No matter your personal motivation for weight loss, the benefits of being at a healthy weight are indisputable. But some unexpected changes and challenges rear their ugly heads when you are losing, or have already lost, a significant amount of weight.
Although everyone who loses weight won't suffer from these things, it's important to be aware of them and to talk to a doctor if they do occur.
1. You could develop sagging skin and stretch marks.
Loose, sagging skin and stretch marks are the product of losing lots of weight too fast. Registered dietitian nutritionist Malina Linkas Malkani, creator of the Wholitarian™ Lifestyle, told INSIDER that this happens because the skin isn't able to shrink as quickly as the body.
"Focus on slow, steady weight loss at a rate of about one to two pounds per week to give the skin time to shrink along with the body," Malkani, Media Spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said.
She also recommended implementing resistance exercises to prevent the loss of lean muscle mass. According to Prevention, building muscle could help prevent sagging skin during weight loss as well as eating more produce, using sunscreen, and using collagen-based serums or retinoids.
When weight loss does happen quickly and there is a lot of loose sagging skin, some people opt for surgery to remove it. It's worth noting that the process will result in visible scars and will take a few weeks for recovery, according to the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery.
2. You could stop getting your period.
Hormonal changes could impact your period.
The stress placed on your body during weight loss could also impact your period. According to VeryWell, the more weight you lose and the faster you lose it, the more likely your period will be affected.
Caroline Apovian, director of the Nutrition and Weight Management Center at Boston Medical Center, explained that this happens because your body thinks it's starving hormonally.
"Lectin will shut off your menstrual period because your body thinks it is starving and it's not healthy for women who are starving to have a pregnancy at that time," she told INSIDER. "So your body doesn't conserve your period so that you don't get pregnant and really have a problem."
3. You might feel colder.
Do you always feel cold?
According to Apovian, this common weight loss complaint has to do with your metabolic rate and hormone changes.
"Your body is going to lower your metabolic rate when you lose weight to try to conserve energy," Apovian said. "And in conserving energy, it doesn't have a lot of extra calories to keep you warm."
Another reason you might feel colder is because you no longer have fat acting as an insulator. Shape reports that without that extra layer your body becomes more sensitive to temperature changes as you lose weight.
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4. You might have trouble sleeping.
What you are eating might change your sleep pattern.
The relationship between sleep and food is complicated. Not only does what and when you eat affect sleep, but sleep also affects your food choices, NBC's Better reports.
The basics of sleep come down to a chemical called adenosine, which builds up in your body before a rise in melatonin, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Although we know that sleep is key to successful dieting and weight loss, it might be harder to sleep during weight loss because of dietary changes.
"If you want to sleep well at night you want your tryptophan levels to go up, and the way to do that is to have a little carbohydrates with protein and, that will increase tryptophan levels in the brain and melatonin," Apovian said. "And when you don't eat enough or you're eating less calories, that hormonal balance changes and so you're not lulled to sleep [instead] you're activated, and your body is looking for food."
5. Your taste perceptions could change.
You could taste food differently.
"It's not an act of growing out of anything, it's [that] your interest in food is hormonal," Apovian said. "And ghrelin secreted from the stomach makes you very very hungry, and you find different food more appealing."
This theory is supported by a study that found people who were lost weight via bariatric surgery had a change in taste. According to Time, almost 87% of patients reported this change post-surgery, and half of those people said food didn't taste as good. Those who had dulled taste buds also lost more weight than their peers who reported their tastes sharpened.
That's because of hormonal changes that influence how taste receptors relay information to the brain, according to Health.
6. You might have a hard time continuing to lose weight.
The more weight you lose, the harder it is to lose more.
Regaining weight and weight loss plateaus are common after losing lots of weight, and are often due to a lower metabolic rate. According to Malkani, that happens as a result of the loss of lean body mass and the fact that the body now needs fewer calories to function.
"Don't fall into the trap of thinking that you can go back to your previous diet after weight loss," she said. "To maintain your weight loss, it's essential to adopt the dietary changes you've made as a lifestyle rather than a short-term diet."
7. Your relationship could change.
Losing weight could put stress on your relationship.
If you and your partner are committing to a healthier lifestyle — and don't make weight loss a competition — making healthy changes and losing weight together could benefit your relationship. If your partner isn't making these changes with you, however, there might be trouble in paradise.
The issue lies in trying to make your partner adapt to your lifestyle changes when they clearly don't want to.
"Trying to force someone to be healthier almost never works," Judith S. Beck, the president of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy and the author of "The Beck Diet Solution," told Shape. "He knows he should exercise and eat less. He doesn't want to, or he would have done it already."
According to Women's Health, avoiding these issues comes down to communication and compromise in the relationship. So instead of eating out all the time cook together (which has it's own relationship benefits) or workout with your partner by signing up for a race together. Think of ways to be inclusive without forcing your agenda on your partner.
8. You could get depressed.
Losing weight isn't a cure-all.
Being overweight certainly comes with it's challenges, but coming out the other side as a healthier you doesn't mean that life will be all kale shakes and rainbows."
"It's very easy for people who are overweight — including myself years ago — to let all of their problems sort of rest on the foundation of the low self-esteem that can come with being overweight. When I finally put in the work and dropped my excess fat, I felt a lot better, I slept better, I could tie my shoes and go up and down stairs until the cows came home, but my self-esteem didn't magically become bulletproof and issues of depression and anxiety were still there, they were just in a smaller package."
In addition to anecdotal evidence, a study done at the University College London also found that losing weight doesn't necessarily improve mental health. Participants in the study who dropped more than 5% of their body weight were 52% more likely to report a depressed mood than those who stayed within 5% of their original weight, according to CNN.
Side effects aside, reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is important for your overall health.
Be the healthiest you possible — whatever your size.
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, health risks for being overweight and obese include high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke, as well as certain types of cancer and diabetes in addition to numerous other health issues. So although there are side effects of losing weight that aren't great, some — if not most— are controllable to an extent. And they don't outweigh the positives.
If you are suffering from any of these issues or are planning to lose weight, it is important that you speak with your doctor who could help you manage your symptoms and develop a game plan.
Quanlim Life
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