Weight loss - The naked truth...

Hello!

 

 

This is going to be an honest and slightly more sensible post where I update you all on my story so far and some of the cons I have experienced along the way.

 

Firstly, I am a year and a bit into my weight loss journey, let's say and I still believe I have a long way to go.

For those of you who are new here or aren't sure why I decided to lose weight, I was pushing the top end of 15 stone back in 2011 and at a size 20/22, decided enough was enough.

 

 

I didn't want to be 'fat' anymore, I wanted to be slim and healthy, so I changed my eating habits and joined a gym.

 

Thanks to a great plan from the gym as well as useful advice and recipes found online, I am now a year on and maintaining a healthy weight. I am now a size 10/12 clothes, which feels amazing as I never thought I'd see the day.

 

It hasn't been an easy ride. My weight has almost always continued to drop because of the exercise but there have been some weeks where the scales stayed the same, it just made me want to give up.

"Why am I working my butt off and nothing is happening!?"

It can be very frustrating. I just made sure I kept going and kept focusing on the milestones...

 

5lbs lost

Size 16

30lbs lost

Size 14

56lbs lost

Size 12

 

Although the weight loss has been amazing and on the whole, I am happy with my results, the loss has happened in a very short space of time and I have unfortunately ended up with excess skin.

 

I hate admitting this, especially to what seems like everyone I know but I need to be honest.

 

 

It has taken a lot of balls for me to post this picture and looking at it, it makes me so unhappy but also really motivated to change it.

 

As you can see from the above, I have a lot of excess skin on my tummy along with loads of stretch marks. This is purely because I lost the weight too quickly. Was this something that could have been prevented? Possibly... but given the opportunity to lose the weight again, I'd have done exactly the same thing.

 

Excess/loose skin is a serious con to weight loss and no one warns you about it. I have always had my concerns because I was so big and unfortunately, it happened.

I wouldn't let this put you off losing weight, because like a good friend said "loose skin is a common thing, it's better to have a bit of that than be overweight and in danger of ill health" and I couldn't have said it better myself.

There are days when it gets me down, as I have worked so hard to get where I am but I don't let it stop me, I still wear the clothes I want and still work out just as much, if not more than before because I'm now so focused on toning it up.

 

Just be aware that if you are on the larger side, you need to make sure you take the gym instructors advice and/or include weights as well as cardio in your weekly gym routine. This will help burn the fat as well as building the muscle, so you hopefully shouldn't end up with as much (if any) excess/loose skin. Obviously, I cannot promise anything because everyone is different and I'm not a qualified expert but just be aware before going crazy on the cross trainer or treadmill. Weights are your friend.

 

A great perk for larger ladies tends to be larger breasts. I recently had to say goodbye to mine and welcome in the 36Bs instead. 

This is another con... loss of boobs and possibly your bum!

My bum hasn't really disappeared too much as I always suffered from a seriously large but flat bum. Luckily, with the amount of squats that I do each week (especially recently), my bum is toning up quite nicely but I still have some work to do to get it looking 'peachy'.

 

My boobs on the other hand, that is a sad story.

I used to be a 38D but have somehow managed to lose a lot of weight from them, making them a 36B. This week is the first week I have been slightly happier with my smaller chest, as I am happy that I'm toning it up but it is one of the first things to go as there is a lot of fat stored there. Also, my boobs are similar to my tummy so I now have a little loose skin.

Not a good look BUT again, it is manageable and I am working to tone up.

Larger ladies, please be aware of this when looking to lose weight. It may not happen to you and you may keep your large breasts. Some women do! Just don't let it be a surprise like it was for me.

 

For those who are really worried about losing weight now, please don't be afraid.

Excess/loose skin, bum and boob loss are horrible, yes but the feeling you get from dropping dress sizes, toning other parts of your body and eventually going crazy and showing up the guys in the weights area is so worth it.

 

I love knowing I am healthy both inside and out. My skin is clearer than it has ever been and my body, although not perfect, is in the best condition it has ever been in.

 

 

 

I would happily go through this all again if I had to, so although there are cons... they do not outweigh the pros!

 

:]

 

x