General chatter Because life isn't just about dieting. Play games, jokes, or share what's new in your life!

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 06-23-2006, 07:19 PM   #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
willmakeit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 330

Talking did you see any changes?

did you see any changes with how the world deals with you after you've lost weight? any funny stories?
willmakeit is offline  
Old 06-23-2006, 07:50 PM   #2  
Senior Member
 
Glory87's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: San Diego
Posts: 6,192

S/C/G: 190/140/135

Height: 5'7"

Default

I have one

I was picking up an out of town co-worker for dinner in downtown Seattle. She was staying at the W which is a lovely hotel downtown, but the lobby is really dark. We had met a couple times previously, but she hadn't seen me since I lost 70 lbs and cut off my waist length curly hair.

My coworker is Japanese and she told me she would be waiting for me in the lobby with my other coworker, Abbie (who is Australian). I have met Abbie MANY times and I knew exactly what she looks like. So, I was expecting a Japanese woman and Abbie to be together, waiting for me to be picked up.

There was no parking, so my friend circled the block while I ran into the W to get Yukiko and Abbie. There were two women sitting on the couch, both were Asian. I THOUGHT one was Yukiko, but I had only met her a couple of times and I hadn't seen her in over a year (and I expected her to be with Abbie). I approached a little diffidently and said "hi." The woman stared at me like a crazy person and I thought OHMYGOD I am saying hi to the wrong lady, this is not my Japanese coworker. I mumbled something about "wrong person" and ran around the corner to the phones to call up to her room to tell her I was waiting in the lobby.

Suddenly, I heard someone say my name and it WAS Yukiko, she hadn't recognized me! Abbie was still up in the room changing and Yukiko was waiting with a third co-worker who I didn't know was joining us for dinner.

It might not sound funny but it was funny all night with Yukiko going on and on about not recognizing me and making fun of me for running away from her.
Glory87 is offline  
Old 06-24-2006, 02:14 AM   #3  
Constant Vigilance
 
BlueToBlue's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Fremont, CA
Posts: 2,818

S/C/G: 150/132/<130

Height: just under 5'4"

Default

I do a lot of public speaking in a relatively small industry, so many of the same people have been coming to my presentations for the past 10 years or so. They've seen me slowly get bigger and then, in the past nine months, get quite a bit smaller (at this point I weigh less than when I started in this industry--I've gone from a size 14 to a size 6). It's interesting how people respond to it. Some people don't say anything at all. Some people will come right out and ask if I've lost weight. And some people will just sort of hint around about it (say things like "gosh, you look different, have you changed your hair?") until I 'fess up.

And while all the attention and compliments are a great confidence boost now, they are also a little scary. I was recently at a yearly conference that I've spoken at since 1996. Lots of people told me how great I look and wanted to talk about what I'd done to lose weight. One woman told me she was watching everything I ate and trying to eat the same things (which was sadly misguided on her part, because I wasn't even trying to stick with my calorie plan ).

But here's the thing--I've only been at this for nine months and I haven't even gotten to maintenance and now I feel like I have all of these people watching me. I keep thinking, gosh, if I don't succeed at keeping this weight off, all of these people are going to know I've failed. And while some of them are good friends that I'm sure would think only generous thoughts, that's not the case for all of them. In fact, some are people who I know already don't think charitably of me. And many are people that I just don't know that well and normally wouldn't share intimate details of my life with. I mostly try not to think about it, but there are moments of sheer panic.

Well, this turned out to not be such a funny story...

- Barbara
BlueToBlue is offline  
Old 06-24-2006, 02:55 AM   #4  
Senior Member
 
LiLLy19's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Washington
Posts: 561

Default

I havent really lost much but I have a funny story from a week ago.
I was at a concert and theres this guy that I met there. He's a freind of a freind. At that concert there were a few local bands there (who I happen to be really good friends with). One of the bands, the lead singer is chubby. Not fat or obese just chubby. Well this new guy that I met is skinny. And we were talking and he kept referring to different bands and how fat they are. I looked at him and said "Why do you keep talking about fat people?" His reply was "Because I think that fat people are lazy!"

Then I looked at him and said "So you're going to talk about me next?"
He gave me the most bewildered look I have ever seen and said "BUT YOU'RE NOT FAT!"

If that doesnt make my day, I dont know what will!
LiLLy19 is offline  
Old 06-29-2006, 04:01 PM   #5  
hara hachi bu
 
phantastica's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,294

Thumbs down Unsupportive Friend

About two years ago, one of my closer friends lost sixty pounds. I was a complete cheerleader for her, regularly telling her and others how great she looks. I was at my top weight at this time.

She has since gotten married, had a baby, and is now at HER top weight.

I was talking to her recently about my weight loss (which I hadn't mentioned at all to her, so it's not like she was sick of hearing me wax on about it), about how much I'd lost and how much more I wanted to lose. She said that I should "love my body as it is" and not worry so much about societal pressure to lose weight. I was also saying that I lost a bunch and was in a bit of a plateau. I knew WHY I was plateauing, I'd gotten a little lax and let a few too many unhealthy choices slip into my diet. She told me, "OR, it's your body saying that it doesn't want to lose any more."

I felt like she was being a bit of a hypocrite, after I'd been so encouraging of her loss.
phantastica is offline  
Old 06-29-2006, 04:53 PM   #6  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
willmakeit's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 330

Default

Thats amazing! I remember when a bus driver stopped me and wouldnt let me go in because he said that I wasnt the same person in the Id picture... I had to show him my University Id (lucky i had that) just to confirm!

I blushed big time when he complimented me after that!(this was when I had lost 40 lbs long back, I gained some back thats a different story but I want to be there again)

willmakeit is offline  
Old 07-02-2006, 12:42 AM   #7  
~Believe~
 
Sassy_Chick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Paradise
Posts: 4,071

S/C/G: XXX/-155/140

Height: 5'3

Default

First, Congrats to all of you "Losers"! I think that is great!
Second, back when I lost weight I definately was treated differently. It was the beginning of my Sr. yr. in HS. I walked in and mouths dropped! Even the "cool" kids came up to me telling how amazing I looked!

to Everybody and to those who may need it right now! (I know I do!) lol
Sassy_Chick is offline  
Old 07-02-2006, 04:49 PM   #8  
Blonde Bimbo
 
almostheaven's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 2,984

S/C/G: 250+/144/135

Height: 5' 4"

Default

I hadn't seen my parents in years. So after losing over 100 pounds and flying in for a visit, I tried to keep the grin off my face as I walked up to the baggage claim watching them standing there craning their necks to spot me. Dad finally recognized my face staring right at them, but mom was still looking right past me. LOL
almostheaven is offline  
Old 07-02-2006, 06:30 PM   #9  
hara hachi bu
 
phantastica's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,294

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by almostheaven
Dad finally recognized my face staring right at them, but mom was still looking right past me. LOL
Ha ha ha, that's classic! I bet that was funny.
phantastica is offline  
Old 07-02-2006, 06:38 PM   #10  
Senior Member
 
Misti in Seattle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Springfield, Missouri
Posts: 8,802

Height: 5'8.5"

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by phantastica
She said that I should "love my body as it is" and not worry so much about societal pressure to lose weight.
Oh that is such CRAP!! I really doubt whether anybody really "loves their body" when they are fat. If they do, fine; more power to them... it ain't gonna be me LOL.
Misti in Seattle is offline  
Old 07-03-2006, 01:13 AM   #11  
Senior Member
 
Lyria's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Australia
Posts: 902

S/C/G: 176/143/138

Height: 5'7

Default

I remember the first time I went back to my home town after losing about 50 pounds - I walked off the bus and similiar to almostheaven - my dad walked straight past me! He had to do a complete double take.

I come from a small town, you know the kind, everyone knows everyone else, and so everywhere I went I had the same reaction. No one knew who I was :P

The best bit was going out and seeing all the guys I went to school with (who wouldnt have given me the time of day) jaws hit the floor.

Ahhh...that was a sweet sweet moment.

Liv
Lyria is offline  
Old 07-05-2006, 08:56 PM   #12  
Junior Member
 
MissaMe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 29

Default

You talk about jaw dropping moments!!!!!! Honey if I could have snapped a pic of my ex with his jaws on the floor....It was so worth it. Darned man couldn't even look at his daughter for staring at me. She was like, Dad I'm over here! And he said oh, yeah honey. What happened to your mom?? She hasn't looked that way in years.....HAHAHAHA

It wasn't the stories of the here and now, but the journey to get to where I am was a hard lonely road. It is sad that you come to the realization that some people in your life just want you to stay fat just to boost their self esteem. What is worse, is that most of these people are related to you. My journey involved just not sharing with my best friend in the whole world what I was doing because she wanted to lose weight before me. And would sabotage me at any cost. Isn't that sad??? In order to be successful, if people in my life had negative tendencies, I stayed away.
But once the weight was gone, man o man.....jaws dropped, jealousy and envy surfaced, just the whole gamet of idiocracy that ranged from the hysterically funny to just plain "hatin." Most people recognized me but then played 20 questions in determining how I went from a size 28 (looked more like 32) to a size 18 (looks like a 14). Is that natural? They would ask...there were whispers that ..oooo she had gastric bypass.....I even had one idiot come up to me and say you know the word is around the company that you had cardiac bypass and I said what?? I thought she just mispoke. So she repreated it and I said oh, okay. Well, tell everyone that my heart is fine and so am I. I just didn't even attempt to correct her ignorance. I've even had people wait on it to fail or backfire...Needless to say I felt like like Star Jones.
It is a lonely life struggling to lose weight, whether it be a "medical intervention" as Star would say or you just starved yourself into a size two. What matters is how you feel about you. When I look in the mirror now I am happy. I feel ALIVE for the first time in years. I didn't lose the weight for anyone other than myself. I go up and down now, but I don't beat myself up about it any more nor have a defeatest attitude. You know you've done well when you think twice and sometimes three or four times before diving into Haagan Daaz (cause Lord knows that butter pecan is good!!!) or eating a fully loaded baked potato.... The ability to talk yourself out of it is gratifying.
MissaMe is offline  
Old 07-05-2006, 08:59 PM   #13  
Junior Member
 
MissaMe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 29

Default

Blue....Ido understand. Mycoworkers are doing the same thing. But every now and again I throw them a curve ball and just eat something just plain ole fattening and they get totally upset with me about what I'm about to do to my body....It is funny.
MissaMe is offline  
Old 07-05-2006, 09:27 PM   #14  
Blonde Bimbo
 
almostheaven's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 2,984

S/C/G: 250+/144/135

Height: 5' 4"

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by MissaMe
It wasn't the stories of the here and now, but the journey to get to where I am was a hard lonely road. It is sad that you come to the realization that some people in your life just want you to stay fat just to boost their self esteem. What is worse, is that most of these people are related to you.
I know how that one goes. My mom is one of the most jealous creatures to walk the face of the earth. Her most recent endeavors? She's joined Curves and dad is a diabetic. So why would you think she's stocking her kitchen counters with German chocolate cake, cinnamon rolls and sugar cookies, and her freezer with fudgesicles and dreamsicles? The little comments she often makes weren't enough, so she's trying a new tactic.
almostheaven is offline  
Old 07-06-2006, 02:10 AM   #15  
Senior Member
 
Misti in Seattle's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Springfield, Missouri
Posts: 8,802

Height: 5'8.5"

Default

Have to say I am fortunate I guess... both my co-workers and my friends at church and other places are SO supportive... even the skinny ones! People at work notice because they see me out walking every break and lunch hour, plus my weight loss is really starting to show! Several people at work are also trying to lose weight so it is a very supportive atmosphere.

I had a "problem moment" recently though which is "typical" when I am fat... but which turned into an "okay" one. This Saturday our group is helping at a city festival where we have a "reach out" booth and stuff. We were told to all wear white or light shirts/T-shirts and long or crop jeans! Yikes! Like I HAVE jeans or a white shirt that fits anywhere decently enough and doesn't make me look like a cow! I admit I even considered ways of trying to back out without saying why except LOL my leader is also a very close friend and she would know in a heartbeat. BUT... here is the neat part... I came home and started desperately trying on stuff... AND I found something "passable" that fits... out of the "too small" stuff! So my distress moment turned into a yippee one.
Misti in Seattle is offline  
Closed Thread


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:59 AM.


We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.