Is it the weight loss or is it confidence?

IremiaRe wrote: »

But, when my clothing size dropped to something like 22 it was like I appeared out of thin air. Suddenly, people held doors, made eye contact and spoke to me on the street.

I firmly believe it has to do with the deeply buried human instinct to fear the different and to cling to the familiar.

When I was really large, I was outside of most people's concept of "one of us." They didn't know anyone that large... they had no frame of reference. When I dropped down into a size 20-22, suddenly, I stopped being significantly different from most people. I was relatable.

These were my exact thoughts as well, but expressed much better than I could have achieved

I think of the confidence vs. appearance question in a two-dimensional spectrum kind of way. Everyone likely falls predominantly in one of the quadrants. I think @IremiaRe made a critical observation though - data outliers in any direction will experience a more extreme effect.

I think if you start out with a lower amount of weight to lose -- say, 20% of your total body weight -- then a confidence level change likely is more impactful socially. When you have over 50% of your body weight to lose, it's more about appearance.