Body image changes after WLS

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

Just read this in the most recent issue of Allure magazine:

People who undergo weight-loss surgery have a vision of their ideal body - and it tends to change after the procedure, research shows. Daniel Munoz, professor of psychology at Pacific University in Portland, Oregon, and colleagues at the University of Chicago Eating Disorders Program showed 57 patients a chart of nine body silhouettes ranging from thin to fat. Prior to gastric bypass surgery, the patients admired a figure that appeared healthy. A year later, they indicated they had dropped, on average, three body sizes on the chart, and their ideal size was on its way to being abnormally thin. The researchers say the changes from surgery "may suggest....that unrealistic body shapes are attainable," and they recommend body-image counseling before and after the procedure.

Thoughts? Do you feel that your goal has changed since you've had the surgery?

[Waffleking 27]

That's actually very interesting. Although, the only body image I have for myself after hitting goal is one with a lot of loose skin hanging off it!

[chilo1 62]

I am 4 months out and my goal has changed, but for a higher BMI. As i lose weight i realise that my body shape has changed, I'm 41 now and in my head i had the image of me getting my body of 15 years ago back. I don't want to be too skinny, I don't think it looks nice at my age so I think that with a few more pounds and a Tummy Tuck I will have reached my higher goal and be happy with what I've achueved

[coops 1,790]

I agree with Chilo on this one... orginally I was thinking of about 135lb ... but things in my mind are changing: a, the rate I am going I will be about 80 before I reach that goal ... lol ... and b, I don't want to look too old... my face seems to be the main place that I have lost weight from!!

I would also be happier with a higher BMI and a TT and boob job, not sure I will afford it in this life though, I already have a lot of problem skin around my middle! I suppose I shouldn't be sooooo short...lol! x

[sleeveorbust 11]

i would say that overall this article has some clout... I know for me I have always wanted to be at the goal that i have set out for myself.. sure I see some ULTRA skinny people around town and think.. hmm.. maybe i will look like that.. but overall i just want to get to 125lbs with a BMI of 22!! ... with that said, I know that what I truly want is to be FIT and able to complete rigorous physical activity with a breeze! Im 2months out today and im only 8lbs away from my halfway point!!!!

[Tiffykins 672]

I never wanted to be this "small". I was perfectly content at my surgeon's goal or 150lbs, I still had boobs, I still had some curves, and all of that is pretty much gone. Plus, I knew people would make a lot of comments on my size if I went below 140. I may only be 5'2", but I have big bones, I have huge knees and ankles, even my elbows are wide so I do look a bit on the "tiny" side especially when I wear short skirts and you can see my huge knee joints. I didn't realize how "small" I looked until a picture of me was taken with a group of my girlfriends, and while I'm only 15-30lbs lighter than them, I appear to be super tiny and it's weird because I didn't see myself "that small" before.

It's taken a lot for me to allow my mind to catch up with my body. I still have a distorted view and I am way more critical of my body now than I ever was at 270lbs. I try to convince myself that other early 30 yr old women have this little stomach pouch, and little muffin top, but I HATE IT some days, other days, it doesn't bother me at all. I look at myself in the mirror, and I imagine what I'll look like after plastics, and what can I do to make it better now. Most days, my imperfections do not bother me at all, I look at myself and think "HOLY SHIT, that's a ROCKIN' little body", and other days I am disappointed in how I look, and I'm ready to sign the release forms for major plastic surgery. I keep thinking if I could lose this stomach pouch, little baby fat roll that I'd look perfect, but I would probably slip to a size 00 and that's just ridiculous for my frame size.

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

I'd say my experience so far has been different from the one suggested by the article. I'm still about 15 lbs from my pretty modest goal (technically, I'd have a healthy BMI all the way down til 110 lbs, which to me is unthinkable!), but I'm actually quite pleased with how I look now. The only part of my body where I'd definitely say I need to lose more fat would be my inner thighs, but there definitely isn't 15 lbs on there - maybe 5. I think my body image changed a lot when I began lifting weights back in the days. I used to waste a lot of time hating the way I looked, even at a lower weight than I am now, but now it doesn't bother me as much. Plus I've made peace with my genetics - everybody in my family is big-boned and the women have big heavy thighs and butt with cellulite, so the odds of me ever having a perfectly smooth butt are extremely low. I'd never look like a prima ballerina with these genes, that's for sure! I definitely wasn't happy with myself at 208, don't get me wrong - but at my current size, I'm content with how I look and have to actually remind myself to skip Desserts, etc, because the urge to lose more weight just isn't there.

[AJW 18]

I'm 14 mos. out and below both goals I set (one was 135 and one was 125 lbs.) I look too thin. I'm 5'-7.5" tall and have a small frame, so I look kind of a like a tall stick. When I dress to the nines, I look like a model because I'm tall with boobs (from implants - any such fat associated with that area is gone.) I have no butt - we now refer to the behind area as the "Buh-thigh" because that's all that's there. I have to exercise to maintain leg and hip flexor muscle mass because that sort of slid south b/c I didn't exercise with the loss. My weigh varies from 116 to 115, I weigh daily to keep tabs on it lest I lose too much. I do need to consciously eat to maintain that weigh and try to add a few pounds when I can.

On the upside, I can eat 1/2 of an In-and-Out Burger now (yay!) and a couple pieces of pizza. Hey whatever, it doesn't cause me to gain any weight, and I do it to keep what I've got. There are challenges on both sides of the scale. At first all you can think about is losing the weight; once you're there, you need to maintain the weight. I'm a size 2-4, and my bones protrude. Who knew my breast bone was so protruding?! Ewww....don't like how that looks, but there it is for all to see.

I need plastic work to get my Sharpei hiked back up to original position, but that will come in time. So there you go.......my synopis of what's what in the WLS world.

[coops 1,790]

Interesting update for me... I was told that I looked small and narrow by a friend the other day, at first I thought it was just words of kindness cos of this damn stall - yes I was bleating on about it to my friends too! Anyway, she compared me to her sister, who has ALWAYS been smaller than me...ALWAYS!! i sat there and didn't believe a word of it and in the end the actually measured us....lol.... I was a good 3 inches narrower!!! I was absloutely gob smacked! My own body image is really distorted and I think I need to work on this too...

It is interesting to hear others say that it has taken a while for the head to catch up with the body, I am starting to understand that a little now!

[AJW 18]

You must be British; no one in the US says Gob smacked. Well, good for you and there you go.

I never saw myself fat, even though I clearly was; so when I became thin again, my response was "Well, there you are!! Been a long time since I've seen you."

Interesting update for me... I was told that I looked small and narrow by a friend the other day, at first I thought it was just words of kindness cos of this damn stall - yes I was bleating on about it to my friends too! Anyway, she compared me to her sister, who has ALWAYS been smaller than me...ALWAYS!! i sat there and didn't believe a word of it and in the end the actually measured us....lol.... I was a good 3 inches narrower!!! I was absloutely gob smacked! My own body image is really distorted and I think I need to work on this too...

It is interesting to hear others say that it has taken a while for the head to catch up with the body, I am starting to understand that a little now!

[coops 1,790]

You must be British; no one in the US says Gob smacked. Well, good for you and there you go.

I never saw myself fat, even though I clearly was; so when I became thin again, my response was "Well, there you are!! Been a long time since I've seen you."

Hahahahahaaaa, yey!! Interesting observation...lol!

I am British, well Welsh specifically.... x

[AJW 18]

I'm actually Welch by ancestry, although born in Calif. My maiden name is Evans.

Hahahahahaaaa, yey!! Interesting observation...lol!

I am British, well Welsh specifically.... x

[coops 1,790]

I thought I recognised your accent....lol!!! As we say in the valleys.... TIDY LIKE!!! XX

[LilMissDiva Irene 3,280]

I definitely have some body dysmorphia (sp? - too lazy to look it up) ...anyway, I feel the same as I ever did. Most who have posted in this thread are at goal, past goal or close to. But I've been very thin in my past and even then I saw FAT in the mirror. I have to look at pictures of myself to really get a good guage on how I really look. Even then I still "looked fat".

I never did have a real goal set in mind. I'm going for size more than weight. Even then, I won't really know if I want to stop until I get close to, or actually there. It's just strange... not knowing how I'm supposed to feel about that. It's like being blind, trying to feel for familiar settings... kinda.

[AJW 18]

Yes, I see what you mean, since you've basically done this twice, first with the band and now with the sleeve. I thought I wanted a band until I researched it and figured out I didn't. So glad I listened to others re that.

When I got to goal at 135, I thought a little more would be OK, to me (in photos) I still looked a little "plump." So I went to 125 and thought, OK, this is good. But then it was ........well, maybe 5 lbs. more would be better. So when I hit 120 I thought, yeah this is good, and then thought well maybe 118 would be better. You can see how I ended up where I am, definitely too thin, and yes, I see that I'm too thin in the mirror, but in photos with clothes on, I think I look normal according to fashion magazines, which as we all know, are stick thin models in winter clothing (these days.) Anyway, now I'm bouncing between 115-116 lbs. and trying to maintain the weight and even gain a couple of pounds which is not that easy to keep on you. We're about to go through another residential move which always causes lost pounds, and to a cold climate in the winter, which also causes lost weight. I'll be a challenge to maintain during the next month. C'est la vie.

I definitely have some body dysmorphia (sp? - too lazy to look it up) ...anyway, I feel the same as I ever did. Most who have posted in this thread are at goal, past goal or close to. But I've been very thin in my past and even then I saw FAT in the mirror. I have to look at pictures of myself to really get a good guage on how I really look. Even then I still "looked fat".

I never did have a real goal set in mind. I'm going for size more than weight. Even then, I won't really know if I want to stop until I get close to, or actually there. It's just strange... not knowing how I'm supposed to feel about that. It's like being blind, trying to feel for familiar settings... kinda.