Disclosing previous fatness to new ppl - Question!

AshinAms · July 2011

Hey everyone,

Quick question for those who have lost a lot of weight - do you tell new people that you meet that you were once morbidly obese/very overweight?

I moved a couple of years ago and have new neighbours. They know I'm trying to lose weight at the moment and yesterday I let on that I had already lost 40 kilos before I met them.

They were horrified - I could see in their faces that they were trying to work it out and failing. And these are nice people that I really like! My boyfriend was also horrified the first time I told him that I'd lost so much weight. I showed him photos from before and he found them very distasteful (which I can empathise with as I also found them very distasteful), but still. Lots of people who didn't know me before seem to react like that, whereas people I did know seem to be quite proud of what I've achieved.

So do you own up or not?

Interested to know!!

Gary1977 · July 2011

Fantastic question. I'm still in the process of losing my weight, but I understand your dilemma. My starting weight was 665lbs:sad: :blushing: . I now weight 520lbs and still have a long way to go. When people ask how much I have lost, I'm a little hesistant on telling how much that is. I'm proud of what I've done, but yet ashamed of what I had let myself become.

LushLoni · July 2011

Previously I lost 56lbs before I met my then boyfriend. I had told him I had lost weight but it didn't seem to register. Then he found a picture of me as I had been and was quite clearly repulsed!

It's a funny one - I think it depends on a person's relationship with their weight as to how they will accept your own story. I think people who have never struggled with their weight and never had weight issues find it more difficult to be empathetic towards someone who has.

leslturn8 · July 2011

I showed my boss the picture on the left of my profile picture and she looked at me appalled, saying thats not you! She's proud of where i came from and others should be too, we all come a long way and we should be proud of ourselves and let everyone know of the struggle.

Leanne1795 · July 2011

Goodness! All that hard work and not be able to brag a bit! Nope! I intend to tell everyone I meet until I get banished from the planet for boring everyone! Be proud of your achievements! :happy:

CassieLEO · July 2011

Its weird for me because people say "You have lost SO MUCH weight" and you "You look so much better and healthier". It makes me wonder how horrible I must have looked for people to say such things. Makes me wonder if I had rosy colored glasses on the whole time and didnt see myself for what others saw me as....

Simply_Christine · July 2011

I only tell people who know me and have noticed a change. New people however I don't normally tell unless they mention wanting to go on a diet to lose weight and I start telling them about MFP and how much weight I have lost.

babylemonade · July 2011

If the topic came up and I was close to them then I guess I would share it. I have a long long way to go though. I only hope no one reacts in a horrified manner. I mean, I don't think I have an amazing figure, but I don't think I'm that disgusting...

My boyfriend is on MFP as well, and he actually has no problem with the way I look right now. I'm just glad he finds me beautiful, because if I got a new boyfriend and he saw an old pic and reacted that way...I can't help but think I would be quite turned off by it. Like, what if we had a baby and I gained a little weight. Would he be less attracted or horrified at me? He probably wouldn't admit it, but he most likely would be. And something like that would bother me as much as being overweight would.

I think it's a huge achievement for someone to get fit when they had trouble with it, rather than be born with a high metabolism and no problem with overeating. It makes you stronger..

CMH24 · July 2011

I do... I get some looks of complete horror and some looks of amazement. When I say I used to be fat, some just say "no, maybe chubby but never fat" I think it is hard to be gone for so long and them to not see it. I had some people not recognize me before too. People I've known since i was just a little kid. I still tell them. I'm proud of it. I don't just blurt it out but if we're on the subject of health and weight loss or something then yeah.

lovecola06 · July 2011

I am too embarassed about how much weight I gained to fess up. I really don't tell anyone how much weight I've lost when they ask. I say that I lost track of it because of the pregnancy or make an excuse or change the subject. I get tons of compliments from people who genuinely would like to know how many pounds I've lost. One person told me today that I looked like a new person! I just hate admitting out loud that I ever let myself get to be overweight in the first place(BEFORE ever having babies!)...:blushing:

mamagooskie · July 2011

I have disclosed my weight loss to many people but never really got a bad reaction or anything.....most people are just shocked to know that I basically lost an entire adult human being and have nothing but compliments or congratulations for me.

DontThinkJustRun · July 2011

Depends. If it comes up, yeah a lot of times I'll fess up. For a couple reasons A) I'm proud of what I've done and

Maybe it shouldn't but this journey has become part of who I am and defines me. So it will often slip out not point in hiding or denying it. It also helps to make me look more knowledgable if we're discussing diet LOL

purpleprose · July 2011

I haven't really told people I've just met, but I've had colleagues, professors, random people in the school hallways, etc, come up to me and tell me how much better I'm looking.

I try and take it as a complete compliment but there's always that "dude, so you're saying I look like donkey dung before?" in the back of my mind. It's not like I am unaware that I was really obese, but sometimes calling out my success has that twinge of awkwardness about it.

Also, and this is unrelated, has anyone else noticed that losing weight is kind of like being pregnant? People just feel like they can ask you anything about it and it's okay. For example, a colleague asked how much weight I've lost to-date (80 pounds) and then asked how much more I wanted to lose. Now, I don't mind sharing, because I still want to lose more, but I was a little affronted. What if I'd been done? Or taking a break? I try to take it all in stride, but it can be touchy.

bellinachuchina · July 2011

I tell people when healthy living comes up in discussion, or my eating habits are commented on. I don't think I was ugly before, just fluffier

, so I have no issues with talking about all of my hard work and giving tips :flowerforyou:

prplhaz300 · July 2011

Actually, telling people that I used to be normal sized and gained all this weight over the years with pictures to show it has the same affect. It makes people realize that anyone is at risk, that it's not cuz we're lazy or stupid...life just got away from most of us. I think it's a case by case decision.

christine24t · July 2011

I haven't had this question come up yet, but I like reading the responses. When people have commented on my body, I'll say thanks and if they asked, I would definitely tell. But I haven't had to come out with it yet.

KarmaxKitty · July 2011

bump

Disclosing previous fatness to new ppl - Question!

Replies

Categories