Peoples' Reactions To Your Weight Loss

I've already had this - and I'm still 50lb over the high end of my healthy BMI weight!!

I just smiled - told them I had a "pound or two" more to lose and carried on as before! I plan on repeating this comment as often as necessary til I get to where I want to be. It's my body - I've got a healthy target in mind. As long as I know that it's all that matters! They'll get used to the new me eventually. But who cares if they don't - I'll be too busy enjoying my new body to care!

My mom actually told me I was getting chubby when I weighed 140 at 5'6 (which is right in the middle of my BMI healthy weight range). It's so weird how different people have different perceptions.

When my mother was alive and I was losing weight, she would constantly say things like, "Are you going to be anorexic now?" As though wanting to be in the middle of my BMI while I ate healthy foods meant I was ill. It was maddening, but I know she had no real idea of how much food a person should consume to be healthy. She was obese her entire life and she was raised during the depression, when heavy meant healthy. I'm sure your family is also concerned about you, and they might need some time to adjust.

I still have not got any of these comments.

I have had people tell me I have lost enough... That was 25 lbs ago... Only you know and can control when u want to stop...

My family is the same way. I understand why, though. I lost too much in my face while still holding onto my gut, and since I don't walk around bare midriff, they can't see why I'm still determined to lose a bit more.

I believe it was Dr. Vanity Thwart* who established the law of Frustratolosis: One will invariably burn fat where one least wishes to lose it while retaining fat where one most wants it gone.


*Thwart is a surname with an ancient and respected lineage, Vanity was her stripper name when she was working her way through graduate school to get her melodramatic sociochemical nutrition engineering degree.

I have a coworker who told me the other day,"You just need to stop now! You're making me look bad!" Sadly, I think she was only half kidding.

I still have not got any of these comments.

Are you still wearing the same clothes and bras? Buy a couple new things that really, actually fit, and I bet you'll get comments.

What a great thread! I have gotten a couple comments along the way that ruffled my feathers too! However I always try and remember:
"Whatever happens around you, don't take it personally...nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves!"

We all bring our own baggage into each interaction we have with others, like everyone else has said, only you know you best, however I cringe a little at the idea of determining your personally healthy goals based off BMI. BMI is a guideline not a hard and fast rule.

I am 5'2" and my heaviest weight was 197 pounds (that I know of!) My original weight goal was to lose 50 lbs, about halfway through my first year I changed my goal to 60 lbs because of BMI--I have reconsidered...or rather, re-vamped the way I look at this healthy journey of mine.

I carry a lot of muscle, always have, especially in my short stocky legs--muscle weighs more than fat. Supposedly my high end Healthy BMI would be around the mid 130s, however today I am currently the smallest size I have been since my mid high school years 25+ years ago, yet I weigh about 15 lbs more than I did back then!

When I started this endeavor I said I wanted to be fit and healthy yet I didn't know what that meant for me since I hadn't ever really ever been fit and healthy before but I knew I would learn as I got there and sure enough I think I can see it...

So now, I have changed back to my original weight loss goal of 50 lbs which is 4 pounds away, after that I will not bother with weight I will focus only on my Body Fat Percentage and the last couple measurements (predominantly my waist and abs that are covered with a couple obstinate layers of fat )

This is what I plan to say to people who ask, comment or input their advice on my goals as soon as I reach the 50 lb mark:

"I'm not trying to lose anymore weight, I am focused now on losing body fat, once I reach somewhere between 20-25% BF then I'll start maintaining."

I've tried it a couple times already and it usually shuts people up because 1) it catches them off guard and/or 2) They have no idea what I'm talking about! :laugh:

GREAT JOB on reaching your goals! You are doing AWESOME!!:bigsmile:

I'm nearing the end of an epic weight loss journey, and getting ready to begin the new challenges of weight maintenance for a healthy life. I'm about 20 lbs. from the top end of my normal BMI weight, so my goal weight isn't very extreme. Since I've lost so much, though, family and friends tell me that I don't need to lose more, and they have a cautious tone to their voices. I'd be interested in knowing how people have handled that kind of feedback. My hunch is that some of them have never seen me at a healthy weight before, so maybe they haven't adjusted. I am 5'4", currently weight 164 and aiming to weigh 145lbs. I'm 47.

I get that all the time, and I'm 5 ft 4 and 139 pounds. I just say thank you and move on. Most of my family are fat. My beau has been very supportive, but has said I look like a different person. I tell him I'm the same person on the inside where it really counts.