Weight Loss Surgery Forums

Are you haunted by "phantom fat"?
by Cathy Wilson, ACC, CLC
Director of ObesityHelp Support Group Leader Program

Now that you have had weight loss surgery and have a smaller body, do you see yourself as you are?  What do you see when you look in the mirror?  Are you haunted by your pre-surgery body?

When we have surgery, we see the number on the scale go down lower than we?ve seen in a long time.  As we exercise, and become toned and firm, our bodies shrink further.  Even though our bodies are smaller, some of us can?t wrap our heads around the changes that are occurring.  If you don?t see yourself as you are now with a smaller body and you still hang on to the image of your former large body, what you see when you look in the mirror is ?phantom fat.?

Losing weight is a victory.  For many of us, losing weight from our weight loss surgery is the equivalent of winning the lottery of life.  We assume that everything will fall into place as we lose weight.  We become discouraged, even as the number on the scale falls. The size of clothes we wear are smaller, but we don?t see the results.  We receive compliments and comments from others as to how good we look, how much weight we?ve lost and how good we must feel.  However, we just don?t see it.  When we look in the mirror, the reflection we see is similar to the overweight one we?ve seen for years.    It is as though our smaller person?s body is embodied within a morbidly obese person?s mind.  You have to look at retraining your brain and understanding that you have been reinforcing this negative image for probably a long time.  Body image is more difficult to change than our physical body after we?ve had weight loss surgery. Our minds may still not be used to the smaller, leaner body and continue to perceive ourselves as morbidly obese or overweight.  Simply, our minds are not used to the internal body image that are physical bodies reflect.  Even though we aren?t carrying around the excess weight, the issue with phantom fat is carrying the excess weight in our minds.  Our brains have not caught up with our new healthier bodies, especially if we have been obese for a long period of time. 

Yo-yo dieting can also add to persistent phantom fat issues.  Yo-yo dieting occurs when we lose weight successfully, only to turn around and regain the weight (plus a bonus few more pounds).  Deep down, yo-yo dieters believe the new weight loss is only temporary and the old weight is lingering right around the corner, ready to pile back on.  Phantom fat is reinforced by the cycle of yo-yo dieting.  If you?re like me and you?ve spent most of your life cycling with your weight lost/gained, lost/gained, lost/gained, we?re less likely to embrace our new bodies for fear they won?t last. 

When you look in the mirror, do you like what you see?  Do you see yourself as you are now or as the person you previously used to be?  Here?s some ?how to?s? for helping to combat phantom fat:

1. Take photos of yourself.  Photographs don?t lie.  Sure, anyone can take a bad photo but your body is the size that it is.  Take a photo beside something or someone so you can see you as you are.  Compare your body size to the other objects or persons in the picture. Some day you may want to share your success in OH's Before & After sections!

2. Try on your pre-op clothes.  By trying on the clothes you wore when you were heavy, you will be able to get a clearer perspective of your body size now.

3. When out in public, ask someone accompanying you to point out people that have a similar body size as you do.

4. When you go shopping, try on multiple styles of clothes to confirm the size that you wear.  If you feel as though you wear a large size but, in fact, you wear a much smaller size, this process will affirm your body size.  If you feel you wear, for example, a size 18 but in actuality wear a size 10, try on an 18 and see how it doesn?t come close to the size you truly wear.

5. Study yourself.  Look at your body.  Become accustomed to how you look now. 

6. Take your measurements.  Compare your body measurements now with your measurements pre-op or after you had surgery.  Log your measurements in OH Health Tracker.  You can create a chart that will show you a picture of how your body has changed.

7. Pay attention to the compliments and comments you receive from others.  Don?t dismiss them but take them in.  People don?t say something unless it is true.  They may be seeing something regarding your body size and lower weight that you aren?t.

8. Get a large piece of butcher-type paper and have someone trace around your body.  When tracing your body, get as close to trace the outline along your body as possible.  Get up and see your body as it is drawn.

9. Revisit past places that you remember.  Walk through a narrow door, sit in an airplane seat, sit in a booth you?re familiar with, or sit on a chair you?ve used.  Notice the difference in how your body fits and feels.  One of the biggest thrills for me was sitting in an airplane seat with plenty of room in the seat and a large portion of the seat belt hanging out, unused from the size of my smaller body.

10. Lastly, appreciate how many pounds you?ve lost.  Know objectively that the number of pounds you have lost have resulted in a smaller size.  You can?t lose 50, 75, 100 pounds or more without having a substantial change in your body.  

Some weight loss surgery patients will accept the body change more quickly than others.  Some factors that will determine the length of time in seeing yourself more accurately are:

1. How long you?ve been morbidly obese

2. The number of times of yo-yo dieting

3.  Low self-esteem with a negative self-image. 

Once you identify that you are not seeing yourself as you truly are, work on the above items so that your head can catch up with your body.  Make a strong effort to think of yourself in a positive manner inside and out.  Understand that you are retraining your brain and that you?ve been reinforcing your negative body image for a long time. 

I had a difficult time seeing myself as I was.  Years later after my surgery and weight loss, I still struggled.  I was taking clothes out of the dryer and folding them to go to the respective family members.  I put one of my pairs of jeans with my older son.  I thought they were his but, in fact, they were mine.  That did it!  It was the beginning of me seeing my body as it really is.

Instead of considering your weight loss surgery as an outside job, it is even more important to consider it as an inside job too.  When you look at weight loss surgery as an inside and outside job, you can expect permanent results to be proud of for the rest of your life.  Many post-ops stop when they reach their goal or have lost a certain amount of weight.  They view the results of weight loss surgery as all external and stop at looking inside and fully living the internal rewards that come with weight loss surgery.

Own your success.  See you and your body as you are and don't allow your old morbidly obese identity spoil the new you.