Eating Disorder Support Forum banner
  • Important - Please Read This website may include conversations, media, and content around topics relating to eating disorders, trauma, addiction, and mental health. Please be aware that this content may be upsetting, difficult, or triggering for some. EDSF is intended as a place of safety. If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, Feast-ED.org is a resource that lists the organizations set up to help.

How do you deal with people asking about your weight loss?

545 views 18 replies 17 participants last post by  érable  
#1 ·
I never know how to respond to... "have you lost weight?" and I know a lot of people love that question but I hate it because I worry that people will say something about my eating habits. How do you guy respond to... have you lost weight? Or comments on your weight/weight loss. Do you like it or hate it? The only reason I like it is because it validates weight loss a little bit for me.
 
#2 ·
If it's my mum asking then I freak out since it's typically followed up by "get on the scale, let's see if you lost" since I'm supposed to be in "recovery". For other people I usually just feign ignorance and say "oh really? hmm I think it's just stress, uni is eating up my life". That usually does the trick.
 
#4 ·
I straight up agree lmao. I'm in a healthy range, and I only rarely eat alone and I leave evidence I ate if I do. I tell people I'm trying to be healthier and lose a little bit of weight. Most people don't ask anymore questions after that. If they ask why I am, I just say that I gained a bunch of weight last year (true), and I'm just trying to get back to my normal size/weight/whatever range. No one is going to go further than that in questioning, and if they do, they automatically become the weird one in the conversation.

I find being honest/saying white lies is the easiest way to avoid awkwardness. Even if they don't think I need to lose more weight, I'm not skinny enough people who don't know my issues are going to stage an intervention lmao
 
#6 · (Edited by Moderator)
I had someone at work the other day say to me that I was getting far too thin. She then proceeded to ask if I was eating (I said yes of course). She then asked how many calories a day I eat. When I said I didn’t know she didn’t believe me. The thing is this whole encounter was uncomfortable but I actually really enjoyed it as it made me feel validated. I keep telling myself that I’m too fat to have an eating disorder even though I’m currently being treated for one. So she actually made me feel good about myself for once.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stuckinreverie
#13 ·
Because I'm normal weight, if it's someone I haven't known for long (like a work colleague) I just go, "Ooooooh really?" as though I hadn't noticed, and then laugh, "Well about time, I've been meaning to lose weight forever! Maybe I should weigh myself again and see!"

lol
 
#16 ·
I really over emphasize how much I'm going to the gym. And under emphasize how much I've lost. So like, I'll have my gym bag with me and tell my friends/family "I'll be back in a couple hours, going to the gym". And when people ask how much I've lost, I pretend it's less than it really is. That way it seems more convincing that I'm losing it the "healthy" way. Though it reality nothing makes me lose like fasting ...
 
#18 ·
I both like it and hate it. I like it because I want people to think I look smaller/thinner. I’ve been making the effort (mostly failing) so it’s nice to hear BUT... I hate it because I honestly haven’t lost that much or enough! And it just makes me think about this damn weight plateau and how I’m ever going to gain control to lose more and work out to get a better shape. It just makes me think of all these things. I know that under my clothes, I don’t look like I should. I’m scared to gain anything because now I know people thought I was overweight. Trust me, I can tell. And they were right.....and around and around my mind goes.
 
G
#19 ·
I say some bullshit about macros and how changing mine led to increased muscle density but fat loss and blah blah blah "now I look thinner but I"m the same weight I swear"... people generally don't know a thing about macros so the lie works