Whether it’s a trend for the moment or a lifetime, being fit and losing weight has become a part of almost everyone’s agenda. We’re in an age where eating unhealthily has become a norm. In fact, WHO states that over 1.9 billion adults and 340 million children and adolescents around the world are obese. So, more people try to lose weight.
However, some people try to rush through the process because they want to answer the question “What would I look like if I lost weight?” Likewise, they also want to start flaunting their new look and level up their confidence.
The Weight Loss Experience
People are going to lengths to lose weight. You have your healthy methods of losing weight, and then there are those unconventional and highly frowned upon methods like popping pills and undergoing surgery to shed those extra pounds. No matter which one you choose, the process of weight loss has a tremendous impact on your physical and mental health.
There is a perception people hold that once they are done and have reached their ideal weight, they will feel great. However, what if you don’t feel great? Some people who have lost a lot of weight still haven’t come to terms with their new body. For them, the weight loss was the easier bit and coming to terms with their new self is more difficult.
People also tend to blame all the failures and disappointments on the fact that they are obese. They often believe that losing all that extra weight will magically make their life better.
Several psychologists tend to believe otherwise and state that “At the end of the day, even after the weight loss, you are always going to be the old you.” Although losing weight is really healthy and you will appear thinner, there are ugly things behind the process, especially if you choose to lose weight rapidly, that you need to overcome.
What Would I Look Like if I Lost Weight: Expectations After Losing Weight Quickly
Most articles that speak about weight loss and the process fail to mention what impact it has in your life. In some cases, the process of weight loss tends to push people into depression and get on antidepressants.
While losing weight may come with a ton of benefits for your health which include a longer life, stronger bones, and lower risk of stroke, there are a ton of other challenges that people have to face if they rush through the process.
Excess Skin
One thing that people often tend to forget when they question themselves, “What would I look like if I lost weight rapidly?” is the fact that there will be a whole lot of extra skin.
If you are obese and lose more than 150 to 200 pounds, you will have to be prepared for the fact that you will have a ton of sagging skin. The sad part though is that there is no possible way you can prevent this extra skin from appearing.
How heavy or prominent the excess skin you have all depends on how much of the weight you had shed and also on what your age is when you lost weight. Another factor that comes to play is how quickly you have lost the weight. This is because the quicker you lose weight means, the lesser time the body has to tighten the skin naturally.
People with excess skin are often left feeling frustrated. The fastest way that you can get rid of the skin is by undergoing surgery. This comes with its own set of risks and worse, insurance does not even cover this.
You may also go the hard way by enrolling in more gym classes and having better diet plans. Such will be helpful, but you have to be diligent enough to follow the schedule, and once achieved, you must maintain it.
Stretch Marks
Once you have lost weight, you might also find some lining or marks on your skin, usually on the abdomen, butt, and legs. These are the so-called stretch marks that have resulted from the tugging of the skin. They can appear purple, pink, or grey depending on the person’s skin tone. These marks can be resolved through dermatological procedures or application of some beauty products.
Other Things to Expect After Losing Weight
Whether you have lost weight rapidly or gradually, you will still experience the following.
You Will Begin to Feel Cold
What people don’t tend to realize is that all that fat acts as insulation for the body and when it all goes away so does the insulation. This is one of the biggest reasons people have chills after weight loss. It is also a fact that when you lose about 10% of your body’s weight, the thyroid may possibly dip for a while and this results in a slower metabolism leaving you feeling cold.
New Body Means New Wardrobe
Once you reach your target weight or if you have lost a lot of weight, it means that the clothes you would normally wear will no longer work for you. If your transformation were very dramatic, that would mean that you will have to shop for a whole new wardrobe.
In this day and age, changing a whole new wardrobe would mean that you are going to be dropping tons of money just like the weight you lost. Shopping in thrift stores would definitely help you from completely wiping you banking account clean. You should also try avoiding buying new clothes as much as you can till you reach your ideal weight target.
Final Conclusion
There is no way you will know what you will look like after a weight loss until you literally lose all of that extra weight. Certain things about a weight loss and what happens after that are inevitable.
All you can do is live one day at a time and learn how to adapt to your new body and all the new changes that happen to you. Whatever it may be, always choose a healthy path for your weight loss and never rush through the process.
It is a long way indeed to reach the finish line in your weight loss process, but it should not be a reason for you to give up on all of that hard work. In order for your body to be at its ideal type, you will need to continue to work hard to maintain it.