Weird looks and questions when I explain how I lost weight

I sometimes play up the "keeping a diary" aspect, because people really do seem to need some sort of magic bullet that's more than just "eat less move more." I feel like I'm giving them that by telling them measuring and recording everything kept me on track. Unfortunately I think what a lot of people really want is the magic bullet that takes no effort on their part...and while my weight loss was simple in terms of what tools I used, it really was hard work to remain consistent and jump back up every time I fell. As I put in my profile quote: "Losing weight is easy math and hard work."

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I usually said "I did it the old fashioned way - eating less and exercising". Sometimes they just say "oh good for you" but most of the time I get that strange look.

The best one was about 3 years ago, I went to a happy hour with a bunch of former co-workers and everyone complimented me and later the conversation went back to asking how I did it. So I told them I started in WW and then found this great website. There was a hint of that strange look but they at least feigned interest so I told them I'd email the link to them the next day and offered my help if they needed it. After I sent my emails, I never heard a peep back.

As a lot of the previous replies have pointed out - I think most people just aren't ready to make that commitment and are hoping you'll tell them about some magic pill or shake or something.

I've not lost 100lbs, but just last week a family friend asked me how I was losing weight. She got a weird look when I told her I was just watching what I eat and started exercising, and mentioned MFP. I don't think it was that she didn't believe me, but rather disappointment that it wasn't some magic solution that would instantly solve all of her weight problems too.

I think you hit the nail on the head here.

Turns out the answer is simply: Discipline.

I tell them I downloaded an app on my phone. It is fun to see the reaction. What app? How much? Do you just leave the phone in your pocket all day and it causes you to lose weight?

HAHA... They are imagining how the fat is magically sucked out by the phone

I've not lost 100lbs, but just last week a family friend asked me how I was losing weight. She got a weird look when I told her I was just watching what I eat and started exercising, and mentioned MFP. I don't think it was that she didn't believe me, but rather disappointment that it wasn't some magic solution that would instantly solve all of her weight problems too.

I think you hit the nail on the head here.

Yep. Everyone wants to imagine you did something that required little to no effort and when they find out it is the exact opposite they are disappointed. It may also be a little bit of self reflection on their part. "Am I really just eating way too much? Is that why I'm overweight?" Yes. I have a friend who sadly tells me she can't do what I'm doing and that she really doesn't eat that much so she doesn't understand why she's overweight. I mentally calculate what she's eating sometimes and she clears 1500 calories by lunch and is completely sedentary.

Alot of people are lazy and just want everything handed to them on a plate in this world.

At work, I used to get all the "Oh what's the matter with you, it's only a piece of cake" rubbish. I work in an office with a lot of people and it is someone's birthday nearly every week, so even when I'm maintaining I don't have a peice at every birthday!

I never once got a "you look great" or "well done for loosing" I know it was all jelousy, because ALL of them need to loose weight and they know it, but keep trying the same old weight watchers thing, spending hundreds of pounds on their products, some of which are proven to be a con.Suprise suprise, none of them have worked. Because their failure is they cheat, and then winge about how fat they are. (sick of hearing it I really am)
Yes I know some people are successful on Weight watchers diets, but seriously, if they have the right mind set, then they could of done the same thing on normal food for half the price and their own set of scales. But I guess that some people are not that strong and need a big helping hand all the way. So whatever, up to them.

I think it's like quitting smoking, if you are not ready and dedicated in your mind, nothing will ever work.
I have offered all of them help and showed them MFP, but guess they are not interested.

The thing that bugs me, is I feel bad now when I say "No thanks, I need to loose a few pounds before my hols, because my fav clothes feel a little tight and I won't be happy in my bikini" because the look I get is just evil.

Why should I feel bad for sitting there day after day, month after month with them waiving food under my nose and making me feel like an outcast for not stuffing my face all day long, like them. I worked bloody hard, with no help at all. (apart from my husband working out exercise routines for me and being really supportive )

I am truly an obese person trapped in a slim persons body now, I loooove food, I love talking about food, I love cooking and I love eating. I really look forward to meal times, sad I know...but it does mean every day requires willpower.

Sorry. went off on a bit of a tangent there!

I always say that I have no secrets, it's just eating less and moving more, nothing new ! And then, like you, they look at me like they're waiting for me to confess I had lap band surgery. tant pis.

I got that all the time...when my response to the "how did you lose weight?" was I ate less and moved more. Some people would lose interest. They wanted to hear that I did it on a fad diet or took a miracle drug. They don't want to hear that I worked for it. What gets me now, is that after 5 years, people ask me when I am going to stop dieting.

Sometimes people will think you are hiding a sickness that is making you lose weight...but I agree that eating less in itself will let you lose plenty over time.I started to walk too,not real far...maybe 1 mile every day.That is when I noticed the scale moving but it took weeks/months.

Most people do not expect that others have any more will power than they do and so the honest answer is not what they are looking for. I've had people start the conversation by asking if I have been sick since I have dropped some weight. They really don't want to believe getting healthier is within their ability.

Its funny how people are always surprised that counting calories and exercising works.

Its like they expect the answer to be something else. Like you're going to say "I found a lamp on the beach, rubbed it 3 times and this genie popped out!"

Everyone knows that limiting calorie intake is how you lose weight- yet no one wants to believe it when you tell them that's how you did it. I've found that when people notice my weight loss and I tell them how I dropped almost 20 pounds they want to give me some BS advice- like "You should try that South Beach Diet- that'll make you lose tons of weight." And this is usually coming from someone that is very out of shape, yet contends that they know the secrets to weight-loss, and just chooses not to practice them.

Now that summer is coming to an end and I am returning to work (I am a teacher), more and more people seem to be noticing my weight loss (strange in itself because I had lost 90% of my weight before summer break but maybe its the new wardrobe or tanned skin) and are asking what I did?

I keep it brief and say "honestly I just got control over my eating and keep my calories below 2000". I'll mention that I use MFP to log everything, and occasionally workout and try to get some cardio a few times a week.

People seem to expect something more radical. I get all kinds of strange looks like I'm holding something back or something..

How do you guys explain it to people? Do you notice the same thing or is it just me? It seems they want to know a secret or something, and are disappointed that I don't have something more profound to say. I would really like to hear from those of you that lost a lot of weight. My weight loss wasn't dramatic and some people don't even notice it. Dying to know how someone who lost 100 lbs by counting calories feels about the reactions people have to their explanation of how they did it.

You probably gave them more of an explanation than I would. Just say "it wasn't hard. I took control of what I eat and drink and I made sure I started moving around more and working out, and I tracked both to make sure the numbers were what I thought they were."

Of course, this will make some folks mad because they want to be told you took a pill or got sick. Anything that does NOT imply that we have total control over our weight.

I'm quoting a fellow MFP friend here...working on what I eat, and what I do, EVERY DAMN' DAY!