Three Disappointing Weight Loss Setbacks that Happen When the Journey Comes to an End

It’s so easy to get caught up in the everyday ongoing saga of weight loss.

We don’t want to picture what’s up ahead because sometimes we don’t believe in ourselves enough to get there.

But when the day finally arrives, we often ask ourselves — what’s next? Where do we go from here?

There are usually disadvantages that can develop when we make our way towards the finish line.

Sometimes it can leave us with even more significant issues to somehow manage and move through.

But that’s the whole point of weight loss.

To regain our health and change our body shape into something more ideal.

We become sick and tired of feeling so bad all the time and long for a better life.

This is all that’s left for us to do.

Those long, hard days, weeks, months and years finally reveal some startling facts that we wish didn’t exist.

Here goes.

One: We will need to spend years or money re-shaping our bodies

Depending on how much weight you lose, you may be left with the startling after-effects of sagging skin and stretch marks.

The skin sometimes can’t shrink as rapidly as your weight does.

Weight training does help with this problem somewhat, but the elasticity can perhaps never regain its capacity again.

Having to hide such side effects can change how we feel about our bodies and maybe leave us in a situation where we are ashamed or start experiencing regret.

Some people may decide to take the route of going under the knife — and I don’t blame them.

Although it takes a bit of time to recover from surgery, and you may be left with scarring, it most certainly will provide you with an excellent basis to start moulding your body from scratch.

Sometimes we have to accept that this may be the best way forward, then it comes to our level of happiness.

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Two: We need to keep tabs on our activity and food levels constantly

This takes getting used to, but the practice we accrued during our journey makes it a lot easier.

The real work is involved in exercising our maintenance consistently during our lives.

We must become well aware of the food we eat during holidays, when we are less mobile due to injury recovery, or prepare for a lockdown because of yet another pandemic.

These scenarios can create a few forks in the road ahead.

The good news is that you have already built your self-awareness and exercised your appetite regulation muscle.

This shows up again when you are recovering from an injury, and as your activity levels slip — your appetite will adjust accordingly.

So, allow your body to take over and dictate what it needs and when. Don’t get too caught up in what could be right or wrong.

Do the best you can to pay close attention without making it a big obstacle.

It will eventually pass as everything usually does.

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Four: People can be cruel — but we can be our own worst enemy

It’s hard enough when people start adding their unwanted comments regarding our weight loss; we can also experience some dissatisfaction with the reality of our goal achievement.

No one will ever really know what to expect when they pass over the finish line — although it’s not always what we intended.

We don’t realise that shedding the weight may have a lot to do with how we feel about ourselves, circumstances in our lives, and perhaps some added trauma into the mix.

Perhaps we had a notion weight loss would miraculously change how we feel about ourselves and the current challenges in our lives.

Sadly, disappointment follows with disillusionment.

It’s very similar to those who win the lotto.

Suddenly, amassed with the great wealth they cannot handle, it all seems to slip straight out of their fingers due to their lack of self-worth.

Low self-esteem can become magnified with weight gain — and when the weight disappears, we are faced with the same feelings inside.

The package is the same, but now a lot smaller.

We need to spend as much time adjusting our mindset and coming out on top.

No amount of surgery or weight loss changes how we feel. It has a tiny part to play in our happiness.

That’s possibly the most challenging and longest journey yet left to face us

Key Take away

Most of us fail to realise what it will be like on the other side, especially after years of the amounting insecurities that can build up along the way.

As much as I recommend you work on your habits to prevent any weight gain and stay stabilised, the mindset will be your most significant and most complex challenge to overcome — but you can do it!

Slowly, step by step — just as your weight loss- is required to build the beginning of a foundation that will see you through any kinds of obstacles life has to offer.

If you have conquered weight loss — that’s something to highly commend yourself on.

It’s not easy, and failure is a lot more typical than success could ever be.

Please take a moment to permit yourself to bask in the glory of achieving a huge goal, and know that mindset is now ready to take its place.

The lifelong journey — the most important one starts now.

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Scheduled to appear on Medium.