I have not been big on taking body measurements during my journey so far. I’ve maybe taken 4 throughout.
I’ve also tried to resist frequent weight taking due to the many warnings. I do biweekly (or occasionally weekly ?) weighing.
But!! I have lost 16 inches around my waist which seems like a lot, but I have absolutely no concept and can’t find any thing about expectations for losing inches or what is good for benchmarks.
What have been your “YAY!” moments for measurements?

I never had any expectations re: measurements, but I lost A LOT of inches.

I never did any measurements at all. But I went from a 5x to a XL. So I know I lost a lot lol I mostly took note of things like being able to sit in a booth comfortably, sit in any size seat comfortably, fit in smaller clothes and jewelry, etc...

As far as expectations the only important measurements I can think of is the waist to hip ratio. It is used to measure visceral fat as it directly corresponds to several health concerns but besides that it’s totally individualized.
I did take a lot measurements before WLS and a few years later after plastics (but it was mostly for tailoring clothing).

I didn't have any expectations or set goals regards to inches or weight as I have found before that it is a negative thing for me if I don't achieve, even if I get close and adds more pressure.

I am now 8 months post op and have gone in in my jeans from a 3XL to a EU38 so US6.

I am finally finding my energy is coming back to me now so I have signed up for an exercise program to do at home. It recommends taking measurements weekly to see where inches are coming off even if weight isn't so I have started as of yesterday and hope to see the measurements improve over the next month or two.

I was so disappointed that my stall lasted so long, I took out the tape measure one day and decided to measure myself. In all I lost 15 inches !!!! That made me happy again

PS.... I'm still KathyLev ...I got a new computer,but I couldn't sign in ...so I had to start over with a new acct. *sigh*

I have never measured myself on any diet. Am totally focused on weight loss and have absolutely no idea of any body measurements, LOL. I know that others do the opposite.

@GreenTealael your post is super interesting including the before and after bodies. Thank you for sharing!!!

3 hours ago, KathyLev01 said:

I was so disappointed that my stall lasted so long, I took out the tape measure one day and decided to measure myself. In all I lost 15 inches !!!! That made me happy again

PS.... I'm still KathyLev ...I got a new computer,but I couldn't sign in ...so I had to start over with a new acct. *sigh*

Oh noooo KathyLev that's so annoying!

3 hours ago, Spinoza said:

I have never measured myself on any diet. Am totally focused on weight loss and have absolutely no idea of any body measurements, LOL. I know that others do the opposite.

@GreenTealael your post is super interesting including the before and after bodies. Thank you for sharing!!!

Unfortunately both the before and after visualizer pics do not represent what I actually look like which I find hilarious. But I thought others may find it interesting to use as a predictive tool.

I wasn’t focussed on inches so didn’t take measurements either. Was just weight & also clothing size focussed. My goal weight was partly based on being a weight that meant I could wear Australian size 10/12 (US 6/8). Ended up at Aust size 4/6 (US 0/2).

I generally find size guides using body measurements when buying clothes online completely useless. According to one guide I’m an Aust size 8 or 10 in their clothes but I actually buy their size 4 or 6 in store. And they’re not the only one.

I found understanding how my body looked after I lost most of my weight difficult at first too. Body dysmorphia with a side of disbelief. Photos didn’t seem accurate and mirrors can distort. So crazy as it seems I used to google celebrity weight & height data so I would have an idea of what I might look like.

I didn't dare give myself goals. I had my heart broken too many times. Every sure fire diet got my hopes up and then it failed and I crashed.

I had hopes of loosing 70lbs because I had done this before three times.

When I began getting NSV's these really boosted me. I had rid myself of diabetes, blood pressure and water retention. These meant so much more than the numbers on the scales.

I doubled my expectations and I love my saggy skinned old woman body now. For the first time since I was six years old, I fit in this world.

On 3/4/2024 at 7:20 AM, BKJ said:

What have been your “YAY!” moments for measurements?

I've had moments of yay each time I was able to fit into the old clothes in my closet that didn't fit anymore. This week I took out my favorite pair of jeans from high school (during my restricting phase no less) and they were perfect.

I was also happy when my waist dropped below 40 and 35 inches, which are considered cutoffs for disease risk for men and women respectively, at least in the US.

I didn't start taking measurements religiously (once a month) until pretty far into my weight loss, but I ordered an eShakti dress for a wedding in 2018 at about 30 pounds below my highest weight and my measurements were 61-57-70 (chest-waist-hips). The day before surgery, my waist was 46 inches and hips 57 inches.

My last measurements, from about a week ago, were 38.5-32.5-39.5. I've lost 30 inches from my hips, 24 from my waist, and 22 from my chest. (Yes, my WHR actually increased, but I've also been taking low dose testosterone for about 2 years.)

Things have started to plateau, but I still have a sundress that I want to be able to fit into and I imagine I'll get there.

On 3/4/2024 at 8:20 AM, BKJ said:

What have been your “YAY!” moments for measurements?

Oh I forgot to answer this part. My biggest “YAY” moment was when I realized I could buy any bra I wanted (not just tactical grade special order sizes from Plus size stores).

When I traveled (mainly overseas), I always packed too many because of my irrational but not improbable fear of my bras breaking (they did every few months) and not being able to find my size (44H).

Now wherever I travel I can just bring one bra/bralette or maybe just pasties. This is still my favorite thing about losing the extra weight.

Dupe

Edited March 6, 20242 yr by GreenTealael

A yay for me is that when walking down the street if the path was busy or narrow it would happen sometimes that someone coming in the opposite direction would move so wide as to let a truck through probably for fear of catching obesity if they got too close to me! Now they just go past as normal.

Also I love that on the bus now my backside only takes up one seat so someone else, if needed, can sit beside me. On the planes I fit comfortably in the seat and seatbelt, I can walk further distances (if I have to ). I no longer feel I'm the fattest person in the room, that always made me feel like people were looking at me and judging me. I still am overweight but comfortable with how I look and feel. I love being able to try on such a wide, as in choice not size, range of clothes and go into 'normal' sized clothing shops.

i took my measurements and recorded them religiously every month for the first 2 years (almost) - i stopped a month shy of my 2 yr anniversary date).

i also took many random measurements now and then just for kicks.

here is a summary on the major milestones: start, goal, 1 yr-post-op and almost-2 yrs-post-op.

note the last two measurements are 2 months BEFORE and 8 months AFTER plastics, respectively. note also, that my measurements were little affected by my plastics...but i definitely looked different.

edited to add:

best "yay"? CLOTHES, baby.

oh, and i found some measurements i took at 3 years post-op:

(i should also say that i am barely 5'2" so im on the short side)

Edited March 7, 20242 yr by ms.sss