Dreams About Losing or Gaining Weight

If you dream that you’ve suddenly gained or lost a great deal of weight, you are probably dealing with some sort of change in your life.

Some dream experts and interpreters believe that this type of dream is an indication that you are having trouble adjusting to or accepting this change but I don’t think this is a 100 percent hard and fast rule.  Personally, I think the weight gain (or loss) is simply a dream symbol for change – whether or not you’re handling it well or not.



Take, for example, a woman from Massachusetts who dreamed that she had gained over 20 pounds.  She wasn’t alarmed by the dream, whatsoever.  In fact, it amused her greatly!  She pointed out that the weight gain “took a good 20 years off” of her appearance.

When I told her that these types of dreams were usually symbolic of change she e-mailed me back, listing the following changes she’d gone through in the past 3 months:

  • She married “Mr. Right”
  • She and Mr. Right moved to a new town
  • Both of them started new jobs
  • They’d bought 2 Siamese cats

This uncommonly warm and friendly woman was very excited about her new life and family. She embraced all of the changes and was, in her words, “happier than anyone deserves to be.”  Her dream was simply her brain’s way of reveling in her new found bliss and joy.  Her brain realized that so much had been added to her world… hence the additions it made to her weight!

Dreams of Losing Weight

Dreams of losing weight aren’t always negative either.  If, for example, an individual wants to lose weight, they may dream of doing so.  It makes a great deal of sense, given the fact that they probably think about weight loss a lot during the day.



It’s extremely common and perfectly logical to dream about the things we think about the most.

However, if you have lost weight (in your dream) as a result of sickness or unhappiness – you are more likely than not struggling with recent change or changes.  You feel that you are losing a part of your life – and maybe even yourself.

Whether you dream of losing weight or gaining weight, ask yourself the following question (and try to answer it as soon after the dream as possible):  “How did I feel during the dream and how did I feel as soon as I awoke?”

  • If you felt alarmed, sad, worried, anxious, or scared in the dream – the dream symbolism is a negative one.  This dream indicates that you are having a great deal of trouble with recent changes.  You’ve probably been trying to make the best of an unfortunate situation, but you simply aren’t adjusting to the change.  The dream indicates that you need to take a good, long, honest look at the changes in your life and ask what you can do to help yourself adjust better.
  • If you felt nonchalant, that is neither good nor bad – this indicates that the dream is simply acknowledging the changes.  It’s not passing judgment on whether it finds the change to be good or bad, it’s simply acknowledging that it does exist!
  • If you felt happy, joyful, and excited in your dream (and felt good upon waking), it indicates that you embrace the change or changes and are in a very, very good place.

I hope that the last one is exactly where you find yourself!