What "They" Don't Tell You About Losing Weight.

The truth is about to be told!  No pictures, just truth.

I'm pretty sure that we all have heard the same "helpful sayings" about losing weight.  My mind is constantly full of quotes such as:

" It took years to put the weight on, it is going to take years to get it off."
"The fat comes off in the reverse order that it came on."
"Muscle weighs more than fat."

Etc. Etc. Etc.

While all of that may or may not be true.  Let me share with you what I have found to be absolutely 100% true.  Folks, these are the things that NO ONE talks about.

1. It's normal for plateaus to last awhile. Most people give up too early because the results that they saw at first don't continue. They hit a plateau. That plateau might last MONTHS which then, makes them feel like what ever it is that they are doing to lose weight is not working anymore.  Although the WEIGHT might not be coming off, the FAT may still be coming off.

2. You will lose the fat in the WEIRDEST places BEFORE it comes off of the WANTED places. I have lost fat in my fingers, chin, feet (a whole size smaller now...) and even my NOSE! Yup, my rings fit better, I don't have the huge double chin that I used to have (although there is still one there...,) I have had to buy new shoes because my old ones were falling off, and my glasses don't fit my nose anymore. They fall off. I'm sure that this has happened before in other attempts to lose weight, but I never noticed because I was only looking at my "problem" spots... like, you know, the HUGE belly and FLABBY arms!  THOSE parts.

3.  There is NO magic number on the scale that is your "ideal weight."  Now, before all of you haters start attacking me on this one, let me explain.  Look, I come from German descent, with a touch of English.  I don't run marathons each day, but I don't just sit at a desk for 8 hours either. There is so much more going into your "ideal" weight than your height, bone structure, sex, and age. According to Dr. Evelyn Tribole, your race, culture, and health history are all in play as well.  THIS is why I have been told that I should be between 115-135 lbs, but have never been below 180 as an adult.  At 180 lbs, I wore a size 10 (the smallest that I was as a adult.)  I was slender and happy with the way that I felt and looked.... until someone told me that I should be 50lbs lighter. I had not weighed 115 since JR. HIGH school, and even THEN I was not considered overweight by my doctor. SO, I'm not sure when the opinion changed, but I find it unrealistic to think that someone could stay the same weight all the way through high school and into adulthood through having kids.  But at the time when I was told that I should go from 180-130 (by a "health professional") I got scared, but you know what happened?  I became depressed.  I started eating emotionally (something that I never did before) and GASP, I started gaining weight. THEN, I got married, had kids, and gained MORE weight.  It wasn't until about 6 months ago that I realized that "ideal weight" just might be WRONG. That is when I started forgetting the scale and calories, and started going off of REAL evidence like, how my clothes fit, how I felt inside, and how my blood work came out at my annual physicals. (By the way, levels are all practically perfect.  I have perfect blood pressure, perfect cholesterol levels, and perfect vitamin levels. The only thing that isn't perfect are my hormones. Go figure.

4. Being active doesn't necessarily make you lose weight. I know, another GASP moment. For more details on where I get this opinion from , click HERE.  Although that it's true that burning calories is better than your body STORING calories, the idea is to burn MORE calories than you take IN, right? That is what we have been taught. But what about those people that don't eat multitudes of calories, and exercise? Oh, THOSE people are storing calories because their bodies aren't getting enough to USE. So, basically, don't eat too many calories, but don't eat too little, OH, and make sure that those calories aren't "empty" calories. (I won't even open up that can of worms.) WHOA!  Too much! I had no idea how much I needed to exercise or eat... I just did what the "professionals" told me to do. But, THAT was based off of a generic formula meaning that "on average" that is what I should eat. But, I am different from everyone else.  We all live different lifestyles. How can that POSSIBLY be measured in formula form? I am fairly active, meaning that I go up and down a flight of stairs (14 to be exact,) multiple times a day.  Like, so many times that I would shudder to even try  and count them, but I would venture to say rival what most could do on a stair stepper. I also go for walks (I like long walks on the beach..but I live in Utah, so the neighborhood has to count.) I dance with my kids, chase my dog that escapes, bend over to pick stuff up AT LEAST 100 times a day, make beds, vacuum, and I MIGHT even do a little running... sometimes. This is all on top of the actual "exercise" that I try to get in my day. Sound familiar? Well, that is my life. It isn't new. Do I need to do MORE than that? I aint got not time for that! THIS is how I exercise.

5. Everyone Loses Weight Differently!  STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS! I mean it!! I recently read an article about all of the different things that make redheads unique.  One of the items mentioned is that redheads are more sensitive to pain, and therefore have a higher pain tolerance. I guess we just constantly feel more pain than others, so we are used to it.  How exactly can they measure this?  I'm not sure. But it got me thinking.  If humans can be so varied with something like pain, why would we not be varied with weight loss OR ideal weight? We all feel pain on different levels.  We all have different make up inside.  My brother-in-law has very high cholesterol, BUT he is VERY active in his lifestyle. This is frustrating for him because he can't figure out WHY his cholesterol levels are so high!  Well, it's genetics!  Our bodies ideal form is also unique.  There isn't a formula that can pin point perfection for us. I'm not saying that they don't give us a good idea, but I also don't  think that they should be taken as "doctrine" either. I can take another redhead, weighing the same as I, with the same body shape (maybe,) two kids through c-sections, like me, of German descent, my exact same height, and put us on the exact same diet for 2 weeks.  I would bet you a million dollars that we would NOT lose the exact same amount of weight. Duh! The point is that we are all different, and our bodies handle things in different ways.  It might take you months to lose the same amount of fat that it takes your sibling! THAT IS OK.

6. Keep a healthy attitude!!! THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IS THAT YOU CONTINUE TO LIVE A BETTER LIFE. For sure.  This is the ONLY thing that matters.  Live a healthier life, a happier life.  Continue to better yourself through the foods you eat and the activities that you do. Eat when you are hungry, and stop when you aren't hungry anymore. NOT when you are full, but when you aren't hungry anymore. There is a difference. Pay attention tonight when you eat. You will see what I mean.  Click HERE to for more details on what I am talking about. No one tells you how much happier you will be when you STOP GIVING A CRAP ABOUT YOUR WEIGHT! Seriously!  STOP.  Stop stressing (which raises Cortisol levels and causes weight GAIN,) stop counting, stop obsessing, stop crying, and analyzing. It's not worth it.  Just keep working. Keep going. You will notice a change, I promise. I did.  After YEARS of stressing, counting, and analyzing.  I have FINALLY started to notice CHANGE. It didn't happen fast, but I'm ok with that because I am OK with how MY body needs to do this. Well, MOST of the time I am ok with it.  I DO let it get to me sometimes. Who doesn't.

There, those are the things that no one tells you.  So, STOP stressing over it all. LIVE YOUR LIFE! I wrote an awesome post about this awhile ago. Find it HERE.  Now you know. Now, you can go about your daily life feeling better about not stepping on the scale, losing inches off of that belly, or eating too many or too little calories.