Originally Posted by saef (Post 2648413)

Prepare for a deluge. After the more observant people start noticing, the dimmer ones do eventually, too. Others are likely to have noticed already, but they might still trying to be tactful & they're still not sure how to raise the issue when they see you. Wait till you wear something new. Your haircut could do it, too.

It goes in phases. You could probably chart it, like early adopters & outliers:

1) The observant notice & say something.

2) The less observant notice & speak up.

3) The truly dim & tactless notice & have their say, coming up with remarkable things you'll likely want to share in the forums with us.

4) Even the self-centered notice.

5) It's a general topic of conversation at your workplace, school, church & etc. Sometimes you're in on it; sometimes you're not. But know that there's buzz out there about you.

6) A backlash begins. At this point, you look so good that you shake up the social pecking order. Some people start to feel threatened & competitive. Catty remarks may ensue. You may also want to share those here with us.

7) People get used to your appearance. They may forget what you looked like before. If a picture of you turns up from beforehand, people will marvel, but generally, the compliments & remarks will die down. (A big secret: You may actually miss them. You may wonder why they're not as frequent as before.) You may think you've been forgotten, but you haven't been. You have simply entered local lore at the office & etc. as a sort of phenomena: The girl (woman) who lost LOTS of weight. Your day will come again: Wait till New Year's resolution time.