Things people say when you lose weight

hallobailey

Weight loss is a very personal journey but it inevitably draws comments from the people around us. I’m curious, what kind of comments have you received related to your weight loss? Good, bad, frustrating. Here are a couple for me...

Good: “You are looking fit”
Frustrating: “you don’t have any weight to lose” or “don’t get obsessed with your new diet”

seltzermint555

My favorites:

"You look great!"

"Did you play/do you coach X sport at that college?" (I get this almost every single time I wear something with my alma mater on it and I LOVE it because I was sedentary and pushing 300 lb during college)

"You look athletic now, I can tell you must work out a lot" (funny because I am the walking/hiking type, not a huge exercise fiend honestly)

"I didn't even recognize you, you look younger!"

My least favorites?

"You're disappearing"

"Whoa, skinny mini!" (this coming from a size 2 person is very annoying. coming from someone bigger it's annoying as well - but less so)

"I didn't even recognize you" (concerned/shocked face that doesn't seem like a positive)

"KEEP IT UP!" when I'd gone down MANY sizes was pretty upsetting to me. Years down the road, I have realized that people generally mean well, but it bugged me. For me that sounds like "you're looking better but not acceptable yet!"

sundaylouwho

I'm at the beginning of my journey and only down 4-5 lbs. The comment I received yesterday was:

"Don't lose too much. I can already see that you're thinner. You don't want to get too skinny."

I'm 5'2" and around 150 lbs (mostly fat). Ideally, I want to get closer to the high end of the healthy BMI stat OR shed some more fat and gain some muscle. Hearing that comment felt so negative! I feel really good about the little bit I have lost, but I still have some fat around the midsection that I'm working on losing.

Spadesheart

I feel like a lot of the "you're going to get too skinny!" comments come from people who aren't really ever going to see you without a shirt.

I dress well, and dressing well as a man with the blazers and what have you really obscures the form a bit, so while I do get that every so often, I get it. You have much more intimate knowledge about your journey than others might. Depressing as that mirror can be sometimes.

I do get "something is different about you" sometimes, and I do find it amusing, because either that's either because I shaved my beard and people just noticed, or the weight. Same for "I could definitely tell, you can see it on your face."

IremiaRe

The best comment I ever got was from a co-worker - not one that I really was particularly friendly with - but he pulled me aside and said that people were noticing my efforts and I was doing great.

1BlueAurora

Best comment: "You look great!" I say thanks, feel like my hard work is showing results, and move on with my day.
Weirdest: "You've lost weight. Is that intentional?" Friend has a look of grave concern, then asks if I'm battling cancer. I reassure her that I'm healthy, go out for a run, and wonder whether I look ill to everyone around me.

suzannesimmons1

Erm this weight loss it is on purpose??

lkpducky

My husband was hugging me the other day when he drew back, somewhat startled: "Are you getting smaller?"

PrincessTwista

I've lost over 5 1/2 stone but still have a BMI of 29. People are CONSTANTLY telling me I've lost enough now, that I'll look ill. That I can't possibly hope to lose nearly 21/2 stone more as it will make me ill.

Erm you go tell my doctor that. He thinks I need to keep going and work on getting to a BMI or 25. You know.. The healthy BMI for most adults.


I also get the "oh a bride on a mission!" Actually it's just one day in July when I started my weight loss 3 years ago..

I know people don't know what to say but don't say anything if you have nothin nice to say!!!!

MikePTY

Honestly pretty much all of the comments I get are positive. I don't like in the US so it may be a cultural difference. Everyone here is pretty much always on a diet in their minds, whether they are in practice or not. My weight loss seems to be pretty noticeable to most people I know, so I've been getting a bunch of "wow, you look great", "looking skinny", or "you've lost a lot of weight". The most positive stuff comes from my wife though, who is always praising my weight loss and how good I look constantly. So it's been a pretty positive journey.

I think the only semi negative stuff I used to get was comments like "you can't eat that, you're on a diet" when I would eat things that were "unhealthy" in their minds but fit in my goals. Now that I've lost the weight though those comments have pretty much stopped because I think they realize what I am doing is working.

jonason62

Others: “How have you lost weight?” Me: “by eating fewer calories than I burn off”. Others: “Oh that calorie counting is a load of rubbish” or “you don’t want to lose any more weight”. Me: “well I do, actually, I have another 7 lbs to lose”

RunsWithBees

(I come from a Hispanic background where it’s considered acceptable and perhaps even desirable to be overweight in some circles)
Them: “But you didn’t look bad when you were fat!”

Me: “Maybe, but I felt like crap!” Not to mention I had various obesity related health issues and was well on my way to more. Sometimes it’s not just about looks!

whmscll

Since I usually only have 10-15 pounds to drop each time I undertake this effort, most people think I look fine just the way I am and say as much. I find this super frustrating, so I have learned to simply not tell people I’m trying to lose.

dhiammarath

MikePTY wrote: »

Honestly pretty much all of the comments I get are positive. I don't like in the US so it may be a cultural difference. Everyone here is pretty much always on a diet in their minds, whether they are in practice or not. My weight loss seems to be pretty noticeable to most people I know, so I've been getting a bunch of "wow, you look great", "looking skinny", or "you've lost a lot of weight". The most positive stuff comes from my wife though, who is always praising my weight loss and how good I look constantly. So it's been a pretty positive journey.

I think the only semi negative stuff I used to get was comments like "you can't eat that, you're on a diet" when I would eat things that were "unhealthy" in their minds but fit in my goals. Now that I've lost the weight though those comments have pretty much stopped because I think they realize what I am doing is working.

I do live in the US, but my experience has been the same in regards to people around me being positive/encouraging. No one comments on what I eat, though, which is a plus. XD

Dgil1975

Good comments are, your looking good, what are you doing as it’s working

Annoying comments, are don’t get to skinny like you were before as it’s not healthy.

I’m getting the annoying more often than I would like. I was skinny for like a year of my life 11 years ago when I got completely hooked on long distance running. I weighed 170 which is a healthy BMI for someone my height, but I had never been that skinny in my life so it was hard for people that knew me to see me like that. I guess I should say that I have no intention of going to that size again, but I can’t be bothered

sam33a

'You used to be sooo scarily fat! Never return to that weight.' Sadly, I regained most of the weight and now feel even more miserable knowing what people must be thinking.

manderson27

Friend "Look at you, you have lost a ton of weight"
Me "Yeah its slow but getting there, still have a way to go though"
Friend "You don't want to lose anymore it's ageing you"
Me "Not worried about how old I look just need to get the weight of my joints because of the Arthritis"
Friend "Really? Oh ok then"
Me as I walk away "Eye roll"

This from a work colleague who knows I had to give up working due to the pain. Who also is very overweight even though she had a gastric band fitted several years ago. Who is always trying to lose weight and complaining that she can't.

I have never told her that her tattoood lip liner and eybrows are ageing her. But I might....one day

maronesax1972

Someone asked me if I was sick.

Elliott_Son

I live in the American south so i get some pretty funny ones: "s*** boy you gon dry up and blow away" "you're wastin away on us brother" and my favorite: "where's the other half of ya!?"

rossbaker2_sc

Snoopy_OnALude wrote: »

I live in the American south so i get some pretty funny ones: "s*** boy you gon dry up and blow away" "you're wastin away on us brother" and my favorite: "where's the other half of ya!?"

One of my friends told me a mutual friend saw a profile pic I put on FB recently and asked him where the other half of my face went.

Uhhhhh....thanks?

gallicinvasion

“Wow I didn’t recognize you!” “You’re looking great!” “Are you done now?”

gallicinvasion

“Hey, skinny!”

RelCanonical

"You're really slimming down!"

"I noticed you're looking thin. Is that okay to say?"

Both were positive, from coworkers. (: Nice of the second one to check to make sure it was a good thing that I was losing.

JohnBarth

"You must feel so much better!" Well, I was pretty fat and happy and wasn't really feeling poor, but kicking my own *kitten* in the gym and exercising a lot wears me out. I guess I'm feeling better but never felt bad to begin with.

JohnBarth

Another, "You must have so much more energy!" Well, yes, I think losing weight does give me more energy, but I'm using all of that energy in the gym, so no, I'm actually pretty exhausted at the moment, but thanks for your compliment.

Catho36

I’ve had “what have you done to your face?” Loudly by a work colleague (ps found cheek bones), “you’ve lost weight, you’ve not got cancer have you” said bluntly and not with concern from a medical colleague, when I replied no he said in a happy tone, so have you been doing CrossFit? Some people!, most have been positive comments, and mostly now I like freaking people out as I’ve changed my hair, lost 103lbs, people who I’ve not seen for a while don’t recognise me until I speak, I forget sometimes and think why are they blanking me lol

seltzermint555

JohnBarth wrote: »

"You must feel so much better!" Well, I was pretty fat and happy and wasn't really feeling poor, but kicking my own *kitten* in the gym and exercising a lot wears me out. I guess I'm feeling better but never felt bad to begin with.

THIS! I didn't think about it when writing my response but yes. I have always had a lot of energy and felt good when I was even 100 lb heavier...it was really only the first 30-40 lb (of total 130-ish loss) that did improve how I felt. But of course I got those comments more like in the last 20 lb of loss. Annoying.

LiLee2018

"Don't lose too much weight or you'll be cold all the time!"

"Oh, you're still on your diet?"

After asking me about my diet.. "Oh I could never do THAT."

lkpducky

That expression "you don't want to ___" drives me nuts. Are you inside my head, knowing what I am thinking? what that expression really means is "I don't want you to___".

ginjennie

I used to get wow you look great to an ex colleague not recognising me at all and introduced himself to me, quite funny. On the frustrating side another ex work colleague used to comment that I was disappearing and always seemed to lecture me on what I was eating. This same person was very over weight.

seltzermint555

lkpducky wrote: »

That expression "you don't want to ___" drives me nuts. Are you inside my head, knowing what I am thinking? what that expression really means is "I don't want you to___".

Definitely. I don't think I've ever had that one said to me personally but I agree. I know a lady who trains others at a gym and she loves having very large, defined muscles. I know when she first started her current lifestyle & exercise habits a lot of people would say things like, "Watch out girl, you don't wanna get too muscular" and she was like, "Excuse me? I sure do" and post pics of female bodybuilders. I thought it was awesome.