Has losing weight changed you?

I'm exactly the same. I was a b____ before too. :laugh:

I can answer this. I've been as high as 350 lbs and as little as 140 lbs. I'm the same person.

What's changed is how people treat me.

At 350 lbs, I was invisible. Which was preferrable to being made fun of openly but total strangers. One guy yelled acorss at a Denny's to me that I was Goodyear blimp. Will never forget that.

At 140 lbs, I was getting more attention from men. It was flattering but unnerved me, because it validated how shallow people can be. And yet I started to crave that attention to validate ME. Oh, the irony.

At 350 lbs., I worried about going ANYWHERE. Why? Didn't know if I would fit in the: movie seat, amusement park ride, airplane seat. This was before seat belt extenders were really available. I once had a cross-country flight where I couldn't buckle my seat belt and kept a jacket on my lap to cover it up so I wouldn't be called on it or hassled b the flight attendants. I used to book window seats so that I would only have to worry about hanging over on one side of the seat.

At 140 lbs, I didn't think twice about going or doing anything. Chairs were no problem. It was about living my life, not worrying about wedging myself into a chair.

At 350 lbs, I was suicidal. My fertility was threatened. I felt my career path was bleak because of such outrageous and obvious bias.

At 140 lbs, I got promoted three times in 5 years.

At 350 lbs, I berated myself all day long for allowing things to get to that point. I avoided mirrors. Photos. I missed out on life.

At 140 lbs., I didn't care who had a camera. I looked forward to shopping for clothes. I was always surprised when I could look for clothes that I LIKED versus what would fit me.

Throughout all of it, I never changed at all. The world changed how they treated me. And it sucked to realize that. I also realized I spent so much of my life missing, well, life. I always wondered about the things I could have done, the people I could have met, the achievements that I might have had. The trajectory of my life might be very different.

But I will tell you one thing.

Being fat and obese for most of my young adult life DID help. It made me more empathetic. It made me give a crap about others, because I certainly didn't care about myself. It made me work harder in my career. It made me develop an awesome personality and wicked sense of humor (okay, as a form of self-defense but also to charm people before they had the chance to realize that I could topple over and crush them at any given moment).

Now, at age 41, I see that I will never change. And people don't really change, actually. But the world will judge, and that is just a fact. This time around, I'm trying to lose 25 pounds to be healthy and to live what I have left of my life in as healthfully of a way as I can. I have two awesome kids depending on me, and that's what counts most of all.

I just want to give you a hug. Some of my favorite people are bigger than 300 lbs, and it in no way affects how I feel about them. I also know what it is to feel trapped and betrayed by your own body.

Only that I no longer spend hours obsessing over fining the right outfit to make make look good. I look good in everything.

Implications such as ... ?

mostly if youre a douche who thinks they are better than everyone because they found the discipline to alter their destructive lifestyle.

In more ways than one....I know realize my value and no one will ever mistreat me again.