:rofl::rofl::rofl:

I agree the glazed over look is amazing.

"How'd you do it?"
"Diet and exercise"
"Oh"

What cracks me up is when people compliment you, ask how you did it, you tell them, their eye do glaze over, and then they offer you food. Junk food at that. Then they seem offended that you don't want it. Hello?????

We moved recently and I don't talk about it too much, but I still get funny looks when we go out to eat with people. Eating healthy seems to be a foreign concept to most people.

Oh you are all so right.

When I first started to lose weight the bigger people in the family ( those that need to lose well over 100lbs ) wanted to know the secret. They wanted the magic pill, power or potion. When I said well, I watch my fat and calories and carbs to an extent. I now do at least 1 walking/aerobic video a day and while I let myself have a snack everyday I make sure it fits into the plan I have made for myself. I call it the "Rennie Plan" lol. Their eyes start to glaze over and by the time you get to allowing yourself a snack everyday they don't hear a word.

They don't want to hear about doing without this if you want that until it doesn't seem like doing without. It seems more like making better choices.

I never mind talking about it. Most know the weight came on because of meds. Every once in a great while someone does listen and it helps them. That makes me feel great. My niece has lost 10 lbs this year. I am so proud of her and let her know it each and every time I see her. She said you were right it isn't hard it is just about making better choices. She has learned a lesson that will last her a lifetime.

At Thanksgiving, my aunt cornered me with the "how did you do it" question. I told her (calorie counting and exercise). She proceeded to tell me about no less than 3 different "things she'd read" and gave me the following advice:

1. Drink warm water with lemon when you wake up and before bed to "detoxify" yourself, room-temperature water before meals, and ice water the rest of the time.

2. Counting calories doesn't work because carbs are more important

3. Everyone overweight should be taking a variety of supplements, including calcium, green tea extract, and Vit B-12.

And I countered her and countered her with my experiences (i lost my weight counting calories and not carbs, i drink my water room temperature at all times of day, and I don't take supplements), until I realized she wasn't interested in how to really do it, she just wanted validation of her own miracle cures. She stopped talking to me when she realized I wouldn't give it to her. The whole conversation made me sad.

Amanda, it always amazes me when people do that. They see that you've successfully lost a ton of weight, and then they try to give you miracle cures. I always want to say "Um...I think I've got it figured out, thanks. Isn't that why we got on this subject anyway, because you noticed that I already DID lose the weight??" I've had people say "So, have you tried Hoodia? That's supposed to REALLY work." Oh, as opposed to my plan, which already worked?

:rofl:

That's a great response :)

For a few years, people that I saw infrequently did double takes- one woman actually told me that from a distance, she thought that my husband had brought another woman to a neighborhood party and that she was out of the gossip loop :o

Now, having maintained my weight loss for six years, very few people even remember how I used to look, and they are quite used to how I eat. The only comment I've had lately is from a friend who saw me eating some foods that are definitely NOT on my plan and she just commented "I didn't think I'd see you eating THAT!". I chose to interpret it as just a comment rather than a judgment since she, although slender, eats horrendously and knows it.

The flip side is that I get annoyed by people who assume that I've always been this size and couldn't possibly understand their struggles. It is the people who are trying to lose weight who look at me cross-eyed when I say that I do understand because I used to weigh 65 pounds more, and could very easily put that weight back on with a few friends in tow if I weren't hyper-vigilant about what goes into my mouth and the amount of exercise.
that I do.

Glazed over doesn't begin to describe the look when I lay out "my plan."

But back to the original post :) There is NO reason to feel bad about not wanting to talk about it! It's your body, your plan, your life. If it is a partner with whom you live, eat, cook and shop...yeah, you need to talk about it. But not with friends or acquaintances if it makes you uncomfortable.

Mel

I'm not at maintenance yet, but I experience that type of thing a fair amount as well. I don't mind talking to people about my weight to an extent, i.e. if they ask me one on one I don't mind giving a response; if they ask me in the middle of the board meeting of 25 people why I'm not eating the cream cheese stuffed chicken that was catered, then I'm less likely to tell the lot of them that I used to be 250 lbs.

The only people who are actually interested in finding out how I did it are those who are really trying to make a commitment to living healthier - and those are few and far between.

I actually got into a fight with someone yesterday, when he attempted to tell me that if he exercised for a half hour a day he could eat whatever he wanted and lose / maintain (he's currently about 100 lbs overweight). I tried to be polite about explaining that no, if you go for a 30 minute walk that does not cancel out the double big mac meal and large milkshake you had for lunch, but he just got very angry that I wouldn't agree with him.

I think that in reality he just wanted confirmation that if he wanted to, he could lose weight without making any significant changes or having to give up the things he wants - and that's what most people want. But he is the epitome when it comes to easy answers, if something requires him to put down the tub of ice cream and get off the couch then he doesn't want anything to do with it (and again, at the same time he criticizes his wife for not losing weight...)

And then you get people like my gyn doc (who I saw yesterday) who gives me a handout she's written with her "tips" for weight loss (she's quite skinny). Nothing that I hadn't heard - smaller plates, lots of water, yada, yada. But, then she tells me that WW and similar plans are too slow, that to be more effective, I need to eat 800-1,000 calories and exercise 2 hours every day! (on 800 calories??) and that those calories should come primarily from protein and fats.... Good thing I only see this woman once a year.

OMG, Pat, what an irresponsible doctor!!!

Whoa, Pat, what an idiot!

I think it's silly when very skinny people offer weight loss tips. Most truly (as in naturally) skinny people have never been overweight and therefore shouldn't be talking!

I also think it's strange that I haven't had too many of these experiences. Most people I know have just been supportive of my weight loss, commended me, and figured I must be doing something right since I've lost so much. Everyone *does* want to know how I did it, and when I tell them, they *do* usually get disinterested pretty quickly (if it's not a miracle drug, it must not be worth it!), but they don't shove ridiculous alternative cures to obesity down my throat.

Sadly, most doctors know far less about nutrition than we do. I've had doctors quiz ME about weight loss, but at least I have some sound knowledge from all the reading I've done, not to mention personal experience.

A friend of mine had her doctor - a MD, mind you - hand her a mimeographed copy of the so-called Mayo Clinic Diet ... the one with hot dogs and ice cream. It's one of the very worst fad diets out there, but this doctor saw "Mayo Clinic" and assumed hey, it must be OK if the Mayo Clinic endorsed it! :rolleyes:

I had somebody the other day kinda whisper to me, like it was top secret or that I could "confess" to her, "So did you did it with Weight Watchers and a little extra help?" By "help" she meant surgery. And who ever said anything about Weight Watchers? Certainly not me, not that there's anything wrong with it, but it's not what I did.

And then I had somebody at work no less, yes the gym and where I run a weight loss program, ask me if I took medicine. I went into my usual song and dance, "You mean I could have done this with MEDICINE? Gosh I wish somebody would have told me about it earlier."

Pat your doctor sounds scary. But it IS scary, the fact that doctors are very ignorant on the matter of weight loss.

What did you tell her? haha

:rofl: That is too funny! Unfortunately too many people want the easy way out.

So I was looking at this handout again, and to be fair, much of it is good information - it's just not original! But there are a few way out things too:

Women in mid-life need 1200 to 1600 calories a day. To lose weight, you need to eat less than this. Most diets recommend 800-1000 calories per day.

and

Regular exercise can help boost your metabolism, but only if you keep it up for six months to a year.

Ack. As I said, I only see her once a year, and I may switch before then anyway!