As common a goal as it can be, weight loss is something that most of us tend to celebrate, providing that it’s done healthily and in a controlled manner. However, as far as the body is concerned, weight loss is just another change and, with that change, there are effects that can be perceived as positive and those that might be seen by us as negative. We don’t often talk about the latter, but perhaps we should. After all, there may be more solutions than we would assume.
Here, we’re going to look at some of the common side effects of weight loss, and what can be done to get in control of them.
Clothes don’t fit anymore
It’s a very common problem, indeed. You might find that you can find that pair of jeans that fit in your wardrobe anymore. Not only are you going to have clothes that are too big for you from before you lost weight, but you might even find that clothes you wore before gaining that weight don’t fit as well, either. After all, they might be somewhat stretched out in the process of that weight gain. So, expect to do some clothes shopping to find your comfortable fit once more, or get ready to do a little tailoring and take some outfits in.
The mental dips
There are a lot of mental health benefits to eating right and working out. However, a lot of people do experience some bouts of depression after they have reached their weight goal. This is often because we have expectations of how different our lives are going to be once we have lost that weight, but reality doesn’t always match up to that mental image. As such, ensuring that you get enough rest and nourish yourself with a healthy diet, and especially making sure you get enough vitamin D, can help you get through these blue periods.
Sagging skin galore
One of the most common side effects, and one that can really impact the self-confidence of those who experience it, is sagging skin and stretch marks. Your skin stretches to accommodate the extra fat you gain when you put on weight and it’s not going to snap back just because you’ve lost that weight. It can shrink over time, but if you want things to look toned and tight again, then you may want to learn more about tummy tuck surgery. If you’re just trying to wait for things to recover naturally, you might not see as much of a change as you would like.
Changes to your time of the month
Any big changes in your weight can also result in changes to your time of the month. In fact, a lot of women experience not getting their period at all for some time after they have lost weight. This is more likely the more weight you lose, as well as how fast you lose it. The body assumes that it’s hormonally starving, causing it to conserve its period as a way of preventing unsafe pregnancies. This will go away in time, however. If it doesn’t, then you should talk to your doctor as there might be other causes behind the change.
A bad gut feeling
If you have been feeling a strange pain in your gut, especially after quickly losing weight, then it might be more than a common tummy ache. Gallstones are a fairly frequent side effect, forming in the gallbladder due to the concentration of bile, which happens when we eat less fat. As such, you should ensure that you include healthy fats in your diet as best as possible, even when you’re losing weight. Fat in food is always unnecessarily demonized during weight loss efforts, but you should never deprive yourself of it entirely.
Sleepless nights
Our appetites and sleeping patterns are very closely linked in a rather complex relationship. When we lose weight, it’s often due to dietary changes, but some of these dietary changes can affect our quality of sleep, as we might not be getting enough tryptophan in the brain, which helps it produce melatonin, which we use to sleep. Tryptophans are produced when we have enough carbohydrates to go with our proteins. After you’ve lost weight, you should start to introduce healthier carbs back into the diet.
Just because weight loss has some side effects doesn’t mean that you should abandon any plans for weight control. However, you should be aware of the issues mentioned above, as well as what you can do to mitigate them.
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