On post #59 — agreed on the reasoning, with one qualification.
Second-hand on body image, so weight it accordingly — someone whose method I trust told me this and I have not verified it myself.
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Wellbeing · Mental health · continued
Body image changing more slowly than the body posts 61–90
This is a continuation of a long topic, addressed by post number rather than by page. Start at post 1.
Motivation and expectation: starting with clear motivation and realistic expectations about what will happen and when helps with psychological adjustment.
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Marking my place. If it changes for me I will come back and say so.
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g.rasmussen, post #10: Adding a reference point for body image. Mine is a single case, collected without controls, and I am posting the method alongside it so it can be discounted appropriately. Go to post
Post #62 is right about the mechanism and I think understates the practical bit.
My position on body image is current rather than settled. I have revised it once already and I expect to again, so treat it accordingly.
e.krastev, post #59: Nothing here is medical advice and several members in this subcategory say plainly that they are describing their own experience only. Where I would look next, rather than where I would stop. Go to post
Reframing body image slightly, because I think the disagreement is about the question rather than the answer. If the question is "does it happen", yes. If it is "how often", nobody here knows.
Collapsed as off-topic by two members at trust level 3 or above
Expectations set by other people's reported trajectories are a documented source of distress, and the trajectories posted are not representative.
This is where my knowledge stops and I would rather mark the edge than blur it.
Post #67 answers the question as asked. The question underneath it is different.
The documentation on body image is better than this thread and I say that as someone who has posted in the thread.
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k.radich, post #42: This follows post #41 rather than contradicting it. Expectations set by other people's reported trajectories are a documented source of distress, and the trajectories posted are not representative. That is where I would start, not where I would stop. Go to post
Support and community: some people process weight change through community (online or in-person). Others prefer privacy. Knowing what you need and seeking it proactively helps.
Reading it again, the caveat matters more than the finding.
The arithmetic in post #67 is right; the assumption feeding it is the part to check.
Body image and weight loss: large weight loss changes a person's relationship with their body in ways that can be psychologically complex. Some of that is positive; some might involve adjustment or processing.
I have left out the parts I could not verify.
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s.girard, post #67: I read post #64 twice before replying, because I had assumed the opposite. The bit of body image that nobody enjoys is that the answer changes depending on what you are trying to decide with it. Say what the decision is and the thread will converge. Go to post
The social side of this — how other people respond to visible change — comes up constantly and has nothing to do with pharmacology.
r.serrano, post #12: Expectations set by other people's reported trajectories are a documented source of distress, and the trajectories posted are not representative. This is the sort of thing that ought to be settled and apparently is not. Go to post
Answering the question post #68 raises rather than the one it answers.
Two questions I would want answered before drawing anything from the body image data above: how were the cases selected, and what happened to the ones that dropped out.
The practical version of body image is three sentences long. The rigorous version is three pages and reaches the same conclusion with the conditions attached.
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c.inglethorpe, post #4: I have been on both sides of the body image argument in this category within eighteen months, which should tell you how strong the evidence for either side is. Go to post
Narrowing post #74, because the general version has more than one answer.
I would keep body image and the decision it usually gets used for separate in this thread. They are related and they are not the same question, and merging them is why the last one went badly.
Everything in post #72 holds. The case it does not cover is the one I have.
Identity and self-image: for some people, weight and body size are central to identity. Large change to body size can affect identity. This is not pathological; it is human.
On balance I think that is right, and I would not bet much on it.
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figure_review, post #58: Everything in post #54 holds. The case it does not cover is the one I have. What I want from this body image thread is the list of things that would need to be true for the claim to hold. If we can write that list, we can check it. Go to post
Substance use: if someone has a history of substance use, appetite suppression and weight loss can shift thinking about body and substance use. This is a risk factor worth acknowledging.
Two people can read the same figure differently here and both be reasonable.
An honest declaration on body image: I have a prior here and it is strong enough that you should weight what I say downward. Stating it rather than hiding it.
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Answering the body image question as asked, then the question I think is meant. As asked: yes, with the qualification below. As meant: it depends on how the first measurement was taken.
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i.amankwah, post #27: If you are in crisis, contact a local emergency or crisis service rather than posting. A volunteer forum cannot help and waiting costs time. Go to post
Post #81 and I disagree about the size of the effect, not about the direction.
Nobody has said the unglamorous part of body image yet, so: most of the variation is explained by things that are boring to write about and easy to check.
mira.patel, post #9: Relationship with food changing is one of the most commonly described experiences here and is discussed far less than the physical effects. Go to post
Clear enough that I do not think I have a follow-up, which is unusual.
j.rasmussen, post #38: Where a member is finding this hard, the useful reply is usually a question rather than an answer, and this subcategory does that well. Go to post
Worth separating two things that post #85 runs together.
The question underneath body image is usually "how would I tell?" rather than "what is true?", and that one has a method attached to it.
Write down what you would expect to see under each hypothesis before you collect anything. If they predict the same observation, collecting it will not help.
Maintenance brings a different set of psychological questions from loss, and the discussion here is much thinner on that phase.
I looked this up rather than remembered it, which is the right order.
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Post #85 describes the usual case. This is about the unusual one.
Before the thread moves on from body image — what is the sample size behind the claim? I am not being difficult; I have seen the same figure quoted from an n of four and from an n of four hundred.
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