"you look sick"

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marioalberto1
marioalberto1 Posts: 142 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Has anyone dealt with people telling them they look sick after losing weight? I heard this comment more than a few times recently. I find it odd since I've lost the weight slowly over 2.5 years while also putting around 10-15 pounds of muscle.
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Replies

  • Ramatang
    Ramatang Posts: 28 Member
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    Yep I get that.. And what makes it worse is that it's the people that told me I need to lose weight in the first place. They now say don't lose anymore you look sick... What is wrong with People ??
  • marioalberto1
    marioalberto1 Posts: 142 Member
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    don't lose anymore you look sick...
    Heard that too.
  • wheird
    wheird Posts: 7,963 Member
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    It is just something you're going to have to deal with. People associate drastic weight loss with medical issues like cancer, HIV, etc, so seeing someone they know lose a great deal of weight makes them concerned. It is just their way of letting you know that they care about you.

    Just smile, laugh it off, and assure them that you're fine.
  • tinypastels
    tinypastels Posts: 32 Member
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    I think weight has become such a taboo subject these days, with more people needing to lose weight, and most people wishing they were thinner themselves....it's easier to say "you look sick" than to give a genuine compliment. I've been stuck on this myself, I've said it jokingly not knowing how to compliment guys in particular. For the record, in those situations, it was when we were passing by each other so I had to say something quick,and wanted to just get a conversation started about it. It wasn't at all meant to say "you look bad" but just to state the obvious, you look different (and in my head, "in a GOOD way!") But its harder to say that now, than say it was even 10 years ago.
  • j6o4
    j6o4 Posts: 871 Member
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    Maybe they meant you look sick in a good way, kinda like "That car looks sick!!!!"
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    Yep I get that.. And what makes it worse is that it's the people that told me I need to lose weight in the first place. They now say don't lose anymore you look sick... What is wrong with People ??

    I hear that sometimes. And I still have plenty of weight to lose.

    But people have skewed perceptions on weight based on their own personal issues and the overall trend towards obesity in society around them. When everyone is fat, then the skinny person looks abnormal.

    Take it in stride and keep doing what you're doing.
  • nytrifisoul
    nytrifisoul Posts: 500 Member
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    I hear it almost every day by my nice old lady neighbor. Apparently thick men was a good quality back in her day.
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
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    Do you often hear this from people who are themselves thin? Or is it more from people who could stand to lose a few pounds? :huh:
  • gregpack
    gregpack Posts: 426 Member
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    Yep, never had a lean person tell me that. Most of them were at least 30 lbs overweight.
  • drenergy
    drenergy Posts: 112 Member
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    Maybe they meant you look sick in a good way, kinda like "That car looks sick!!!!"

    Hahaha nice. My mom looked terrible after weight loss but that was because she was eating almost no carbs. She looked like a zombie and then fell off the wagon anyway. Yikes. But I doubt very much that this is the case for you, especially with putting on muscle. Sometimes people just get weird about things.
  • marioalberto1
    marioalberto1 Posts: 142 Member
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    Do you often hear this from people who are themselves thin? Or is it more from people who could stand to lose a few pounds? :huh:
    Both, mainly from people who are overweight, but sometimes from people who are not overweight but don't work out.
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
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    Do you often hear this from people who are themselves thin? Or is it more from people who could stand to lose a few pounds? :huh:
    Both, mainly from people who are overweight, but sometimes from people who are not overweight but don't work out.

    Ah. Sounds like a case of "you're making me look fatter by comparison, stop that." :huh:
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
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    Do you often hear this from people who are themselves thin? Or is it more from people who could stand to lose a few pounds? :huh:
    Both, mainly from people who are overweight, but sometimes from people who are not overweight but don't work out.

    Ah. Sounds like a case of "you're making me look fatter by comparison, stop that." :huh:

    Yep.
    Coworker: You should stop losing weight, you're starting to look sick!
    Me: You should start losing weight, you've always looked fat!
    <wait for reaction>
  • mooseman71
    mooseman71 Posts: 11 Member
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    I've heard that myself, usually if I've lost a good chunk or weight since I last saw that person. I have seen people lose weight and wondered if they were ill. Usually it's if they've lost a lot of weight in their face or a lot of muscle mass. I would never worry when someone was trading fat for muscle though.
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    Losing 80 pounds and moving from obese to normal size is a dramatic physical change. Face, neck, shoulders, etc - entire body has shrunk. You don't look like you.

    If you've been fat your entire adult life, nobody has seen the real you before. Shocking change = "maybe he's sick".

    Anyway, see what people who meet you (i.e. never knew the fat you) think. They probably won't think "sick", because they don't have that previous frame of reference, and you just look normal to them.
  • Phoenix_Warrior
    Phoenix_Warrior Posts: 1,633 Member
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    Right there with you. My dad used the "a" word on me the other day.
  • kowajenn
    kowajenn Posts: 274 Member
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    There are people who look terrible after big weight losses. Look at Al Sharpton these days, or even Al Roker right after he lost his weight. Al Sharpton looks sick and Al Roker does not look good.

    I think sometimes these comments are made from jealousy or a warped sense of correct body weight. Sometimes, though, people do go too far with their weight loss and they do look sick. If you don't, ignore the comments. If you think you might, be introspective.
  • MysteriousMerlin
    MysteriousMerlin Posts: 2,270 Member
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    Not those exact words, no, but my manager has asked me three times this week if I'm feeling ok (her way of saying 'you don't look good' :laugh: ). The funny thing is, I actually feel better this week than I have in a long time. More energy, more relaxed, happier.

    Edit: Just thought, maybe she's not used to seeing me happy! LOL
  • aubyshortcake
    aubyshortcake Posts: 796 Member
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    Someone asked me if I was on drugs. That was nice.
  • CharChary
    CharChary Posts: 220 Member
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    I have. I have learned to just ignore such comments. I think they just think we look DIFFERENT and that is there way of putting it more or less.

    annoying, but whatever. I feel fabulous.

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