Losing a large amount of weight changes more than your body size. Your bloods, your sleep, your medicines, your mood and your relationship with food can all shift along the way. This section brings together the health checks, the people and the services that help you stay well while the weight comes off and after it has settled.
This topic is also in our free guide, Health Checks and Support. Get it emailed to you
Most of this care runs through your GP. A specialist such as Dr Kumar becomes useful later, when your weight has stabilised and loose skin is the main issue left. The pages below explain what happens in between.
Tests and investigations
Health checks and tests during weight loss explains the blood tests most people have (HbA1c, cholesterol, liver and thyroid function, iron, vitamin B12, folate and vitamin D), when a sleep study for obstructive sleep apnoea is worth asking about, and what a DEXA body-composition scan can tell you about muscle and fat. Each test links to its healthdirect explainer.
Your GP as coordinator
Working with your GP on weight loss covers how to use your GP well: what to ask at an appointment, how a chronic condition management plan links you with a dietitian or exercise physiologist, when a mental health or eating disorder plan applies, and why a current GP referral matters when you see a specialist.
Mental health and body image
Mental health, body image and major weight loss looks at depression, binge eating disorder and how body image can lag behind the scales. It lists Australian support services with phone numbers, including the Butterfly Foundation and Lifeline, and the Weight Issues Network for peer support.
Planning and paying
Costs and funding explains how Medicare, private health insurance categories and referrals fit together when you are planning skin surgery after weight loss. It does not list prices: those depend on your own assessment.
Risks and resources
- Risks and considerations: what every operation after major weight loss carries, and what lowers the risk.
- Patient resources: guides, checklists and links to trusted Australian health information.
- When is the right time for skin removal?: how to tell when your weight is stable enough to start that conversation.
Where to next
- Health checks and tests during weight loss
- Working with your GP on weight loss
- Mental health, body image and major weight loss
- Nutrition
If you are still losing weight, the readiness assessment shows where you are up to and what to work on next. If your weight has settled and loose skin is now the main concern, book a consultation with Dr Kumar.
All surgery carries risk. Individual results vary. Dr Rohit Kumar (MED0001630444) Registered medical practitioner, specialist plastic surgeon (specialist registration in surgery – plastic surgery).