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Hi everyone!!

Hi everyone....I just joined today....I had RNY in April of 2009....my starting weight was 448 pounds,, currently I'm 233 pounds....even though I am happy with all of the weight I have lost so far,, I want to lose more and hopefully get down to 180....I'm struggling because I still see that 448 pound woman when I look in the mirror....I'm terrified that I'm going to gain all of that weight back....I'm hoping to start eating more healthy and exercising more
 
Have you asked to be evaluated for body dysmorphic disorder? It's extremely common among both obese and anorexic people. It's exactly like you write in your post: "...I still see that 448 pound woman when I look in the mirror..."

Among other defects, I have this problem. From the time I was a teen, I felt obese around my schoolmates. I weighed 112 pounds but imagined myself weighing several hundred.

Congratulations on being able to lose so much weight in six years. You are truly a success story. But this irrational fear you have is part of the pathology of BDM, as well as anorexia. You may never be thin enough without also having the paralyzing fear of gaining huge amounts of weight.

There are emotional tools you can learn and apply so that you can resist acting on your fears. But it's difficult to build these up without professional help. Not impossible, but difficult. I do recommend a book titled "The Only Diet There Is" which is not a food diet. It's a diet from negative thinking. But I'm not sure that book would have been effective for me if I hadn't spent years in therapy fighting PTSD and negative programming. Still, it's good because it gives you affirmations to repeat over and over, and eventually, the affirmation is stronger than the critical thought someone else planted in your head. I promise you, affirmations work, but only if you work on repeating them.

Again, I have to say I'm amazed at your weight loss. You only need to lose 53 more to achieve your goal, and you started at 448! You are amazing. Now, let someone love you. Let that person be you. If a negative thought or situation gets in your space, walk away into the arms of a loving truth: that you're a wonderful person. Let go of the fear. You have INSPIRED ME today, and that's not easy to do!
 
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