Diane's Body Dismorphic Disorder

Awwww Diane -

I'm sooo sorry, but I must admit that I know what you mean. I just saw some of the photos taken at my nephews wedding. Instead of thinking I looked great, all I can see are my double chins, lumps and bulges .... However, when I talk with you or anyone else, I'm told I look great. Well, SO DO YOU! I think it's really hard for our heads to catch up with our loss. And as a dear friend of mine told me ;-), we are our own harshest critic.

So as my dear friend (aka You) told me, be gentle with yourself. It takes a while for our heads to catch up with the actual changes in our bodies. Just take out some photos of yourself this winter and early spring ... the difference is PHENOMINAL!!! You look fantastic ... If you look like a cow, there are going to be a bunch milkmen lining up ... LOL!

Love you bunches,

Barb

Diane~ I cannot help but think that the body dismorphic stuff is part of the whole process.  Like Barb said.. it does take a while for our head to catch up with our slimmer selves.  I have a hard time with it all too.  I will look in the mirror and still see me 88 pounds heavier.  And if that is not the case on a certain day.. I see the arm flab or my sagging girls and just get saddened about the whole thing.   You are right though.  God has blessed us richly with the opportunity of becoming healthier..  not just skinnier.  We should focus on those blessings and not belittle the work he has done in our lives by becoming so vain.  I am so glad you posted this.. I needed to contemplate it myself.   Thanks girl!  You are looking so very good!!

Thats not really BDD... thats just obession over the little things :P

First... here is what I noticed... many of us WLS patients lose a lot in the face/neck/shoulder area.. so people start saying 'you dont need to lose more' not really looking at the entire picture. I know in my case I hide A LOT of sins under my clothes and definately need more weightloss in certain areas. So if you feel like you need to lose more and you will still be 'normal' and not underweight... go for it!

Second... our focus for so long is LOSE WEIGHT LOSE WEIGHT LOSE WEIGHT it gets kind of hard when you are done... its like now what?!?!?!? I only have a few more pounds to lose but I sometimes feel like I have SO much more weight to lose... its been such a focus for so long its hard to get out of that mentality. Im going to bust butt to get these last few pounds off by Thanksgiving so then I can focus on maintaining and moving on with my life.

As for focusing on the flaws, bumps, bulges... I think thats normal... I find it difficult to accept my post-WLS body... its almost not fair to have to had deal with obesity so long, finally lose the weight and still look/feel obese. I feel like I have the 'scars' of a FFC (former fat chick)... the flabby arms, saggy deflated breasts, big hangy stomach, flabby thighs... so I definately understand your focus on those areas. I think we focus on them even more because there isnt much we can do about them except for surgery (after trying working out of course!!). For me, that makes it a little harder to accept... plus the cost of PS is astronomical!!!  I know for me over time it has gotten better... some days are worse than others. I keep saving for PS and look forward to the day I will finally be done (in my mind) with this whole process. I think just allowing yourself time to adjust to all the changes and slowly learning to accept yourself as is would be the best way to adjust.