2 Questions you get when you lose weight

lsgibbs83 wrote: »

Oddly, or maybe not oddly, there are a few that question whether I will be able to keep up with the "diet". To those I tell them it is not a diet. It is a way of eating that I will be able to maintain for life.

+1 (same here)

SteampunkSongbird wrote: »

before discovering mfp, I personally would've been delirious to hear I could eat whatever I want while sitting on my butt and still lose weight!

Haha - yes, this! I'm 12lbs down, with at least another 39 to go to be within a healthy weight range again.. my biggest issue is portion control, or rather lack of it, however since restarting on MFP I'm remembering how easy it is to lose weight whilst still eating my favourite foods. Tonight I had a (healthier version) roast dinner and a crunchie with a hot chocolate afterwards, and I am still 100 calories under my target for the day

Be proud of your achievements - to echo what everyone else says though, it is personal and if someone asks you and you don't want to give them an answer in weight, you could always just say "I prefer to focus on what I've gained... confidence, fitness, health, etc" or say you've lost enough weight to be healthy again

vinegar_husbands wrote: »

A simple and easy way to answer: "How'd you do it?"

ahah. i love this so much.

I used to get those questions a lot before I updated my ID so I matched. People always want to know what I eat. Food. I always ate food. Now I just eat food differently and cook more. I went to Vegas with a friend and thoroughly dispelled any notions that I don't eat... but I move a lot more now. Of course everyone wants the magical answer - surely you had to do something special to lose the weight, right?

I also have no problems telling people my starting weight (340) and current weight (140). but that is probably why they think I might have a more magical answer.

I got a lot of people who assumed I had the surgery, because we are a quick fix kind of country so then they really want to probe on how I did it.

I love the ones where they say "You don't need to lose any more weight" and "You are getting emaciated"... (Understand that at the time, I was about 240 lbs and still considered obese by BMI standards.. People have such a distorted view of a healthy weight.

The two questions you mention are:
1. "How much have you lost" -- A natural curiosity... They want to know how much you have lost... They have noticed your hard work is paying off and this should be a good thing and an encouragement...
2. "How did you do it" -- This is where they are hoping in their hope that you have some magic potion and easy way where you continue living life as you always did and it just suddenly starts coming off... the preferred potion is of course one that requires no change in action and intake and is cheap or free.... They don't want to hear the truth here... "Diet and exercise"... And to keep it off.... a lifestyle change... You can never do again what you are doing now... You have to continue the lifestyle forever... It has to be permanent... Things can never be the same again... if they return to what you are doing now, you get the same results you have now... Commitment... Not what they want to hear.

I think most people are pretty well aware that if you eat less you will lose weight. That's relatively obvious. So if you tell them "I ate less" the response is pretty much going to be well duh. Or just not wanting to hear it, because yeah it's not so helpful.

I think people want to know HOW you ate less. Because hey 6 months ago I knew I was supposed to be eating less and couldn't find the will to make it happen.
When people ask I tell them that I found it really helpful to log food (because as anybody who's lost weight pretty much knows, it's usually an eye-opener) and started working out VERY SLOWLY and have worked back up to moderate exercise.

Once people know that, hey it isn't that hard, baby steps, it takes a while (I always tell them I have been at this since June, because the way people notice you losing weight looks like it was really fast, regardless if it was 1 lb a week or not)...they are more hopeful. I've got a couple of people at work on the bandwagon, which is a great feeling.

I am usually asked what my secret is, and that really annoys me because there is not secret.

A coworker of mine asked me if I was still doing my extreme diet. I'm currently on my weight loss journey but have a ways to go. I just smh'd. Extreme dieting was what I did to gain all this weight over such a short period of time! Losing it is a matter of changing my lifestyle and staying active. Nothing extreme about that!

I love telling people how much I've lost!

The first 50 lbs I lost - nobody noticed. When you're way overweight I guess it's just a matter of degree so I remember being thrilled when people started noticing. After the next 40 lbs or so the questions/comments kept coming to the point where I was embarrassed with talking about it. Something that strikes me is that NO ONE ever mentions your weight or appearance when you're fat. Then when you lose the weight suddenly your weight and appearance are THE ONLY THING anybody wants to talk about!

Like everyone here I get the "how did you do it" followed by the disappointment when I say ride my bike every single day and eat a lot less and track every calorie. It just seems so awful, when you're stuffing your face, to envision a life that is enjoyable while eating less. But now I never want to go back, my only struggles are how to make these changes permanent and watching like a hawk for signs of "backslide."