low rise skirt is now lower than my undies because my hips are smaller. My favourite summer dress looks like a sack ... etc. etc.

Sometimes I feel like I am disappearing
I take up less space in the world, I am a small person. Will people stopping taking notice of me because I am so small - do I need to be more assertive to compensate for my petite stature. Do I always have to wear heels now?

My rings and watch are too big
But if I get them resized, what happens if I get fat again?

There is a space between my thighs and my hip bones stick out
Never had that before. Hip bones get bruised during some physical activities including sex.

My skin has wrinkles everywhere
Although the fat has gone, my skin is the same size - especially around my tummy, upper arms and inner thighs. Hoping for eventual shrinkage but it maybe something I have to learn to live with.

Lifting weights can give you piles
Don't ask!!! Just remember to EXHALE on the effort part of the lift - always. NEVER hold your breath and push ...

I wake up in the morning and jump out of bed
Never had that before either. I have so much energy now that I never had before.

I am obsessed by food and exercise
I used to not be particular driven by hunger often going all day without eating then pigging out on rubbish. I used to HATE exercise.
Now, I am hungry for breakfast, lunch and dinner and feel stressed and deprived if I don't do some physical activity everyday.

The first five minutes of exercise are always hard
I always want to stop within the first five minutes. It's too hard, I'm too tired, I can't be buggered. But once you get beyond the 5 minute mark, something happens and you can keep going and start to enjoy it. This has never changed although I have been exercising for 18 months.

There is constant pain
When you are building muscles you get used to being in some kind of pain all the time. It hurts when you lift the weights, and it hurts the next day as your body repairs your muscles. You get to a point where you welcome the pain as an indicator that you are doing enough work to force your muscles to grow.

Some people's bodies won't get accustomed to drinking 8 glasses of water a day
Mine never has, I still have to make sure I know where the nearest toilet is at all times. This includes shopping centres, libraries, train stations etc. I have to make sure I wee before I embark on anything that takes more than an hour and I definitely need the aisle seat on a plane.

Maintaining your goal weight is twice as hard as getting to it
Every week during the weight loss phase that you eat well and exercise you are rewarded with the number on the scales going down, your body shrinking in size and people saying how good you look. Once all that stops, what motivates you to keep on the straight and narrow?? Personally, I haven't worked that out yet - having reached goal and then put 10 kgs back on after 6 months. There needs to be a mind shift that the scales staying the same, and clothes fitting the same is the reward for doing the right thing. That's the next challenge.