Dropped 60 lbs over the last year and my mattress now feels like a totally different bed. I used to sink in just right and now I wake up with my lower back screaming. It's not sagging or anything, it's still in good shape. Is this just something I have to ride out or do I need to start shopping? I really don't want to spend money if I can avoid it.
Weight Loss
I went from 280 to 220 and can't get used to my bed
Same thing happened to me after losing about 50. The mattress didn't change but the way you load it did. You were probably getting getting a lot of support from the foam compressing under you and now you're floating on top of it.
your bed is fine, your body is just confused. give it two more weeks and then start mattress shopping like a normal person
Honestly this is the most annoying kind of problem because nothing is technically broken. Have you tried a mattress topper? A cheap 2 inch latex one might bridge the gap without dropping a grand on a new bed. Not a permanent fix but could buy you time.
what kind of mattress is it? that matters a lot here
It's a memory foam, about 4 years old. Medium firm I think? I got it when I was at my heaviest so it was chosen for that.
Four years of memory foam at 280 lbs is a lot of compression cycles. It might not be visibly sagging but the foam under where your hips sat is proobably fatigued. You might be feeling the bed's wear more now that you're lighter and more sensitive to uneven support. Worth doing the hand test along the middle.
yeah what PlaidMoose said. also memory foam gets softer in the center over Time regardless of weight, so you're probably fighting two things at once.
I went the other direction, 190 to 250, and my old bed became unbearable. Funny how that works. Bodies are weird.
not helpful spatula
Wait I want to push back on the topper idea actually. If the foam undereath is already fatigued, a topper just adds softness on top of a bad base. You might make the back pain worse. Check how the bed feels before you spend anything.
this. toppers fix firmness problems, not support problems. if you're sinking unevenly a topper won't save you.
Also worth asking: are you sleeping in the same spot you always did? 60 lbs down you might actually be comfortable on a firmer part of the bed now. Try rotating or flipping if it's flippable. Free experiment before you go buy anything.
I'm still waiting for someone to tell him to just gain the weight back. Nobody? Okay I'll see myself out.
My two cents: 4 year old memory foam plus a 60 lb body change is a pretty good excuse to shop. Medium firm beds are generally fien for a wide weight range anyway so you're not stuck with a weird niche market. Go lie on some beds and see if the back pain disappears on a floor model. That tells you everything.
Never thought about the mattress being fatigued even without visible sagging. Going to try flipping it and sleeping on a different spot first. Appreciate the topper warnings, I almost bouught one today.