Hoping to maintain a balance: The concept of hope and the discontinuation of anorexiant medications

The secondary analysis of transcripts from a study of 9 women who used pres cription anorexiant medications described in this article was conducted to dissever the role that hope played in the women's weight-loss initiatives. It was found that hope grew throughout the women's weight-loss initiative b ut peaked once the medications were discontinued. Seven components of the c oncept of hope were described in the context of the women's weight-loss exp eriences, Characteristics of hope in women who have discontinued anorexiant medications are different than those associated with hope in of her contex ts. A unique pattern of hope, hoping to maintain a balance, describes the w omen's experiences as they strove to maintain the weight they had lost.