The FastDay Forum

Not the greatest quality pictures or illustration, but the forums are quite restrictive on image dimensions, also- I tended to avoid the camera at my largest, and I don't really want to be associated with my old fat self (hence the after-pic editing)

Last week marked the 50kg weight loss mark, which seems like a nice big round number to make a post like this.
It has been 4 years in the making- the first 3 and a bit years accounted for about 20kg of weight loss (via various methods and fads), and then, once I finally put my ass into gear, the remaining 30kg has been much more rapid (10kg from April 2014-September, then 20kg+ from October). March-April is about when I started 5-2, September is when I got back into it. I did a mix of 5-2, ADF, and 16/8. Post-December, I have only been doing 16/8 feeding windows. All along, I have been doing a huge amount of exercise.

Not the biggest I have ever been, but a suitably fat picture:

And now one from early December. I've lost another 12kg since this picture, and right now, am down to "just" ~10kg to go.

Peoples reactions are interesting, and for the most part, highly biased by the picture of how you used to be. For example, the (now ex) MiL who had not seen me for a good number of months saw me in November - she was shocked, and begged me not to lose any more weight, I had lost enough/too much already. I was about 110kg+ at that time, probably still obese!!!
Somebody gave me what was supposed to be a compliment (my face looks skinny and haggard!) yesterday.

The compliments are nice, but they are tempered by peoples predisposition to how you used to look, and their inability to impartially perceive how you look now. Overall it has been really quite unhelpful.
For me the test was not "do people that knew me when I was fat think I am now skinny", but "would a stranger seeing me for the first time today describe me as slim? And that was a clear no. The reason I say this, is if you are going through a large weight loss, you need to be aware that people are resistant to change, they will tell you things that are not true, they will tell you that you are obsessive/reckless...

So here's to 10 more kilograms, and a lifetime of maintenance.

Congratulations ...what an amazing journey!
From your second pic i wd say as a stranger that youre slim or slender..you certainly look very svelte and totally different from the first pic
You must feel marvellous! Well done on weight loss and on all that exercise X

What a great story. Well done. I too get comments like yours not to lose any more but I am still classed as obese as well. I think it is other people see you as bigger than them and don't want you to be smaller iyswim.

Well done on your weight loss. You've worked hard and it's payed off. I've had the "compliments" too, I think a lot of us on here have. People's reactions to weight loss is varied and I'm sure most of them are thinking "how long before you put it all back on".... Meh whatever ( said in the voice of a stroppy teenager) . I think the best comment I've had is, "you look good" nothing more nothing less, just "you look good" . Thing is I know I will look even better when I get to goal, but good will do me for know!
To me in the second pic you look healthy, well done.x

Congratulations. I think you are spot on in your analysis of the negative comments you can get about weight loss. People are comfortable with you losing a little because they subscribe to the idea that this is healthier, but if you really go for it, however courteous and tactful you are in your dealings with them, they feel implicitly threatened because if you can do it it means they could, and they probably don't want to.

I think there are lots of mixed motives behind comments on weight loss - some of them may well be as suggested above.

However, Dr Barbara Berkeley wrote a recent thought-provoking post about the topic of maintenance:

Weight loss is a gradual triggering of the body's desire to regain. The more you pull, the more the body wants to return. My personal hypothesis is that this occurs because our bodies are completely unaware of how much weight we accumulate. On the other hand, our bodies respond strongly to weight loss and perceive it as threatening. ...Humans evolved over millions of years during which fatness was impossible, so likely did not develop programming to combat it….or even measure it. By the same token, loss of weight from starvation or illness would have been highly threatening, so programs to reverse the process would have been vital. It is this programming that is causing the problem we face in the modern environment. - See more at: http://www.refusetoregain.com/2015/02/s ... gEVeL.dpuf

I wonder if, as social creatures, we're more tuned to comment on what looks to us as weight loss/starvation/illness? And all some people can see is threat to your wellbeing because they're judging you relative to how they are familiar with you rather than attempting to reassess what they'd think if they saw you without being familiar with your previous size?

Inspiring stuff. Thank you for sharing it. I'd describe you in the 2nd picture as 'skinny', but not unhealthily so.

That is very inspiring! Thank you for sharing. You've hit on a problem that my sister made me aware of. She is a VERY slim girl...tiny! (I'm not at all jealous...honest!!) but she has had strangers come up to her and suggest she eat more or make some comment about it. Now, I've always thought that wouldn't bother me; I'd love to have such comments, but actually its rude isn't it! Its as though people think its ok to talk about your weight if you're slim/thin. Did you ever get comments about your weight when your were overweight?
I must say, its bean years since anyone complimented me on my weight...years! I must do something about that.
Anyway, from your recent photo (did you say you've lost another 10kg since that was taken?) I would say you were just right now. I can't imagine you need to lose another 12kg, but then you know what will make you happy.
If you'd like to share anymore of your strategies that would be a great help. Did you do ADF for very long?
Sorry, I'm in such a rambly mood today. Well done and here's to another year of healthy eating and healthy you!

[Tracieknits]

Congratulations!!! Very well done!!

Be sure to have a look at the weight of your ideal BMI as well for a more external measure of what a healthy weight should be. People's comments can be weird, and they're usually based on that person's own issues. Two people could look at the same person and have a different opinion of whether they're slim enough or not. You sure look like a healthy weight in that photo, but then I know photos can be a bit deceiving.

Congratulations and well done! Very inspiring indeed!

Congrats! You look great and sorry to hear about the so-called 'compliments'. I've had them too - have been called 'gaunt' and all sorts of rubbish - ordered not to lose any more and that I look 'ill'. Nope - I'm healthy and they're just full of sour grapes If you feel good (and you should) then well done that man!

Congratulations Mas54321, you are looking great. there will always be People who will have problems with your weight loss but that's not your problem, enjoy your new healthy attractive shape. A fat friend once said to me that a woman has to choose between her rear and her face when she gets older. At that time she was very large but did have a pretty, plump, smooth face (smoother than mine which was probably why she made the remark!). Now I have a normal complexion for someone of my age, feel good in my size 10 jeans and she is even larger, wears baggy matronly dresses and has horrid wobbly jowls. I think I made the right choice with this WOE and nothing is going to convince me I would be happier if I was larger.

It is definitely true that people feel entitled to make comments and judge people for being under weight. You are of course right that nobody said a word when I was ginormous, but now they tell me that I look ill, my face looks sucked in etc

My work colleague/gym buddy experienced the spitefulness of such comments recently too. He was always slim, well toned and quite muscular - he decided that he wanted a visible sixpack, so went on a diet in order to get his body fat below 8-10% (holy grail of 6-pack visibility for men). I guess people can't understand a slim person wanting to lose weight (fat), but the office would openly comment, on a daily basis, how terrible he looked. Meanwhile the chap who sits 2 seats away has, over the course of the last two years, lost ~60kg (155kg down to 95kg), then gained it all with interest (now 175kg). You can of course guess what has been said to him (nothing)

In terms of losing more weight - I accept that the picture looks good from a weight/health perspective. I am rocking that skinny-fat look now though, I am not fat, but I DO have fat to lose (stomach, thighs), hence the goal of 10 more kilograms.

At my peak I wore 42" trousers, and wore XXXL. I now wear M in shirts, tees and jumpers, and my diesel jeans are 32" waist and fit (a pair from Next at 32" don't, however, fit)

As for BMI, it's hard to give it much credence. As I mentioned, I am currently 12kg lighter than the second picture, and yet my BMI as of today is in the middle of the "overweight" category (27.7). LOL, i'm not overweight! I have good muscle strength (lots of weight training), which I know distorts BMI, but that's why we need a more reliable method than BMI.

My goals were 1> "teeshirt skinny" : achieved
2> "skinny" : in progress. I perceive about 10kg (since at that weight, i won't have much body fat left), but I am not aiming for any specific number on the scales.

Congrats on the astounding transition !!

I found it to be helpful to immediately reassure people I haven't seen in a long while that "No I'm not dying, and yes I lost the weight on purpose to become a better me."

Congratulations on your amazing transformation.
The comments can be a bit difficult. I haven't had a major loss but I've had a couple "gaunt" comments and people saying, If I were you, I would stop losing weight now....
My BMI is still 26.5.... on this tracker, and it was higher by my gym's count.

Fortunately I went to a doctor a not long ago who weighed me and looked at the recommended weight/height chart and said I was a couple kilos over weight, so I just tell commenters that my doctor said I should lose more weight. that quiets them

It is probably true thinner people look a bit older but I would personally rather be an attractive 37 year old than an over weight person of indiscriminate age