So I finally had first hand experience......

AlanaTedmon

kendalslimmer wrote: »

Yep, eating less and exercising are a serious turn off to most people - they just sound like too much work. Now if you'd said you'd starting eating more grapefruit or taking a multivitamin... lol

I think they just haven't had much success themselves and prefer to just not care. They're paying you a compliment and want to leave it at that.

parkscs

AlanaTedmon wrote: »

sjaplo wrote: »

I was at a strata meeting last night and there was someone there who hasn't attended since June. After the meeting he said I looked like I had lost some weight. I replied that I was down 22lbs since Jan.
"Oh, what are you doing?" says he.
"Eating less and moving more." says I. To which I could see the interest in his eyes fade. So I elaborated "I'm closely watching what I put in my mouth and exercising regularly."
Nope all interest was gone - I had no magic bullet. "I said thanks for noticing, have a good night."

People are weird.........

I don't think he actually wanted to start listening to a long description of all the work that went into your losing some weight... I hate it whenever anyone asks my friend Johnathan how he's lost so much, he takes off into a really boring half hour lecture on food portion control and the kind of gold gym products he owns and uses regularly. He also feels inclined to show phone pictures of his personal progress...

I've noticed that some of my heavier friends who suddenly lose weight become a little frighteningly enthusiastic about the new programs they get onto... It's kind of ironic since I stalk these forums but I purposefully avoid those topics sometimes because bringing it up means you're committed to that conversation for awhile.

I think you're 100% right on this. I find forums like this are good for talking about this stuff, but in my experience the rest of the population could care less about your exercise routine and your macros. It's not that they are looking for some sort of magic bullet or would be more interested in your fad diet - they just really don't care and would prefer to talk about something more interesting.

And the other reason to avoid those conversations is most people have a pretty poor understanding of basic nutrition and exercise science, and you're left choosing between playing along and trying to hide your thoughts on what they're saying, or explaining why they're wrong. Neither option makes for great conversation.

Kalikel

He may have just been trying to strike up a conversation and felt rebuffed when you made the "eating less and moving more" comment.

AlanaTedmon

parkscs wrote: »

I think you're 100% right on this. I find forums like this are good for talking about this stuff, but in my experience the rest of the population could care less about your exercise routine and your macros. It's not that they are looking for some sort of magic bullet or would be more interested in your fad diet - they just really don't care and would prefer to talk about something more interesting.

And the other reason to avoid those conversations is most people have a pretty poor understanding of basic nutrition and exercise science, and you're left choosing between playing along and trying to hide your thoughts on what they're saying, or explaining why they're wrong. Neither option makes for great conversation.

Right, this is exactly where I like to vet my feelings about my personal progress and get ideas about diets and exercise regiments. It's a pretty easygoing place where everyone is pretty interested in what works for other health-conscious individuals but this type of demographic is not the vast majority by any means.

You sometimes have to gage your audience.

I tend to avoid this stuff entirely with my family and friends. Whenever I tell anyone I'm on a diet they start freaking out, "You don't need to go on a diet!! HAVE A PIECE OF CAKE, clearly you are starving yourself!"

girlwithcurls2

I tell people I make it a point to eat 4 Jr Mints every day after lunch. The BS people will assume (I **do** eat the Jr Mints, but I also track my food and exercise...)

llUndecidedll

I haven't had this experience, yet. I've had co-workers point out that I look slimmer and brighter and congratulate me on my progress (which I don't care for---comments on weight loss/gain), but they don't ask what I've been doing as far as weight loss.

I agree with the others. I think the asker just expects the answer to be more exciting, that's all.

MelodyandBarbells

Kalikel wrote: »

He may have just been trying to strike up a conversation and felt rebuffed when you made the "eating less and moving more" comment.

I... Agree with this I think

I get more of a discussion when I say I'm counting calories using MyFitnessPal. "Oh is that that app where you load in all the food you eat and it gives you credit for exercise? No way!" There's all kinds Of things you can um... "Push" in a conversation like that if you want. The phone app and how accessible it can be, etc. Still, people aren't necessarily interested in your life story when they ask this question, but move more eat less could be taken to be a tad santimonious since everyone knows that's what needs to happen to lose weight. If they're truly curious I think they might want to know what made it click for you, and MFP and any specific exercise, for example, which you've grown to love is a fairly specific ace in the hole

DiabolicalColossus

Depending how I feel, I tell people one of these:

-Tapeworm
-Methamphetamine
-Heroin
-Speed

And so forth.

I find it way more amusing to mess with people who clearly are paying me lip service and mistakenly thinking that I'll appreciate it.

sjaplo

JaneiR36 wrote: »

Kalikel wrote: »

He may have just been trying to strike up a conversation and felt rebuffed when you made the "eating less and moving more" comment.

I... Agree with this I think

I get more of a discussion when I say I'm counting calories using MyFitnessPal. "Oh is that that app where you load in all the food you eat and it gives you credit for exercise? No way!" There's all kinds Of things you can um... "Push" in a conversation like that if you want. The phone app and how accessible it can be, etc. Still, people aren't necessarily interested in your life story when they ask this question, but move more eat less could be taken to be a tad santimonious since everyone knows that's what needs to happen to lose weight. If they're truly curious I think they might want to know what made it click for you, and MFP and any specific exercise, for example, which you've grown to love is a fairly specific ace in the hole

I'm going to have to disagree with both these comments and fall on the side of he lost interest because I wasn't doing some fad diet that he could emulate. We had been in a meeting for two hours - striking up a conversation wasn't necessary. We were on our way out the door.

I also disagree with "...since everyone knows that's what needs to happen to lose weight." They don't - or they don't want to believe it - otherwise the diet industry wouldn't exist.

In previous yoyo sessions with weight I've made the mistake of talking about the process, whether it's low glycemic, low fat high carb or mfp. The animosity and comments I got from friends and family were at times puzzling, and at other times hurtful. This time I've been quiet for 10 months and I promised myself I wasn't going to discuss it unless someone was genuinely interested in learning what seems to be different for me this time.

I'm sure someone will eventually cross that threshold, but this wasn't the time.

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish

I used to think its ironic nobody is interested in the real answer unless its something "sensational" too. But, the big problem is, if people are genuinely interested, they want something they can "take with them" to do themselves. "Watching what I eat" is not something you can take with you...what is that exactly? How? Within what rules? Wait I watch what I eat and I'm not losing!...and then the myriad of questions that you get on this site that happens daily must be talked about and answered. But this was a quick question to be social most of the time, not a lengthy interview, so even if you want to ask these questions, you cant really and this kind of discussion can't happen. So, interest fades.

MelodyandBarbells

sjaplo wrote: »

JaneiR36 wrote: »

Kalikel wrote: »

He may have just been trying to strike up a conversation and felt rebuffed when you made the "eating less and moving more" comment.

I... Agree with this I think

I get more of a discussion when I say I'm counting calories using MyFitnessPal. "Oh is that that app where you load in all the food you eat and it gives you credit for exercise? No way!" There's all kinds Of things you can um... "Push" in a conversation like that if you want. The phone app and how accessible it can be, etc. Still, people aren't necessarily interested in your life story when they ask this question, but move more eat less could be taken to be a tad santimonious since everyone knows that's what needs to happen to lose weight. If they're truly curious I think they might want to know what made it click for you, and MFP and any specific exercise, for example, which you've grown to love is a fairly specific ace in the hole

I'm going to have to disagree with both these comments and fall on the side of he lost interest because I wasn't doing some fad diet that he could emulate. We had been in a meeting for two hours - striking up a conversation wasn't necessary. We were on our way out the door.

I also disagree with "...since everyone knows that's what needs to happen to lose weight." They don't - or they don't want to believe it - otherwise the diet industry wouldn't exist.

In previous yoyo sessions with weight I've made the mistake of talking about the process, whether it's low glycemic, low fat high carb or mfp. The animosity and comments I got from friends and family were at times puzzling, and at other times hurtful. This time I've been quiet for 10 months and I promised myself I wasn't going to discuss it unless someone was genuinely interested in learning what seems to be different for me this time.

I'm sure someone will eventually cross that threshold, but this wasn't the time.

Actually the more caring coworkers may attempt to have an actual conversation with you about your life after spending an hour nitpicking over the drudgery that may be our day to day jobs. Sometimes we just walk back to our desks afterwards. Other times we may attempt to strike conversations about our hobbies or what's going on in our lives on the way out. A one of two hour meeting does not preclude the possibility that they just wanted to have a nice chat

Oh and while I generally would not ask people about their weight loss at work, I definitely would not do it in a professional meeting in a room full of people!!!

RHachicho

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish wrote: »

I used to think its ironic nobody is interested in the real answer unless its something "sensational" too. But, the big problem is, if people are genuinely interested, they want something they can "take with them" to do themselves. "Watching what I eat" is not something you can take with you...what is that exactly? How? Within what rules? Wait I watch what I eat and I'm not losing!...and then the myriad of questions that you get on this site that happens daily must be talked about and answered. But this was a quick question to be social most of the time, not a lengthy interview, so even if you want to ask these questions, you cant really and this kind of discussion can't happen. So, interest fades.

I second this the person probably wanted specifics. Simply saying what you said might have seemed like condescension. People who are big and don't like the fact that they are big tend to be a bit self conscious about it. If someone asks again tell them you calorie count and go into a bit of depth about how you exercise. I am sure many people would be more interested then.

sjaplo

SoLongAndThanksForAllTheFish wrote: »

I used to think its ironic nobody is interested in the real answer unless its something "sensational" too. But, the big problem is, if people are genuinely interested, they want something they can "take with them" to do themselves. "Watching what I eat" is not something you can take with you...what is that exactly? How? Within what rules? Wait I watch what I eat and I'm not losing!...and then the myriad of questions that you get on this site that happens daily must be talked about and answered. But this was a quick question to be social most of the time, not a lengthy interview, so even if you want to ask these questions, you cant really and this kind of discussion can't happen. So, interest fades.

You make a very good point!