Fading Away: Weight Loss & Shifts in Identity

What do we mean by identity?
Personality:
The complex of all the attributes--behavioral, temperamental, emotional and mental--that characterize a unique individual
Identity: How I think about and define myself
Descriptive (internal, physical attributes)
Social roles
Complex schemas
What are some different types of identities we might hold?
All rights reserved: CPANCF, Marcie Wiseman, Ph.D.

Effects from Reactions of Others
Physical characteristics influence the way others treat us and thereby mold our views of the world—our “personalities” and “identities”
We hold stereotypes about personalities associated with physical characteristics
All rights reserved: CPANCF, Marcie Wiseman, Ph.D.

Do Looks Reveal Personality?
Looks Revealing Personality is Not Supported by Most Research
i.e.: Three body types:
Mesomorphs muscular, large-boned athletes
Endomorphs
roly-poly,
good- natured, types
Ectomorphs
slender, bookworm types
All rights reserved: CPANCF.COM, Marcie Wiseman, Ph.D.

Research on weight loss & identity
Majority of research has focused on physical health outcomes
Mental health issues have been mostly ignored
Attention to identity
Clinically based (e.g., case studies)
Dissertation research
All rights reserved: CPANCF.COM, Marcie Wiseman, Ph.D.

“I don’t feel like myself anymore!”
Erosion of identity
Relational disturbance
Unfamiliar territory
Incongruity
“Sometimes I felt like I was going through a period of mourning. There was this feeling that I had lost something, but I couldn’t put my finger on what it was that I had lost.”
All rights reserved: CPANCF.COM, Marcie Wiseman, Ph.D.

Obstacles to integrating new identities
Social pressure
Lack of belongingness
Need for stability
Coat rack effect
Unrealized expectations
All rights reserved: CPANCF.COM, Marcie Wiseman, Ph.D.