Successful weight loss maintenance and a shift in identity: from restriction to a new liberated self.
The present qualitative study aims to explore the experiences of dieters who successfully maintain their weight loss with a focus on the transition in perception of self from their heaviest to their current reduced weight. Ten successful women from a slimming club who had lost at least 10 per cent of their weight for a minimum of one year participated in the study. The results showed an identity shift from a previous restrained self towards a liberated individual, regarding their social interactions, dietary habits, emotional regulation and self-appraisal. The results are discussed in terms of the process of reinvention and the impact of stigma on an obese person's self-identity.
Epiphaniou
Eleni
E
King's College London, London, UK. eleni.epiphaniou@kcl.ac.uk
Ogden
Jane
J
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D012649:Self Concept; D015431:Weight Loss