Mental and emotional changes

Yes. It's scary at times to be this person I've never been before. Ever.

I know that depression is very common for people who lose significant amounts of weight and so I contacted my EAP (Employee Assistance Plan) at work and requested a therapist who can help give me strategies to cope with change. So far its really helping. I would suggest looking into a few sessions if you can. To sort of pre-emptively address a problem before it becomes a problem.

Mostly its about stopping negative self talk in it's tracks. Im not a seasoned veteran, only being 7 weeks post op but hey... so far so good!

Good Luck!

That's interesting. I'm sure that there is a difference in mindset between someone *****members being health weighted as an adult and then someone like me, who now weighs less than she ever has in her adult life. It's mind boggling.

Skills? Resilience, adaptability, acceptance, advocacy, openness to new experiences. These are all things that have gotten me through. Lots of hard mental work and I'm grateful that I knew, early on, that I'd need to address the mental stuff at the same time I was addressing the physical.

I agree with your surgeon more or less. I don't think there is a hard line between the groups, however I do believe that people fall to either side of a spectrum based on that. While I have always struggled, I have a clear remembered self as thin and often think about that as of late as I approach surgery. The extra attention from everyone, women and even children. They have proven that even babies will stare at a more beautiful face when given two unfamiliar faces to look at. It just is and no point in getting upset, though it is hurtful. I do believe that people who have been thin expect to be thin again via this process and people who have always been overweight only hope and expect to reach into a more average weight. There are exceptions to all of this, however I think her point has legitimate merit.

Thanks for writing this post! I've always been big too and wonder what it will be like on the other "side"