weight and self esteem

We discuss many issues surrounding the psychological aspects of weight loss. Of course, for most people, the primary motivation for losing weight is the inproved health that accompanies the weight loss.

Yesterday, I saw a patient who has lost over 40 pounds, and she started tearing up from happiness explaining that her whole life has changed. Her happiness was not as much about her perceived improved health, but rather, the self-esteem improvement she has experienced. She went on to explain that when markerdly overweight, she would specifically avoid social situations with co-workers for fear of not being able to dress up well or present herself in a manner that others would find acceptable. As much as she tried not to think about "what others are thinking" she found herself becoming more and more distant and holing herself up at home.

Since the weight loss, she has been getting lots of compliments which have emboldened her to start going out again and after the first few times, she realized that she was "no different" than anyone else, and even seemed to attract more attention than others. This is why she was so happy.

Just an anecdotal story, but when I hear this type of self-improvement from weight loss, I feel great that our program is, in fact, changing lives on a number of levels. Yes, we love to see the lessening of blood pressure, improvement of diabetic control, etc....but to see the huge smile...really fun!!!