Truths About Losing So much weight

Truths About Losing So Much Weight

This post may contain affiliate links., which means if you make a purchase using any affiliated links, I will earn a small commission at zero additional cost to you. 

your good body book positivity

“You must feel like a million bucks, now that you’ve lost all this weight, right?”

Well. Not exactly.

Sure, I feel a lot better in a lot of ways. But in other ways, I still have struggles that I never foresaw when I first began my weight loss journey.

For starters, one of the biggest challenges that tends to gnaw at my mind at times is the fact that although I’ve worked for years to lose so much weight, I’ve completely transformed my exercise and nutrition habits, and I’ve dropped a whopping 160 pounds, is that… if you’re not careful you can’t constantly keep believing you need to lose EVEN MORE WEIGHT!! Head to my latest content to read my completely new approach to health and wellness! Hint: GOODBYE DIETING AND FOCUSING ON WEIGHT ALL THE TIME! 

Jennifer Taylor Wagner your good body book body positivity healthy living

That annoying little truth does feel discouraging at times. If I’m not careful, I can start to feel sorry for myself, that I have a body that literally sets up shop and takes a bubble bath in any extra calories I consume at any given moment. After losing so much weight, my body is now VERY stubborn when it comes to losing weight. In order to drop even the slightest of poundage at this point, I would literally have to eat like a rabbit and exercise a LOT. Any little slip-up, and I quickly slide into maintenance mode. So… Ya know… No thanks. 

I’m mostly ok with maintaining my current weight. I don’t desire to be super thin. After all, strong is the new thin. But there are times I wish I could lean out at least a little. And in the very back of my mind I know that if I were motivated enough, I could do it. But finding motivation to lose weight is very difficult at this point. Finding the motivation to maintain, is a little easier. But even that still gets tough at times.

So that’s the annoying truth. Along with the fact that one day I can look like a size 8 and the next like a size 16. At least that’s how it feels. Thank you womanhood.

Then there’s the truth you don’t hear much about:

With losing a ton of weight, comes gaining extra skin. If you lose 20 to, say 50 or 60 pounds, you may not have to deal with this problem as much. But most of us who lose a lot of weight deal with loose skin that is not so flattering. It makes wearing regular clothing like jeans and a t-shirt a real chore at times. It also causes our tummies to look pooched out, no matter how much core strength we’ve worked to achieve. At this point, I even have a six pack that I can see all jumbled up under a big layer of fluffy, saggy skin. Maybe one day I’ll get that extra skin removed, because it’s incredibly annoying and uncomfortable to carry around every day.

There you have it. The ugly truth. So the next time you see a selfie of me feeling accomplished from my workout, remember that THERE’S A WHOLE LOT OF IMPERFECTION THAT YOU’RE NOT GETTING A GOOD LOOK AT IN THE LITTLE SNAP SHOT! That’s super important to remember. 😉

Then there’s the funny truth.

If you’ve known me for a decade or more, you’ve seen my body transform from 336 pounds to a’hem — what I weigh today.

If you’ve known me that long, you might think ‘wow! She has lost so much weight!’ You might even venture to use the word “thin”… But the funny thing is, I am actually not that thin in the grand scheme of things. Yes, I’m “thin” compared to what I used to be. But like, who decides what “thin” is? And honestly who even freaking cares if I’m considered thin or not. But the truth about losing so much weight is that you end up focusing so much on dropping the weight, that you become super critical of your body! It takes a LOT to overcome this, but it is worth working toward it!

What all of this has taught me… are you ready for it??

The real truth.

The real truth is that no matter how much weight I ever lose, no matter what size jeans I ever fit into, no matter how big the muscles on my arms become, and no matter how much space my body takes up in a room, none of these things will ever define my self worth.

At the end of the day, it’s not about any of those things. The incredible people in my life could absolutely care less about how big I am, or how fit. They’re proud of my accomplishments, whether big or small. They love me because of what comes from the inside. It’s the passion, the encouragement, the kindness, the love that flows from my heart. It’s the relationship we share. It’s the inspiration that can be found in knowing that any step, even the smallest one, is a great accomplishment and should be celebrated.

Yes. I care. I care about my body. I care when I feel like I’ve been too lax with my eating. I care when I feel like my jeans are snug. I care when I am a poor example of healthy habits for my children. I care when I look in the mirror and see that after all this hard work, I now have to deal with excess skin. I care when my brain gets all jumbled and I’m busy, and I can’t think clearly and don’t make the right food choice. I do care.

I care enough to hit that reset button yet again, and start mapping out how I will get back on track.

If I could tell you one thing that I’ve really learned on this weight loss journey, it’s that no matter how much weight you ever lose, there will ALWAYS be things that you can find that will never be just right in your own, self-critical eyes. There is no final destination.

At this very moment I could list 10 things that I would change about myself if I could.

But what’s important is that you start practicing loving yourself even while knowing that there are things you don’t particularly like.

How? I’m glad you asked.

The most effective way to do this is to replace negative thoughts of yourself with good ones.

Ugh! My stomach is so flabby! It will never be beautiful! My stomach doesn’t look exactly how I want it to, but I know my core is getting much stronger.

This is so embarrassing. I’m going to go to work and they’re going to think I’ve fallen off the weight loss train. I look so fat today!! First of all, the people who really matter aren’t critiquing every little change that happens in my body. Secondly, my body is good. AMAZING even. And that is not determined by what size I am, what the scale says, or what people think about me. My body is good because it woke up this morning, it has breath, and strong legs to carry me around every day. 

I cannot believe I ate that. I’m never going to lose this weight. Well. I think I overdid it on the cheesecake. I feel awful and I don’t like this feeling. This was one, isolated decision. And I am capable of moving forward, and nourishing my body better in few hours when I’m hungry again. Every time I practice leading with compassion, I’m taking one step toward food freedom. 

Find those negative thoughts about yourself, learn to notice them as soon as they pop into your head, and hold them captive like thieves trying to steal your greatest treasure. Grab that thought, stop it immediately, and replace it with something better.

The greatest success you can have in drasically changing your health and fitness, is to couple it with gaining victory in your thought life and self worth as well.

 

29 thoughts on “Truths About Losing So Much Weight”

  1. Just know that your journey is inspirational…you are adored, and many of us share your journey and appreciate your voice.♡

    1. Thank you Amanda!!!! It is soooo comforting to know that I have such amazing people around me who are on the same journey as me! I am sooooo far from perfect, but I’ll stay on the journey because of people like you! Love you friend!!

  2. Oh my Jen! I so love you for your honesty and genuine outpouring of love and encouragememt that you have. These intimates truths you shared was confirmation and an on time word for me today that I am not alone in my self critique at times. I actually do find myself correcting my negative thoughts about myself and quickly think about how blessed I am for example to have these stretch marks from birthing my babies whom I absolutely adore. How dare I start to complain about that when there are women who can only wish to have even 1 baby. God blessed me with 2… thank you for sharing!

  3. Pingback: Chatting About All Things Health. - Ashley Solberg

  4. What a great achievement! You go girl! I know what you mean though. I lost 20 lbs after my second pregnancy and unfortunately do not have elastic skin. I have very loose and wrinkly skin on my belly now too.

    1. I understand, Jolene!! I truly do. But you grew two humans inside you which is INCREDIBLE!!!!!! <3

  5. This is so empowering and motivational! Thank you for sharing your journey. I love your openness and transparency! Keep sharing! You are helping so many ❤️

  6. You look amazing! But I understand every bit of what you say here. My mom went from 300+ lbs to under 160 and she still struggled. everyone told her how amazing she looked but like you said the skin and other things did affect how she would feel at times. I am glad that you realize it does not define you and know that you look BEAUTIFUL! I have been struggling with my weight lately and this has totally inspired me today!

    1. Wow, that’s incredible. So true! You have to make he choice to see yourself as beautiful and worthy because it doesn’t come automatically… <3

    1. You’re sooooooooo right!!! Gotta find that self-love in the process of you’ll never find it!! <3

  7. I just found this on Pinterest today I love reading your blog and i am trying to lose weight my self and i am also doing WW my self counting point not going to meeting or online just on my own and you are a real inspiration to me, how long have you had your blog just want to make sure i read all of it. Thanks again. 🙂

    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! I try to write a lot of information about overall balanced and healthy lifestyle choices…. I”m so glad to connect with you on here! Keep focusing on your health!! <3

  8. GIRL… can I just say how much I LOVE you and this post?! You are seriously such an inspiration. And when I say that I don’t mean because you lost weight or are “thin”. You look absolutely amazing, but you’re so inspiring because you’re taking control of your health and your mind – you’re calling the shots. You’re in it, you’re trying to stay positive, you’re trying to live a life you love, and holy crow is that amazing! I’m over here celebrating for you! You rock!

    1. Awwwww!! Thank you so very much Maryal!! It has been such a journey! But it’s all about making it a lifestyle and using what we’ve been through to help the people around us!! <3 Thank you so much for your kind words!!!

  9. This is really inspirational. Congratulations on your transformation, but you are right, your weight does NOT determine your self worth!!

  10. Pingback: How I Got My Non-Healthy-Eating Hubby To Join My Weight Loss Journey – FAITH | FAMILY | FITNESS

  11. Pingback: How I Got My Non-Healthy-Eating Hubby To Join My Weight Loss Journe – FAITH | FAMILY | FITNESS

  12. Pingback: BODY ATTACK!! The One Kind Of Exercise I NEVER Get Tired Of – FAITH | FAMILY | FITNESS

Comments are closed.

weight loss blog diet exercise workout home mom mama mother motherhood mom parent

Scroll to Top