If you have lost a significant amount of weight, did you become a different person? Not for the better?
I know this sounds silly but I am scared when I reach my goal weight that I won't be the same person.
I am the same person I was before I lost weight. I still have huge appetites, am a procrastinator, am loyal to my friends but crappy at keeping in touch with them, am endlessly interested in the world and its many cultures, struggle to have compassion and not be judgmental, love cats, can be weirdly shy, don't like to make mistakes or be wrong, enjoy being praised, am neither an introvert nor an extrovert, don't call my mother enough. None of this has changed as a consequence of losing weight.
What has changed are my habits. I move a lot more than I did before I lost weight. I have a hard time sitting still and doing nothing. I'm still a procrastinator but I am now as likely to procrastinate by getting up and doing some other task as by completely goofing off. And I cook every weekend now, something I only did before as an occasional thing.
I've also been able to apply some of the discipline I developed during weight loss to other areas of my life. So, for example, one thing that worked well for me during weight loss was to focus on each choice as it came to me, rather than focusing on the long haul, on "lifestyle change", on how long it would take me to lose weight. It turns out I can apply that same kind of focus to some of the procrastination problems I struggle with at work, and as a result of doing that, have gotten a little better at managing big projects and multiple projects.
I don't think I'm a different person after weight loss. It's weight loss, not a personality transplant. But I do think I've learned some things and developed some habits that make me better at doing stuff that I want to do. And that is the kind of change, I think, we all want to make. Aren't there things that you look at and think, I did okay on that but I'd like to do better? If the process of learning weight can help you understand things about yourself that you can apply toward doing other things better, that can't be anything but a good thing.
I've been here long enough to see that a lot of "losers" (goal) become pretty darn obsessed with it, almost like a newfound religion, once they get there. Maintenance is a mind-mess to sort out, it is hard when you reach an intangible goal. Maybe a letter to yourself reminding of keeping grounded can help.
I am not a completely different person, but I am not the same as I was 3 years ago. I'm way more confident now than I was before. My habits have changed. A PP said a lot of people who reach goal become obsessed with it, and I can definitely see that as I have tried hard not to live or die by the scale. overall, I'm happier and healthier than I was 3 years ago.
I am a very different person. My eating habits have completely changed. My hobbies have changed. My outlook on life has changed. And my priorities have changed.
I thought I would just become a thinner me. That did not happen.
I have lost a few good things that I used to like about me at my heavier weight but have gained a few new good things too. Some bad things have gone but some new bad things have come along too.
Losing a lot of weight can change your life. In most ways for the better. But not in all ways. That is the main psychological journey in weightloss.
Unfortunately, I'm much less tolerant of people who are unhappy with their weight but are equally unwilling to do what it takes to shift the pounds.
I don't really mind one way or another about someone's weight -- that's their issue and they deserve respect and equal treatment. But since I've lost a significant amount and maintained that loss for almost 5 years, I have a tough time supporting people who knowingly make really bad food choices over and over and over again and then complain about either a lack of weight loss or worse yet, claim that it isn't possible to lose weight. I have an even tougher time when I'm asked how I did it, then face an arguement about how my plan "doesn't work", results not withstanding.
I'm also much less tolerant of people who haven't lost weight who feel free to tell me that their plan is the BEST plan/ONLY plan or who have all the weight loss answers but no results to show for it. Whatever plan a person chooses to follow is great because studies show that the plan and speed of weight loss is no predictor of success in keeping it off so whatever you choose to do, if it's working, is really no concern of mine.. It just really bugs me when I read long, LONG diatribes about how for example Paleo is da bomb, or Veganism is where it's at, or the Fast plan or whatever is the best yet the member posting really hasn't lost anything significant for years and years (yup, I've been lurking for a while), not at least according to their ticker. I know, tickers may not be updated but realistically, if you're rocking it out and you've taken the time to set it up, you'll be adjusting the numbers downwards as soon as you can.
I'm also far more active than I used to be, changed my whole life, found a new career and am having a blast, so there are good changes too
Thanks for the threat, thelaststraw323. I love both of these threads I agree also with sacha- not having a tangible goal is SO DIFFICULT! So far, for me, maintenance has just been...gaining slower than before... not great!
Different person after losing weight?
I have better control now with my cravings and regularly exercise. I dont count calories anymore 
