Curious: What are you learning about your body?

Before my RNY, I was always overweight or obese, so I had no concept of what an "average sized" me would look like. What was my shape under there? Were my hips really wide or was that just the weight? Would my calves ever be small enough for regular knee-high boots or were my wide ones just genetic? Frankly the idea of having a shape at all baffled me. I was so used to boot-cut jeans and flowy tops, but with how I look now, I like wrap tops and straight-leg jeans.

But I did learn weird things about my shape that I'd never have guessed! I don't carry much weight in my upper body and discovered that I have an oddly wide ribcage! The sports medicine doctor suspects that it widened as I grew up because I swam competitively year-round for 13 years while my body was doing all of its growing. Totally weird:

My extra skin all accumulated in one place, lol. That's a silly lookin' belly:

Turns out that my hips aren't really all that wide and that my top is the widest part of me (I have a 22 in. shoulder span. Hips are maybe 39 in. around), but I ended up completely flat-chested!

So I am curious! What are you learning about your body shape along your weight loss journey? Don't be shy; we're all weird shapes underneath.

 

I learned that I'm not that "Big Boned". I always thought I was. I dont have hips, I don't have a waist, I dont have a butt...I barely have boobs! I work at a scholl and I've been confused as one of the kids, but not one of the girl kids, but one of the boys. LOL! I always hated wearing jeans, but know it's all I wear. I always had rolls, and iI still do, except now they're all saggy. Have you seen Pan's Labyrinth? My body resembles one of the monsters with his eyes in his hands...

Kinda gross. But with clothes on I look fine.

I learned that I have big hips and big, muscular thighs. And even after losing 131 pounds, I have 15-inch calves that are solid muscle. I have great muscle definition in my calves, which makes me feel a little better. I have a lot of floppy skin on the sides of my waist, but a relatively small pannus for someone who had such a big stomach.

I also learned my big boobs weren't just from being SMO. And my elbows are sharp. Who knew? Oh, and I am very short waisted. I was MO and SMO for so long I had forgotten what shape I was. And I'm melting from the top down. My excess weight is still trying to hang around my hips and lower stomach, but I don't have much left on my upper body. All in all, I'm pretty happy in spite of the lumps, bumps,and floppy skin.

Yep, I poke fun at my droopy skin, but I'm pretty proud of it. 140 lbs used to be there after all.

My calves are still big, but like yours they are muscular and it is nice to feel strong!

I melted from the top down too--looked like a rather lumpy pear for awhile, lol.

Well, I'm only 8 weeks PO, but I'm learning a little. So far, I'm realizing that I don't have wide feet so much as a very high instep and my feet are more narrow now that I don't have nearly as much swelling from high blood pressure. And I'm realizing that I actually might look good with my hair pulled up and back. I had forgotten that in the last 10 years that I've been at my highest weight. Even only being 42 lbs down has reminded me that I used to put my hair up all the time.

That's about it, so far, but I'm looking forward to learning/relearning things as I go. :)

I used to say I went from a fat Italian woman to a skinny Brit. Those mixed genes were always there, but the fat certainly distributed in very specific areas: boobs & butt (and the gut couldn't be left behind!). Now my family just exclaims how petite I am - and actually still quite proportional!

I learned that without all the excess fat, I am actually shaped like a woman!  Except that I never had much of a butt to speak of, even when I was at my heaviest weight.  I was very big and brick-shaped.  Now I have some curves and a waist.  Go figure, I have a figure!

I also learned I actually had bones under all that fat!  My hip bones, ribs, sternum, collar bones, etc. are noticeable now.

I too have learned that I am not big-boned like my mother always said. I have learned that I have muscles under all the fat on my arms and that even at age 53 I can be strong. I have learned that under all the fat, I have a short torso and long legs. I have learned that even with no boobs and bad batwings I look way better than I did at 258 pounds!

not so much shape but it's amazing feeling bones that you have never felt before (or at least its been a really long time!). a few i made my mom feel and compare to her body to make sure they weren't lumps or something! i'm anxious to see how many more there are once i get my skin removed in may or june. i know it's hiding the hip bones in most positions

At only 2 months out and 40 pounds down, I have not personally noticed a change in my body shape yet, butt have learned a lot about nutrition and what my body needs/does not need to thrive. I've learned that I am so much stronger than I ever knew. I can push my body further than I ever imagined in a workout and it results in pride!