Swing, sway, waddle and roll. New dance steps? I don't think so. These moves could describe the way a duck waddles, or the off-balance gait of a pregnant women, but after massive weight loss, it could also describe the gait of a weight loss surgery patient.

I'm not trying to be unkind, it's not entirely unusually for some of us to have walked this way when we were overweight, myself included. And if we haven't made any effort to change our gait after losing weight, chances are we are still walking this way. 

The reason we waddled and swayed is that our center of gravity was off balance. When our center of  gravity is off balance our body tries to compensate. Our muscles or our gluteus medius, are affected by our weight—they become weak, causing us to waddle. 

This could not only affect the way we walk but also the way we sit or stand. If not corrected, this unbalance can contribute to falls as we grow older.

The key is to be willing to acknowledge that we waddle and to be willing to strengthen our muscles. Our muscles support our changing body weight differently. After massive weight loss, our muscles need to be strengthened. Then we will have better balance and better posture and our waddles will disappear.

After losing weight, I had a similar problem. I was having horrific pain in my tail bone. My friend, and walking partner, suggested I see a physical therapist. She related that after massive weight loss, her walking posture was out of balance and needed correction. After physical therapy, she walked normally again.

I took her advice and made an appointment with a physical therapist. I discovered I was having pain in my coccyx or tail bone because the muscles around my tail bone were weak—my gluteus maximus. This was the source of my pain. I learned my sitting posture was also out of balance. I had to strengthen my muscles and improve my sitting posture. My pain disappeared.