Comments on My Journey to Fit: A Forty-Something's Weight Loss Journey: What Happens When a Body Loses 100 Pounds

Found my way over from Biggest Diab. Loser. Congra...

2010-02-14T11:27:31.364-06:00

Found my way over from Biggest Diab. Loser. Congrats on the loss. I'm hoping to do the same soon. Lose weight you know...not embrace wearing more sundresses :-) Have a good day!

Shelley, you look WAY better than decent . . . and...

2010-02-07T17:07:42.026-06:00

Shelley, you look WAY better than decent . . . and I love the jewelry wardrobe!

Nice work. :)

2010-02-04T16:50:00.936-06:00

Nice work. :)

Very good post, Shelley! And I LOVE all of the bl...

2010-02-03T13:13:22.935-06:00

Very good post, Shelley! And I LOVE all of the bling. :D I'm a bling girl at heart too. I love sparklies. Fake, real...it doesn't matter. Just make it sparkle.

I worry about the skin factor. yesterday I worked out wearing some cover up shorts made for my swimsuit. I hate to even say this but my flabby belly actually made a sound hitting the material while I was doing jumping jacks. How horrifying! I'm trying to learn to deal with the skin sag from weighing a lot and having 2 children. Curse you, gravity!

I love your positive outlook and I think you look gorgeous!

I loved this post Shelley! You have come so far a...

2010-02-03T07:34:07.240-06:00

I loved this post Shelley! You have come so far and I am so proud of you.

Never thought of the layering effect, but then again, I have zero fashion sense!

You are beautiful!

Your 46-year-old hand looks a LOT like my 46-year-...

2010-02-03T06:52:35.793-06:00

Your 46-year-old hand looks a LOT like my 46-year-old hand and I think my hand looks awesome. Ergo, so does yours. When we meet up, let's take our awesome hands in for a mani :)

WOW. Thank you so much for the kind words, Shelley...

2010-02-03T04:53:25.358-06:00

WOW. Thank you so much for the kind words, Shelley! I'm so flattered that my outfits are encouraging you to try new things; I really concentrated on dressing myself during my weight loss, refusing to wait until I was done before I wore "good" clothes. I really think that helped me lose weight faster, and it made me see this journey as one where I wasn't just taking off pounds, I was reshaping my whole body.

I lucked out in that I didn't end up with a lot of extra skin after losing weight, but I also did a lot of yoga as I was losing so I think that helped keep things tight. And yes, as you have noticed, it's the most unexpected things that fit differently, like necklaces and rings and even summer dresses. :) Enjoy this phase of your journey, and don't be afraid to try new fashion looks, just like you are trying new exercises and foods. You never know what will work for the new you!

You are so right! My stomach is flappy and awful,...

2010-02-02T22:05:10.602-06:00

You are so right! My stomach is flappy and awful, but it still looks better than it did before.

I'm one of those loose-fat, lots of skin hanging p...

2010-02-02T20:55:29.259-06:00

I'm one of those loose-fat, lots of skin hanging people. Thanks for this post Shelley. You give me hope. :)

Having lost 110 lbs, I feel ya on this one! When ...

2010-02-02T17:47:39.507-06:00

Having lost 110 lbs, I feel ya on this one! When your skin sags, realistically you have three options: 1. Regain the weight and fill it out. 2. Cut it off. 3. Deal with it. I'm going with 3. My body isn't my ideal, but it wouldn't be at 42 after having twins anyway. I wouldn't have worn shorts pre-weight loss anyway, so forgoing them now doesn't feel like a sacrifice.

Great post! I don't think I had much loose skin th...

2010-02-02T15:41:16.013-06:00

Great post! I don't think I had much loose skin the first time I lost all my extra weight, but I was thirty, not forty, so we'll see what happens this time. But I loved reading about your path to (almost complete) acceptance and the link to Low Fat Dressing. I used to have some funk to my wardrobe and I dream of having again. I need to pull out my sewing machine and get to work!

Ugh...I won't lie- I'm TERRIFIED of losing weight ...

2010-02-02T15:13:54.490-06:00

Ugh...I won't lie- I'm TERRIFIED of losing weight and gaining loose skin. To me, loose skin will have the same affect on my self esteem as see a '3' as the first digit on my scale. I'm just trying not to worry about it now since weight is an obvious health issue and loose skin is mostly a vanity issue. I'll worry about it when it happens. Congrats to you and your new body image! ...And jewelry wardrobe!

Great Post! I was just thinking all those same th...

2010-02-02T15:06:53.116-06:00

Great Post! I was just thinking all those same things. I had the "opportuniy" to see my thighs really good. 1st time in a long time. They hang! I have an old lady butt and thighs now. WTF! When did that happen? Oh well. Clothes really do make a huge difference.

Tahnks so much for the Low Fat Dressing link. It's fun to see what she wears. Cute stuff.

Thoughtful post!

I love(d) this post. I have skin (yes!) and I'm so...

2010-02-02T14:56:18.615-06:00

I love(d) this post. I have skin (yes!) and I'm so thankful that it's not filled with chub. ANd I don't care about my arm flaps. I figure they'll come in handy should I ever have to fly anywhere.

Great post!!!

2010-02-02T13:58:51.244-06:00

Great post!!!

Amen! You are one great looking 46 year old woman!...

2010-02-02T12:44:38.292-06:00

Amen! You are one great looking 46 year old woman!

Enjoyed wearing your present today?

xxx

Eh, I say "hell with it". You've lost a lot of wei...

2010-02-02T11:35:46.356-06:00

Eh, I say "hell with it". You've lost a lot of weight and now your focus can be TONING! But it's a constant reminder of where you WERE and where you ARE NOW! I hate saggy skin (I've already got some) but it's your body and you should be proud of your success. Hopefully another year of heavier weights will help tone up some of those areas! GREAT JOB!!!

Hi Shelley - this is my first visit to your blog, ...

2010-02-02T11:22:47.901-06:00

Hi Shelley - this is my first visit to your blog, though I've read your comments on others' forever! What a great post this is. I'm a 56 y/o woman, and at some point I have to know that if I lose - I'll have foldable skin in many places! Better that than for all the skin to be stretched taut, which could happen.

You've made wonderful progress! I'm going to browse your archives and catch up a bit. Thanks for having a great site here.

I go back and forth on this issue. My stomach is ...

2010-02-02T09:18:44.033-06:00

I go back and forth on this issue. My stomach is pretty flabby from being fat most of my life and having a 9 lb baby, I would say MOST of the time I try to be pretty zen about it but sometimes (and usually after looking at a magazine with pictures of super thin women) I want to have that FLAT stomach!

My watch is now WAY to big as are my wedding rings...I need to have them resized!

So once I get to the weight I want to be, I should...

2010-02-02T09:18:40.967-06:00

So once I get to the weight I want to be, I should dress like a woman from the 1920s? Okay, fine. I'll be a flabber.

Good post. It's good to be prepared :)

What a good post, Shelley. So many people worry a...

2010-02-02T08:06:05.000-06:00

What a good post, Shelley. So many people worry about this. I went from 'nobody's going to see me because I'm fat' to 'nobody's going to see me because I'm flabby.' So its not so bad...

Hey, have you tried one of those body slimmers--kind of like a girdle that goes from above your knees to just below your bra-line. I love it! For me it just smooths out the lumpy thighs and lets me wear form-fitting dresses. I don't mind the tightness because it just reminds me not to eat too much!

Plus, I love the whole jewelry thing--had the same thing happen to me. Fun!

This post is great in so many ways Shelley. I hop...

2010-02-02T07:57:16.292-06:00

This post is great in so many ways Shelley. I hope and pray I can find my way to accepting my body the way you have. Right now, I have to admit that if I had the money, I would definitely go for the tummy tuck.

Yep, this is the price paid for losing significant...

2010-02-02T07:43:27.268-06:00

Yep, this is the price paid for losing significant weight post age 40. Imagine being 58!!!! LOL No, actually, it's not nearly as bad as I expected it to be. My waist/abdomen is pretty taut. It's the skin where my ass ends and my back of thighs begins that is the flabbiest. Legs are awesome except right above both knees-wrinkles. But certainly not enough to prevent me from wearing shorts. Upper arms, a tad saggy, and I'm not sure about sleeveless, but whatevers. Again, I'm 58. There is bound to be some sags. Like I said, not nearly as much as I anticipated. And like you said, far better than carrying unhealthy weight around. ;)

I have about 15 rings-good rings-that need re-sizing too. I'm just waiting for early summer because fingers swell then, and I don't want to do it now when it's cold and maybe get them too small. ;)

Great post!

I'm with you on that one, in clothing you dont get...

2010-02-02T07:01:48.559-06:00

I'm with you on that one, in clothing you dont get to see the skin...or the stretch marks...so many women are hiding lots of sins under clothing...
I only lost 48lbs and have lose skin and am 47...its part of growing older...

Great post! I, too, have a lot of stretch marks f...

2010-02-02T06:50:31.601-06:00

Great post!

I, too, have a lot of stretch marks from pregnancy, although they don't really bother me because it was such a miracle I got pregnant at all (long struggle with infertility). I think of them more as battle-wounds, but I wear them proudly.

Stretchy, saggy skin...I'm not sure how much I'll have THIS LAST TIME losing the excess weight, so I'llhave to wait and see if some surgery will be required. My stomach is very crepe-y.

I'm with you, though, I'd rather look like a Sharpei wrinkle dog under my clothes than to stay fat one day longer.