The ambivalence of losing weight after bariatric surgery

Abstract

This study is grounded in a phenomenological lifeworld perspective. It aims at providing rich descriptions of lived experience of the process of losing weight after obesity surgery. Two women participated in in-depth interviews four times each during the first postoperative year. Based on the women’s experiences, a meaning structure - the ambivalence of losing weight after obesity surgery - was identified across the women’s processes of change. This consisted of five core themes: movement and activity-freedom but new demands and old restraints; eating habits and digestion - the complexity of change; appearance - smaller, but looser; social relations - stability and change; and being oneself - vulnerability and self-assurance. These core themes changed over time in terms of dominance. The experience of ambivalence is discussed according to a phenomenological perspective of the body as lived experience.