Thought I was ok but lost confidence from a simple comment

spaghetti93

This may seem like no big deal to most people, but I am recovering from an eating disorder and just recently started gaining a positive body image. But yesterday I went to a physician (not my usual one) for a standard checkup and while she was pressing on my stomach, she said that I have a "nice, soft, belly". I was shocked that she said this and interpreted it as her telling me I have a lot of belly fat (I'm no stick, but I'm in the middle of my healthy weight range). This has always been the area I've been most self conscious about and I guess it stung me enough to still be thinking about it, especially since its the opposite of what my friends have been telling me (that I look great, that i've lost weight, etc.). I guess I'm curious if anyone else has had any sort of similar experience, and how do you deal with these minor comments that end up affecting you more than the person who said them ever imagined? A couple of weeks ago I thought I was finally happy with myself and started teaching myself to eat naturally without logging everything I eat, but now I feel like going back to square one.

MyOwnSunshine

I think you mis-interpreted what the doctor was saying. When the doctor is palpating your abdomen, they are checking your internal organs for swelling, distension, malformations or tumors. What she meant was that she did not find anything abnormal, as a "soft" abdomen would be healthy, and a rigid, distended, painful or malformed abdomen would be reason for concern.

She wasn't commenting on your weight or muscle tone. She was commenting on the results of a general assessment performed by most health care practitioners. :-)

spaghetti93

This is what I told myself, as it really is the obvious reason she would say this, but I guess I couldn't help but revisit my old mindset of interpreting everything negatively. thank you so much for your reply, it really helps.

spoiledpuppies

She was likely commenting more on your organ health than fat. (If anything, be glad you're trim enough that she was able to feel things!)

mjrkearney

Woohoo! You don't have an inflamed appendix or an enlarged spleen! No major surgeries ahead for you!

But yeah, it happens on just about anything. I can be rolling along just fine and one little thing will knock out my feet. it sucks, but you just have to dust yourself off and move on.

amberxy

The exact same thing has happened to me!! I momentarily felt like crying but I am comfortable enough with my doctor to ask what she meant, and she said she couldn't feel any hardness or lumps in my abdomen.

Please don't let it derail you. I understand it seems a big deal, but you will be able to move past it just like you've moved past everything you've been through.