What do you think of fat people after losing weight?

The biggest issue that I've personally seen is that some become "snobs" to others that haven't lost weight. That because they lost weight, that they on a "higher level" than those that didn't. They'll criticize how others eat, when a few months ago they were eating the same way.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I think people are people, and there can be SO MANY REASONS that i don't know about for someone to be fat or untidy or dressed strange or acting cranky or whatever that I no longer assume that "If they only did it MY way, or the way I suggest, they'd be right"--so many people have illnesses, pain, financial difficulties, abusive households, personal stress and issues, that it can all add up to suffering that can manifest in a lot of ways--

It's a reminder to me of where I was, and how unhappy I was with all the excess weight. I don't think any more or less of them than this.


People do not ask me how I've done it (or am currently doing it). Those who really want to know, I've already told them. The rest don't really want to know.

I used to be very thin. Before I gained weight, I had no idea what it was like to be fat, or to watch what I ate. My weight gain was caused by insulin resistance coupled with two pregnancies. I have just recently started to lose weight (like last week lol) now that we have realized that insulin resistance is the issue. I am only about 40 lbs overweight. My husband, however, is considered obese with a BMI of 34. I can see the depression in his eyes when I say "I lost another pound" or "I lost two inches off of my waist". He actually talked about it this morning that he thinks he is doing the same as me but not losing any weight. The thing is, as I explained to him, that I made drastic changes in my life. I do not drink soda, where he does on occasion. I consciously stay away from refined carbs, where he does not unless I say something. The point is that just like his tobacco use, I do not think he wants it bad enough yet. They need support but they have to do a lot for themselves at the same time. I also have an underactive thyroid but am still doing it. Some chronic illness can hinder weightloss, but some also get better with weightloss. As a nurse, I see obese individuals coming in day in and day out wanting another pill for what ails them but complaining about the number of pills they take and the side effects of them. The physicians even tell them, "If you could lose even 10 pounds, you would feel so much better". They just have to find their own motivation!

Until I go to my grave maintaining at my now-healthy weight, I won't judge.

Because until that day arrives, I could gain it all back again meaning I'm no better nor worse than anyone else who struggles to lose weight.

Quote for the win! :drinker:

I try not to judge, because I'm still overweight. Everyone struggles from time to time; everyone has personal issues, whether it be laziness or a medical condition, etc. What I don't like is when a heavier person consistently complains, but doesn't do anything to change. That person used to be me until I changed my attitude and kicked myself in the butt. I don't necessarily judge by weight, I judge by attitude, I guess. Overweight, content, not complaining? Fine by me. Overweight, unhappy, complaining? Not so fine. When there's a will, there's a way...it may take different amounts of time, but I think a lifestyle change is possible for anyone who desires it. One little step at a time!

I think everyone fights their own battles on their own timeline and for their own reasons.

I agree.
I got fat because I was just overwhelmed. I had a full-time job and two babies who were both very high needs (then three...then four...) At home, I went from changing diapers to nursing a baby to trying to pull a toddler out of something she shouldn't be into to folding another load of laundry to cleaning up another spill to dealing with a tantrum to dishes...Dinner was whatever I could throw together in 15 minutes. I was mentally drained at the end of the day. And maybe a bit depressed?
At work, it was 12-hr shifts as a nurse on my feet constantly...lunch was whatever I get whenever I could get it. I just didn't take the time to stop and think about it.

My life is still just as busy. But somewhere along the way, I learned to adjust to chaos and lack of sleep, to juggle and multi-task. It isn't easy. I in no way look down upon others who haven't figured out how to make it all work yet.

I try my best not to judge. Like maybe people on here I am still considered obese even though I have lost over 60 lbs and recently ran a half marathon. But if someone just saw me on the street I probably just look like another fat person. We don't know people's stories just by looking at them. We don't know where they have been or what they have struggled through. As someone who has been overweight since I was about 8 years old I know what it's like to not be in the right space emotionally to lose weight. I was severely depressed for a long time and it was a struggle to just get out of bed much less put forth the effort to exercise and eat right.

Although sometimes when I do see an obese person struggling to do a basic task like walk across a parking lot there is part of me that wants to reach out to them and tell them how much better and easier life is when you aren't 100+ lbs overweight and that they can do it if only they try. But that would be weird, so I keep my mouth shut.

I've been thinking about this for a long time...

I've lost 60-65 lbs...I'm 5' 11" I wasn't the largest person ever, but the difference is night and day of how I used to look. I went from size 42 pants to 34 (32 will fit, but i like my clothes loose)

Every time an obese person that I've known for a long time sees me...they ask what my "secret" was...

I tell them I try to eat better, I stopped drinking booze and soda, I joined a gym, and I bike ride. I tell them I have a spare bike and they are welcome to join me whenever...

Their eyes glaze over...

Then they proceed to tell me about their thyroid, marketing by high fructose corn syrup companies, their bad back, irritiable bowel syndrome, their hang nail, cooties or whatever other BS, imaginary condition or affliction is preventing them from even making an attempt at eating better or doing SOME exercise.

I know that in my case fatness was due to my laziness...I think the same holds true for %99.9 of fat people...but they just aren't willing to admit it.

This is true. To lose weight a person must really WANT to shed the excess, if they don't have the will, they will never succeed.

Regarding underactive Thyroid sufferers, I am not applying this to you, you have a bonafide medical condition affecting weightloss.

I think for me, it was a combination of factors. Laziness, on top of medical problems, lead to a downward spiral.

When I first started eating better and working out, I didn't see any results on the scale or in my measurements. It took MONTHS to see anything happen. However, I was starting to feel stronger. It was a very slow process to regain control over my health, but it happened.

It's not easy, and for some of us, it might be harder than it is for others or harder than it used to be when we were younger, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth doing.

Hard work almost always pays off in one way or another.

I was skinny. Not as a kid, I never allowed myself to get fat but I was chubby as a kid and I always was on guard after that to not let my figure slip. I worked hard at it. I kept my figure until I hit 30. I went on a birth control shot that I am pretty certain, now, caused me to be unable to drop weight, I worked out a ton. I ate properly and less than properly (1000 cals for a month at a time), I fasted and cleansed, I busted my tuchas, My weight would stay the same within 3 lbs or just go up, my stomach distended my feet and hands often bloated from water retention and then I would just get sooo discouraged. Doctors said lower your calories, losing weight is harder as we age. I hated how I looked I hated that I couldn't fix it. For me 200 lbs may as well have been 800lbs I wore it badly, my knees hurt, my back ached. I don't know why some folks can lose with a thyroid disorder and some can't and lots of thin women were on my same meds with no issue. I admit that I did want an easy way out, because I had run so many times at the "hard" or "smart" way out and maybe I just wanted to know it was a failure sooner rather than later . In my journey I gave up on myself so many times. I felt like such a loser. I started to over eat massively...I went through several bouts of depression and one day just decided that not getting knocked up and having my cycles regulated might not be worth it and even though the doctors swore my weight loss could not be blamed on my birth control I stopped the meds. A year without that injection and I lost 5 lbs from having a bad cold. It was the first loss I had managed in 5 years and I cried actual tears of joy. I am losing steadily now and my bloating and distention is a thing of the past.

I felt like a failure, like a sloppy lazy idiot. I have never been so helpless. People said to me many cruel and hurtful things when I was fatter. I felt like I deserved being spoken to that way.
I heard everybody's opinions on what I should try next
I had my food choices questioned constantly by people just trying to help
I was told that I should continue with major calorie deficit even though I had no energy and dark circles under my eyes because it would "get easier" and "there were no fatties in concentration camps"

I will never forget this experience. I have grown as a person from my time spent trapped in my own body and I will not hesitate to call out someone being a self important meany again.

Congrats on your success.