Not sure I want to be an 'inspiration'

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  • Sydney0710
    Sydney0710 Posts: 61 Member
    I can't relate to having dramatic weight loss, but I really can't wrap my head around how someone telling you that you are an inspiration (meaning, a positive example) means you are somehow responsible for anything on any level. It's simply telling you how you have accomplished something worthwhile and *maybe* with your story in mind it will help the other person on their journey towards weight loss/healthier lifestyle.

    I wonder if it's not so much feeling a sense of responsibility as it is feeling a little awkward when the person can't achieve what you did -- as if you are somehow "one upping" them?
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    I know this thread is a couple of months old, but I was trying to see if anyone else felt like me. I lost 144lbs (gained 12lb back in the past 2 weeks). Every single day I hear you're an inspiration to me. Can you come talk to this group of people? How did you do it (I too get a sad, disappointed response when I say eat less, exercise more)? It's too much pressure! I still have 100lbs to lose. I'm getting to a point where I'm smaller than I've been since high school. I'm already having to deal with my own issues of what it means to be moving into territory I've either never been in or haven't been in 20yrs. I can feel myself caving under the pressure (hence the 12lb gain). If I'm not losing weight, then I don't have everyone looking at me and putting me up as the poster child for weightloss. I've got to get my head on straight to finish this, but at this moment I don't know how.
    You need to keep in mind that any pressure you're feeling is self-manufactured. No one else is going to live and die by how many more pounds you lose. As far as those asking you to speak about your success, if it were me, I'd brush them off and downplay my success in a manner you're pretty much already doing. Say something like "There's no secret. All I've done is eat less and move more. Anyone can do it if they put their mind to it."

    By the way, congrats for your success thus far. I sincerely hope you discover that you like the new healthier you.
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