Clinical perspective, offered as context rather than as advice.
One year anniversary on mental health — reflections:
What I wish I'd known: the side effects are temporary, the benefits compound over time, protein is more important than I thought, and the mental health aspect needs as much attention as the physical.
What surprised me: how much my relationship with food changed, the cascade of health improvements beyond weight, and how supportive this community is.
What I'd do differently: start therapy earlier, prioritize resistance training from day 1, and stop comparing my progress to others. Everyone's journey is unique.
PharmacoVig_BOS said:Body image adjustment with mental health: I've lost 85 lbs but when I look in the mirror, I still see my old self sometimes.
Therapy insights from my mental health journey: my therapist introduced me to the concept of "identity updating" — the psychological work of becoming a new version of yourself.
Key realizations: I used food to manage emotions, I had internalized fatphobia that I'm still unpacking, my social identity was partly built around being "the big guy/girl," and learning to accept compliments is surprisingly hard when you've been invisible for years.
Physical transformation without emotional processing is unstable. Do both.
Adding the numbers, since they settle part of this. If you are comparing against somebody else’s result, check that you are comparing the same measurement taken the same way. Most of the apparent contradictions in these threads dissolve at that step.
Happy to go further on any of that.
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Browse GL BiochemA narrower follow-up, since the general answer is now clear:
Did your prescriber agree with that reading, and if not what was their objection?