Feeling a little anxious about new attention and compliments

Terriwin

Well, the time has come where people around me are truly noticing the weight I've lost, so I'm being bombarded with compliments, questions, and gazes. I didn't expect to feel this way, but I feel really anxious about the attention. With the exception of the support I am receiving here at MFP, my weight loss journey has been sort of private. So, I'm feeling some pressure to normalize the attention/compliments and respond to questions such as "what are you doing?" I guess since I'm still figuring it out for myself, I'm not all that prepared to respond.



Anyhow, just wanted to share that. I was wondering if anyone else had similar experiences and felt pressure of living up to weight loss success. :embarassed: I want to process these emotions so that I don't begin to self-sabotage to avoid more attention.

KellyEsparza

I've had to train myself to smile back and say, "Thank you" when I get compliments... And when people ask me what i have been doing I am very quick to tell them about MFP. Try not to be anxious, allow yourself to acknowledge that you are looking noticeably good! Take the compliments graciously... you have worked hard for it!

mageepilot

I am planning on saying to "Have you lost weight?" Thank you, I'm working on it.

Any compliments - Thank you! And say it with meaning.

For me this is a self esteem issue. I will readily believe any negative comment, while have trouble believing a compliment. So this is my way of trying to change that. I will act as if I believe it and then hopefully I WILL eventually believe it.

So that's awesome you are getting compliments! Great job!

silhouettes

My neighbor keeps poking her head in questioning me.. how do I loose.. what do I eat.. how long did I walk today.. what do I weigh now?

It's nice she notices.. but answering her questions every week gets tiring! I am still finding what works for me to.. even though I have lost over 2/3 the weight I need to.

I tried explaining this website and counting calories but she stares at me like I'm nuts and continues drilling me on my exercises and asks me why she walks for so long and she doesn't loose anything? I am sick of telling her about calories and sodium! I try to avoid her now, lol but she caught me this evening going to my mailbox dang her!

erzille

I understand! A bunch of people at work are doing different things to try to lose weight. I get a comment everyday about my weight loss. It's a great feeling (especially since I am only about halfway of where I want to be longterm)....but it is a little uncomfortable being the center of attention that often! But hey, I feel better about myself...I'm not hiding behind baggy clothes anymore! I hope that by answering questions, maybe I can motivate even one more person to do better for themselves too!
Good Luck on your journey towards your goal!

lombrica

It took until I reached 47 pounds lost before I got any comments... and then I got about 10 of them. People were nice, but curious. Some of them seemed to expect me to say, "No" and honestly, I am not really sure what I said. I do know that I completely freaked out and screwed up by letting it become a mental block for 3 weeks! It took me 3 weeks to lose that next 3 pounds, which frustrated me even more because I was concentrating so hard on reaching the "50" mark. I decided within the last few days that I am now not going to let my mental block(s) stall my progress like that again! (well, a girl can hope and work!)

Guess what I am saying is - YAY for you... just don't let the worry/anxiety become a mental block like I did. Congrats on your loss and best wishes for continued compliments. I mean, really, this is probably one of the better struggles to have, right?!?

suzycreamcheese

just say thankyou nicely,. and then when they question you, just say youre watching what you eat and trying to exercise a bit more