Adding the clinical framing, because it changes how the question reads.

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.

Dr.NephBHM_UK said:

One year anniversary on mental health — reflections: What I wish I'd known: the side effects are temporary, the benefits compound over time, protein…

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.

Dr.NephBHM_UK said:

One year anniversary on mental health — reflections: What I wish I'd known: the side effects are temporary, the benefits compound over time, protein…

That is right, and it stops being right at the edges. The general case is well behaved; the interesting cases in this thread are all at the boundary where the general case breaks.

Correct me if the detail matters more than I have assumed.

Dr.NephBHM_UK said:

One year anniversary on mental health — reflections: What I wish I'd known: the side effects are temporary, the benefits compound over time, protein…

Genuinely useful, thank you. I had the facts and not the framework.

Moderator note: good thread. Keeping it here rather than moving it, because the question is general enough to be useful. Report rather than reply if it drifts again.