[Lovely]

I don't even know that "living off cereal" would necessarily be considered starving yourself. (After all, I'm sure plenty of us here could eat cereal and eat too much of it.)

What a strange thing to say to someone.

It'd be like if you're eating an apple one morning, and someone says "So THAT'S how you're doing it, you're only eating apples." Yes, one day you eat a single apple, and suddenly that becomes your "trick" to losing weight.

Sometimes people just don't think things through.

[Mariposa24]

Ignore dumb comments...my MIL was full of them last night...

[tuende]

I think the most frustrating thing about these types of comments is that they totally dismiss ALL of the hard work that goes into losing weight. It's not one thing, it's a hundred things we do to make it through the day. Then a hundred more tomorrow.

I get little backhanded comments from family members all the time (most of my family is overweight)- sometimes they don't even say it directly to me, but just snidely announce things like "Oh, well, you know she won't eat that!" like it's going to be such a problem for everyone if I don't eat a bite of every dish they're serving. They honestly have NO CLUE about how I decide what I will/won't eat, and base their assumptions on whatever they think is bad for "dieters". They say a lot of things that belittle the effort that I'm putting in, about how I exercise too much, eat too little, am silly for passing on certain foods, etc.

I guess the good news is that what other people think or foolishly say has nothing to do with my weight loss efforts. I just keep my mouth shut, my head up and continue to do my thing!

[christine123]

Originally Posted by tuende

I think the most frustrating thing about these types of comments is that they totally dismiss ALL of the hard work that goes into losing weight. It's not one thing, it's a hundred things we do to make it through the day. Then a hundred more tomorrow.

Yes to this. That's the most frustrating part is that it is so much more work behind the scenes than any of these people will understand unless they begin the process themselves. It's simple, but not easy. Especially when every single day, I have to make tons and tons of choices surrounding food, primarily due to the location/job type I have, and that's not including staying social with friends which surrounds food more often than I'd like it to. I am happy to be on this journey because it's worth it, but not easy by any means. Not for me, at least. Very well said.

[KatieC87]

Thanks for your comments, everyone! To say I'm glad you understand is wrong because I really wish none of this existed. Losing weight is hard enough without having to shoulder the comments of people who want to make themselves feel better by making you feel worse. But I am glad that so many of you have found constructive ways of handling these situations for yourselves. (AriesNV I WISH I had your spunk. I do agree with you, but I often avoid confrontation, especially in the workplace, because the end result isn't worth the war that precedes it. Had she said it in a social setting, that would have been a different story.)

I'll be thrown back into the thick of it tomorrow when they order crappy food for lunch and poke at me for not eating with them. It seems like it's a constant battle to keep this lifestyle change up when so few people in your actual life support you. Thank goodness for places like 3FC where I can find all kinds of people going through similar situations.

As always, thank you all for the support.