[Ilene]

It's funny that we would think that way though, we want to lose weight to look better, but we self-sabotage when we're looking better .... I'm gonna work on that this year too

[mrainy]

I enjoy compliments along the lines of, "Hey, you're looking great!" and I'm more than happy to share details of how I lost weight with people. I'm another who has found that "lots of exercise and healthier eating" is not the magic bullet people are wanting to hear about, when they ask. They'll make a break for it and escape pretty quick, if I actually start telling them how I'm doing it. How many pounds I've lost is simply not anyone's business but mine and my doctor's.

I've tried a number of polite replies, and most people will take the hint. One woman at work would not, and continued a number of times to press me "How many pounds have you lost". She's no friend of mine, and simply wanted to know out of idle curiosity, and perhaps for comparison purposes, as she is larger, herself.

I told her I'd gone from a size 20 to a 14 the first time, and told her "Quite a bit", and escaped the second time. The last time she asked me, in front of another co-worker, I told her, "Oh, that's a secret." She said, "Well, it must be a pretty embarrassing amount if you won't even tell me". I was too stunned by her rudeness to even say anything, although some great replies came to mind much later.

Rainy

[Reddalice]

Rainy! That is terrible... I would have a hard time being the better person and not flashing my fangs- a bit. Call it immature, but I would said something like: "I'd be more interested in fitting in to your own pants than mine- thanks."

As far as compliments go... I'm most uncomfortable when the attention comes from males or distant relatives. It makes being confident difficult, because part of me wants someone to notice how hard I am working... the other part wants to be invisible.