Losing weight, for whatever reason, is an ongoing goal for many women, myself included. Personally, I feel better when I'm in good shape, I can do more and I'm happier with how I look in my clothes (because they actually fit).

But there is a dark side to weight loss. Something you don't see in all of those carefully staged Instagram photos of paleo mac 'n' cheese and perfect body transformations. Personally, when I lost about 40 pounds a few years back, the dark side was the insane amount of compliments. When people would tell me I looked amazing, I would always think, "Did I really look that awful before?" I'd recently achieved a huge promotion and was in the middle of major career success, and all anyone could talk about was my weight loss.

In other cases, diets like clean eating or veganism can hide bigger issues like eating disorders -- there's even a medical term for this, orthorexia.

"Orthorexia is defined as an unhealthy obsession with healthy food," Dr. Stevan Bratman, who coined the term, says. "It's not the diet that is orthorexia, it's the diet that could lead to it. The more extreme or restrictive the diet, the more likely it could lead to orthorexia."

And in a recent, horrifying turn, a 25-year-old bodybuilding mom died of a protein overdose. Meegan Hefford died in June after consuming mass amounts of protein to prepare for a bodybuilding competition, PerthNow reports. Hefford had been eating protein-rich foods over the last few months of her life in addition to drinking protein shakes and taking vitamin supplements, not knowing she had a genetic disorder that prevented her body from breaking down the protein.

Behind the motivating blog posts and photos, there are things to look out for. Click to learn what you might be missing when you're planning to drop a dress size.

Image via Getty

"Guess what? If you lose over 130lbs, more than likely you're going to have loose skin. AND that is OK! I would much rather carry around a couple extra pounds of skin vs. hundreds of pounds of fat! For every rude person who wants to say something, you can donate money for my excess skin removal surgery so that I can be what you think is beautiful." --@jordaan_spark_

Image via Instagram

"The turning point came when I realized that I couldn't bend over without one or both of my ta-tas simply spilling out of bras and bathing suit tops. They had no substance. I had resorted to under-gear with massive infrastructure to prop them up and make them look less like 1/3 filled sandbags. So yes. I consulted with a really good surgeon...and got them refilled and put back where they used to be. No, not cheap. And no, not a very comfortable recovery. But, it was the last thing stopping me from feeling 100%." --honestlylosingit

Image via Getty

"One of the side effects of extreme weight loss and rapid weight loss: protein deficiency, which creates hair loss. I took biotin and vitamins since day one of my weight loss journey, in fear of hair loss...My hair was really thin, to the point of wig consideration. But instead of that, I took control of my macros, upped my protein intake and continued pounding the vitamins, and it finally grew back." --@michelelizabethhh

Image via Instagram

"It's not simply consistency that makes a lifestyle change, but rather starting to make healthy choices because they feel good. You can consistently deprive yourself with mantras about the importance of being small, but I wouldn't call that healthy. Healthy is taking care of yourself and knowing you are deserving of that care. Healthy is letting go of an ever-changing idea of 'perfection' and instead living your best life. Healthy is finding joy in the vitality provided by caring for yourself well as opposed to only the aesthetic of it. Healthy is ending the war with your body, making peace, and treating it with care. There is no wagon to get on and off of with that." --@simone_anderson

Image via Instagram