I'm not pregnant!

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arachniagirl
arachniagirl Posts: 64 Member
in Motivation and Support
Much of the weight I've gained can be attributed to medications I am taking and one of the side effects is that the weight gain deposits in the belly; similar to the way a man would gain weight. I have gained a little over all but for the most part it's concentrated in my belly, so I look pregnant.

Today I am at the hospital getting my allergy shots and the nurse congratulates me. I tell her I'm not pregnant and she apologizes but the damage is done. These situations happen to me often. I have been working really hard and have lost almost 5 pounds (I'm back down to the weight I was when I started MFP); now I feel like my success has somehow been knocked down a little. I know I shouldn't let it bother me, but it does.

I suppose I can't blame people for thinking I am pregnant; I know I look like I am, but do they need to comment? It's nice of them to offer me a seat on the subway but I wish they wouldn't. I know they mean well, I just wish this wasn't so hard on my self-esteem.
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Replies

  • CynthiaAnnGA
    CynthiaAnnGA Posts: 95
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    She meant well & I know was embarrassed! Your pic. looks great. Keep going, you'll feel better!
  • weighlossforbaby
    weighlossforbaby Posts: 847 Member
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    I was walking to the trail when a guy who was standing in his driveway said "they are teenagers before you know it." I was devastated that he thought I was pregnant.
  • shierrarobin
    shierrarobin Posts: 181
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    I had a friend in high school (he was a guy) come up to me and say, "Are you pregnant?" Of course I said no, and he replied, "You look like it."

    He wasn't being a jerk or anything. He was kind of like me in that he has no brain-mouth barrier. It was a big stab at my self esteem, so I can imagine how you felt.

    But judging from your picture you are doing very well. Don't let it get to you. :flowerforyou:
  • arachniagirl
    arachniagirl Posts: 64 Member
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    You know, I'm less upset about the pregnant thing than I have been in the past, because I know I am doing something about it and I am starting to see results. Hopefully this will become a non-issue fairly quickly.

    As far as my pic goes, that is me 10 pounds lighter than I am now. I don't have any photos at my current weight. But thanks for the compliments, you guys are awesome. :bigsmile:
  • mistyladidah
    mistyladidah Posts: 210 Member
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    Boo! That's not cool! There are certain professions where I think they just forget manners for a minute....

    Once I went into a maternity store with a friend (I was pregnant, she wasn't), and the shop owner asked her when she was due... She laughed and said it was a food baby she would be delivering later that day (we had just eaten a HUGE breakfast). The owner was mortified and learned an important lesson. I could tell it hurt my friend, but at least she had a snappy comeback!
  • arachniagirl
    arachniagirl Posts: 64 Member
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    It just happened again! The handyman at my office asked me how many months along I am. It made me angry, killed my positive feelings about the weight I have lost...blah. I'm going to try to look at this as motivation - the faster I lose weight the sooner the pregnancy comments will stop.

    Again, I know people mean well but please, if you aren't 100% sure, don't go there
  • candb
    candb Posts: 238
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    I seriously don't ask people questions unless I am 100% positive they are pregnant. I had someone ask me once if I was (this was before I had kids). I also had someone ask my 55 year old coworker when she was due. Granted she carries all her weight in a ball on her belly and definitely looks pregnant, but come on .... she is obviously past childbearing age.

    Some people just need to pause and think before they speak.
  • sarahharmintx
    sarahharmintx Posts: 868 Member
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    I had a baby 7+ years ago and since then I carry a lot of my weight in my belly. Ive had people mistake me for pregnant many times since then. Its not fun but I do get a kick out of the look on their face when you say "Im not pregnant". Priceless.
  • marieautumn
    marieautumn Posts: 932 Member
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    It sucks that it happened, but dont let it get you down. use it as motivation to keep kicking butt.
    i have the same problem, all the weight i gain accumulates in my midsection and stays pretty firm making me look like i 'm with child. so unfair! i've found since i stopped eating so much bread and grain its almost completely disappeared.
  • Gioooo
    Gioooo Posts: 301 Member
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    I'd never comment about someone being pregnant unless it was blatantly obvious because I would be mortified if I did that to someone who wasnt
  • pinthin87
    pinthin87 Posts: 296 Member
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    Don't let it bother you. Some people just do not have a filter. You are doing something about your weight be proud of that! You could just keep eating poorly and not exercising and allowing people to continue to think your delivery date is soon. Remember that you are awesome don't let anyone take that from you!
  • WilliamsPeggy
    WilliamsPeggy Posts: 440 Member
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    That sucks & you're not alone. It's happened to many women.
  • thomakg
    thomakg Posts: 69 Member
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    Don't let it bother you. Some people just do not have a filter. You are doing something about your weight be proud of that! You could just keep eating poorly and not exercising and allowing people to continue to think your delivery date is soon. Remember that you are awesome don't let anyone take that from you!

    Bump
  • Brengild
    Brengild Posts: 127
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    I once heard someone say, "Never assume a woman is pregnant unless an infant is coming out of her right then!" We have all had downer days! I feel like I am losing baby weight and my baby will be 20 on Monday!
  • elliott82
    elliott82 Posts: 156 Member
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    For whatever reason, a lot of my weight gain has been in my belly area too and I even think I look pregnant soetimes too (when it's impossible that I am!). My worst moment was when I went to get a pedicure and the lady thought I was pregnant. At first I thought she was asking to be safe when giving a pedicure to a pregnant woman until she reached up and RUBBED MY BELLY. I grabbed her hand and told her "NO! I am NOT pregnant!" but it didn't keep me from wanting to kick her in the face when she did my toes.
  • Krazy_Kat
    Krazy_Kat Posts: 212
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    I am kinda looking foward to looking pregnant, I know it suck and hurts ones feelings, but I only looked pregnant when I was smaller. When I got bigger there was no chance of mistaking me for pregnant I actually looked fat. So looking pregnant is better than looking plain old fat! I wish you luck meds can mess with your body.
  • bathsheba_c
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
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    All of you, please let me apologize on behalf of my boyfriend, who did this a couple months ago to a waitress. He didn't realize until it happened that this is a bad thing to assume. And he's ultra-supportive of my weight loss, and even getting into better shape himself.

    He is very, very sorry. Please don't let him or his clones accidentally ruin your day. :embarassed:
  • IronmanPanda
    IronmanPanda Posts: 2,083 Member
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    I'm not pregnant either!
  • cmeade20
    cmeade20 Posts: 1,238 Member
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    When I was 19 I worked at a store in the mall. I had a 15 min dinner break so I went to Moes ad wolfed down a taco and went back to work. Naturally I had a little bulge from eating. I was SKINNY then and some woman came in but her hand on my stomach and asked when I was due. She's lucky I didn't punch her.
  • arachniagirl
    arachniagirl Posts: 64 Member
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    Thank you all for the support. It's nice to hear others' stories and to know I'm not alone.

    I could not believe that some people actually had others touching their bellies! That's never appropriate - even if I was pregnant, no one should be touching my belly unless I told them specifically to do so. And not being pregnant, well that is just horrendous.

    All afternoon yesterday I was thinking about my belly and trying to suck it in, Sigh

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