• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

So... How are you coping with your new body?

peacetrain

peacetrain

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,405
Location
Lancashire
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Diet only
I've posted here because I suddenly don't have enough power to post in 'discussions'. Sorry.

Firstly, I'm 56 and was never overweight until my 30s. Long story which I don't want to detail but basically I always had a big appetite but was a fitness junkie. I could fluctuate by 1.5 stones but still remain within my weight range. I guess the bad eating habits have always been there. Compulsive eating and no exercise have resulted in doubling my weight. I have recently lost a lot of weight, since diabetes arrived. I still have at least 3 stones to lose.

My mum said to me the other day, "ooh Kim, you are disappearing!"

I replied that I feel more like my old self again, I feel that I'm back.

I should add that my mum and younger sister have always been overweight so they didn't bat an eyelid when I put it on. My work colleagues didn't know me when I was slim and they are amazed at the change. I must say I get a bit squirmy when they mention it. I don't like the attention.

So, now I will walk around my local town without fear that I will bump into someone that knew me when I was slim. I also take more interest in clothes and the way I look.

One thing I've noticed recently is that I can feel my bones. Hip bones, shoulders and now collar bones. It seems strange. My shape is different too. My bottom is no longer the largest part of me.

I've also noticed, as I get closer to my goal, that I have some saggy bits! Inner thighs and I think my tummy will end up dropping with loose skin too. And then there's the bingo wings! But hey, I'm not bothering too much as nobody will see me naked ... I'll just be a clothes horse instead ;-)

I've read that sometimes people find it hard to adjust to being thinner. I know I don't have to lot a wide route in shops now so that's good.

I've been divorced a long time now ... Not sure I could start another relationship but then I couldn't because I was overweight too! I did consider putting an ad in the paper for a hunk who likes big ladies ha ha ha


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
I've only just started my weight loss journey but can relate to so much of that. I have a uni reunion in August and part of me is dreading going and seeing people who last saw me at nearly my thinnest. Part of me says that people should judge you on what's inside but I know that I don't always measure up to that ideal, so why would/should they? I have always had a very up and down( mostly up) relationship with my weight but really piled it on when I took hormone treatment to conceive and then developed post- natal anxiety and OCD. I've self-medicated with carbs for years to feel better only to find it's given me diabetes which is another stick to beat myself with and obviously something else to be anxious about.
I do worry about all the saggy bits and pieces when I lose weight but am trying to exercise gently alongside weight loss to help tone what I can up. And I've not ruled out surgery if I felt that psychologically I need it , post weight loss.
Anyway your weight loss is great and long may it continue. I look forward to finding some of my long lost bones again. It'll be like an episode of Time Team.
 
Hello Kim. It is strange I agree. !5 years ago I was slim I had lost 50lbs in 6 months and was running 4 miles cross country once a week. I remember very clearly going into Monsoon to try on clothes and having to accost some other poor woman there to check that a size 14 really did fit me - it wasn't an illusion. I was constantly feeling my behind with immense pride.

Then Foot and Mouth Disease broke out and I couldn't run anymore (roads and treadmills bored me silly). It went on so long that the weight crept back, I got miserable, I ate even more etc. Now I am obese (or more?) but in my mind I'm still slim! I get a shock if I see myself now. I avoid photographs for that reason.

When I first gained weight again it was sometime after I had been working in a diabetic clinic (as it happened). I bumped into the Consultant one day and could see the horror in her eyes. It was disheartening. When I know I must see people who knew me as slim I get nervous. I avoided my University 25 year reunion.

I've started the LCHF diet to stabilise my blood gluose and hope my weight will decrease again too. I still have dreams in which I am running in fields but it might be a bit late to get back to that now. But with such major ups and a down over the past 15 years+ I know what you mean about the difficulties in adjusting to a new body, and the difficulties others have too.
 
cold ethyl said:
I've only just started my weight loss journey but can relate to so much of that. I have a uni reunion in August and part of me is dreading going and seeing people who last saw me at nearly my thinnest. Part of me says that people should judge you on what's inside but I know that I don't always measure up to that ideal, so why would/should they? I have always had a very up and down( mostly up) relationship with my weight but really piled it on when I took hormone treatment to conceive and then developed post- natal anxiety and OCD. I've self-medicated with carbs for years to feel better only to find it's given me diabetes which is another stick to beat myself with and obviously something else to be anxious about.
I do worry about all the saggy bits and pieces when I lose weight but am trying to exercise gently alongside weight loss to help tone what I can up. And I've not ruled out surgery if I felt that psychologically I need it , post weight loss.
Anyway your weight loss is great and long may it continue. I look forward to finding some of my long lost bones again. It'll be like an episode of Time Team.
Click to expand...
Hi Cold Ethyl (again). I read about 'saggy bits' because I wanted to avoid them and running to tone up isn't on the cards this time. I read that often it is actually stubborn subcutaneous fat causing a residual loose jiggly bit and that if you can shift it the skin should tighten back. It's meant to be dependent on age and genetics though. Like you I think i might resort to surgery if I were left with loose jiggly bits and boobs at my knees!
 
Hi, I went lchf last august. I was a heifer at almost 14 stone and size 18. I worked my way through my fat part of the wardrobe through the decades to some size 14 suits in the back of my wardrobe as I lost weight.

I realised that I was actually tripping over the crotch in the trousers and decided I needed a size 12. When I got to the shops it was actually 8/10 depending on the shop and clothes. That was such a shock I nearly screamed in the changing rooms.
I still can't believe I can fit into an 8 because of this 'diet' I went on not to lose weight but to sort out my blood sugars.

I still think I'm fatter than I am and Kate Moss was right nothing tastes better than slim feels EXCEPT SUGAR FREE JELLY / FRUIT WITH CREAM, VEG COVERED IN BUTTER, EGGS BACON AND SAUSAGE FOR BREAKIE, MASSIVE SALAD WITH RIPE AVOCADO .......
Non diabetics in work are now following this diet because of me.
I can do things without a belly in the way, without huffing and puffing after losing 4 stone. I CAN SEE MY FEET!

I have maintained my weight for almost 3 months now because I want to keep what is left of my bust. I used to be able to poke eyes out. I think i could wear a training bra now.

At the moment this feels sustainable which is a good job because I've bought a shed load of clothes never mind a wardrobe of clothes. Quite a lot from charity shops because size 8 is not average size. And also eBay.

I'm quite often 14 stone in my head instead of 9 stone 10/13 lbs ( depending on hormones). And the choice of clothes is amazing now - that's what I can't get over. (Though at fortyish avoiding mutton dressed as lamb does calm down choices.)


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Great read Kim. Well done on your success so far and really hope you reach your goals ( and maybe a hunk too lol ). Stories like yours always inspire and motivate others too :-)
 
peacetrain said:
Oh! I'm still a heifer!! Lol


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
Click to expand...

S@@t sorry mate - that's just how I felt at the time!!!!!!! I was very apple shaped and forgot what my feet looked like. And I was very clumsy with it. I know some people can be in proportion and elegant - not me!

I haven't lost me big gob though unfortunately!


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Mrs Vimes said:
S@@t sorry mate - that's just how I felt at the time!!!!!!! I was very apple shaped and forgot what my feet looked like. And I was very clumsy with it. I know some people can be in proportion and elegant - not me!

I haven't lost me big gob though unfortunately!


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
Click to expand...
or your big feet ha ha

People at work don't believe me when I say I still have over 3 stone still to lose in order to be normal weight.

Realistically I'm thinking 11 st but I would like to be 10st 7lb. I'm 5ft 7 and a half inches tall.

The weight loss has left me with a saggy face too but I look well. I'm worried more weight loss will impact on my face. Also, my age means I've lost some elasticity in my skin and some of the weight may end up being skin. Perhaps I need to account for that. I used to be a pear, now I'm an apple. Someone here said the tummy is last to go so here's hoping!



Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Losing weight is just great, friends and colleagues mention it without any prompting, I can tie my shoelaces more easily, my wife and daughter see me visibly shrinking around the face. Most of my extra weight is 'beer belly' so that will take a while to shift assuming it's visceral fat, nonetheless I've lost about 3 inches around the waist. I've always looked slim from behind, it's when I turn round that it goes wrong! Main downside at the moment is my jeans keep slipping so I look like a teenage rapper ...
 
I've got saggy bits. I'm trying to tone at the gym. Arms, belly and inner thighs (TMI). All tastefully hidden under clothes.

Luckily genetics gave me a fat hamster face whatever size I was- it's my bust I miss more. (That sounds wrong but you know what I mean.) it helped me to realise weight loss needed to stop rather than scales.

You may decide not to go for the full 3 stone loss. Your tall so I'm guessing that you are aiming for the lower of the healthy range for your height?

I'm a size 6/7 shoe but today I think I'm in a 10.


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
sanguine said:
Losing weight is just great, friends and colleagues mention it without any prompting, I can tie my shoelaces more easily, my wife and daughter see me visibly shrinking around the face. Most of my extra weight is 'beer belly' so that will take a while to shift assuming it's visceral fat, nonetheless I've lost about 3 inches around the waist. I've always looked slim from behind, it's when I turn round that it goes wrong! Main downside at the moment is my jeans keep slipping so I look like a teenage rapper ...
Click to expand...
You know what to do about the jeans?

Buy some snazzy boxers!!


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
I need to lose 6st to be what I was a teenager but I am going to be guided by how I feel as I lose weight. I've always had a podgy face even at my lowest weight so hoping I don't go all Deputy Dawg this time. Still far better to need a big roll of tape behind ears than a wheelchair or guide dog.
 
peacetrain said:
I've posted here because I suddenly don't have enough power to post in 'discussions'. Sorry.

Firstly, I'm 56 and was never overweight until my 30s. Long story which I don't want to detail but basically I always had a big appetite but was a fitness junkie. I could fluctuate by 1.5 stones but still remain within my weight range. I guess the bad eating habits have always been there. Compulsive eating and no exercise have resulted in doubling my weight. I have recently lost a lot of weight, since diabetes arrived. I still have at least 3 stones to lose.

My mum said to me the other day, "ooh Kim, you are disappearing!"

I replied that I feel more like my old self again, I feel that I'm back.

I should add that my mum and younger sister have always been overweight so they didn't bat an eyelid when I put it on. My work colleagues didn't know me when I was slim and they are amazed at the change. I must say I get a bit squirmy when they mention it. I don't like the attention.

So, now I will walk around my local town without fear that I will bump into someone that knew me when I was slim. I also take more interest in clothes and the way I look.

One thing I've noticed recently is that I can feel my bones. Hip bones, shoulders and now collar bones. It seems strange. My shape is different too. My bottom is no longer the largest part of me.

I've also noticed, as I get closer to my goal, that I have some saggy bits! Inner thighs and I think my tummy will end up dropping with loose skin too. And then there's the bingo wings! But hey, I'm not bothering too much as nobody will see me naked ... I'll just be a clothes horse instead ;-)

I've read that sometimes people find it hard to adjust to being thinner. I know I don't have to lot a wide route in shops now so that's good.

I've been divorced a long time now ... Not sure I could start another relationship but then I couldn't because I was overweight too! I did consider putting an ad in the paper for a hunk who likes big ladies ha ha ha


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
Click to expand...


Hi, some men like what is abbreviated as BBW ( Big beautiful women). It's not what's on the outside though, it's what's on the inside that counts and if a nice man eventually comes into your life, it's the wonderful beauty from within that he will see first and then all the other lovely bits later, whether big, small,, thin curvy.:p Ps we are exactly the same age:)
Well done, you have really achieved such a lot, so be proud, walk tall and when you look in that mirror again, take a moment and say ' yeah, looking good':D Take care x
 
sanguine said:
Losing weight is just great, friends and colleagues mention it without any prompting, I can tie my shoelaces more easily, my wife and daughter see me visibly shrinking around the face. Most of my extra weight is 'beer belly' so that will take a while to shift assuming it's visceral fat, nonetheless I've lost about 3 inches around the waist. I've always looked slim from behind, it's when I turn round that it goes wrong! Main downside at the moment is my jeans keep slipping so I look like a teenage rapper ...
Click to expand...

:cool:
 
Back
Top