Fiona and Celtinore,

I have often found myself wondering the same thing -- will I be different when I lose this weight? I know I will be healthier and I will look different, but will I actually BE different? I was not fat as a young adult (I'm 5'9-1/2" and big-goned, and I weighed 180 to 185 pounds all through my early and mid 20s -- not really thin, but not fat either), but I've been fat for 18 years now, since I got pregnant with my first child. Being fat is certainly part of my identity as an adult woman.

I would like to think I won't change, because I would like to think that my weight was no big deal other than with regard to the health risks it posed. However, I'm not so sure. I've noticed already that with the loss of 75 pounds, people react differently to me. If they react differently to me, I react differently to them in response, and that interaction partially shapes who I am.

I have noticed that I have become somewhat more assertive lately at work -- more readily telling people if I am bothered by something. I am feeling less apologetic about who I am and therefore I am more able to assert my own needs.

Does this mean that I am changing and I am not the same person I was?