This is not a pity party - just an observation. I am loosing weight for myself, not the world.
Having said that, I am 5'2", have lost 35lbs which is just about 20% of my original body weight. No one seems to have noticed that I have lost weight.
I know others have mentioned this, too. I guess our friends see us all the time and don't notice the gradual changes we are making.
Mostly what people notice about me is my wonderful, gigantic lunches I bring to work. My food smells good, looks good and folks comment, but don't ask me anything about why I eat so well. The other day, I heard several people ask what smells so wonderful - it was my turkey spaghetti!
way to go on all the lost weight. some people tend to not comment in order to keep from offending. I wouldn't worry about it like you said your doing this for you!
gail
Not everyone has really noticed I have lost weight either. Originally I had 78lbs to lose I have lost 28. That is about 36% of the weight I want to lose. My husband notices and tells me all the time but that is about it.
When we met friends and family for our trip to the zoo a couple of weeks ago, that we hadn't seen since I started to lose this weight. Some of them noticed and couldn't believe how I looked, I don't see any difference really or at least not much difference. The rest said they hadn't even noticed until it was pointed out to them.
I was kind of hurt by this, I have to admit. They sure were fast enought to point out every 5lbs I put on.
Last edited by Shy Moment; 10-29-2007 at 12:42 PM.
People who you are around every day don't see a drastic difference in you because, well, they are around you every day You getting slimmer becomes the norm for them! It can be disappointing, but when you see friends or family that you haven't been around since you started your weight loss journey, someone is sure to notice (even if they don't say anything - trust me they notice!)
As you can tell from reading other posts here at 3FC, commenting on other people's weight loss is fraught with peril. It's such a no-win situation that most people just keep their mouths shut. There's no way that losing 35 pounds isn't noticeable -- and I'm sure you feel fantastic!
I've lost 35 lbs so far. That's about 12% of what I started with. I've only had one person so far comment directly on the fact that I look smaller. The other comments that I've gotten so far are more general. They've liked my hair (needs a cut and color very badly right now), they like my makeup (nothing new there), I'm just generally looking nice that day. I think they are really noticing the weight loss but don't realize it. They just know something looks different and are commenting on what they think it is.
From now on when they say "your hair looks nice today" I'll hear it as "your butt sure looks smaller in those jeans today!"
A few years ago I lost a lot of weight, I started at 161 and ended around 105 which was way lower than a normal BMI.
Well, nobody ever told me anything, except my mom, I swear, the only comments I started to get were "you´re too thin" "it´s not healthy", etc, never something positive.
But last year I became friends with a girl who I knew then but we were not friends and she told me "Rafa, everybody commented about your weight loss". So I guess people notice and talk about it but not to the person who´s losing it!
So, there´s people who don´t notice because they are everyday with you, and there are others who DO notice (specially women) but won´t tell you...
I'm one of the people who usually fail to notice other people's weight loss. Unless the change were really radical and I hadn't seen the person in a while, I'd probably be oblivious.
On the other side of the equation, a few years ago when I was at my high weight, people were ALWAYS asking me if I'd lost weight. Always. People at school, my step-father, everyone. It used to drive me crazy because I hadn't lost weight, wasn't trying to lose weight and felt awful about my weight. I also deduced from the many comments that people's mental pictures of me were much, much bigger than I actually was--so that when they saw me, I'd look smaller than they remembered. I didn't like it. When I did lose weight, it was pretty dramatic and everyone noticed and commented...That was better, I guess.
I think for me the problem is I am the tiny one. Even at 198 I was the tiny one. There are two woman in the family that are very supportive. Most of the rest of the family and friends, not so supportive. I never was a very big person. They seemed almost happy when I was so sick and putting on tons of weight. They either don't notice or aren't happy that I am now taking off the weight.
My sister is very happy my weight is coming off. She probably weights close to 300 and still doesn't want me to be over weight or unhealthy. Another lady in the family not only noticed the weight loss but commented on it.
Funny, those that don't notice sure noticed each and every 5lbs I gained.
Last edited by Shy Moment; 10-29-2007 at 01:33 PM.
I lost the majority of my weight from January until June and no one noticed. Then over the summer, I lost an additional 10 pounds and that fall, when I saw my friends again, everyone noticed. So Meg is right--these people see you every day and they don't notice the subtle changes.
I also agree with everyone that said some people don't like to comment on weight. I never do, even though I like to get comments myself. I guess I'm one of those people who is afraid of making a mistake (you know, along the lines of "are you pregnant?" when the person isn't).
I lost over 40lbs before I had my first comment... and it was the UPS man LOL
Don't feel bad, it will come.. and then you will have lots of people commenting at the same time. I bet some people have noticed and just haven't said anything because they don't want to embarrass you. Some people do not like talking about their weight.
My best friend went and secretly joined Weight Watchers. We don't always see each other that often. Sometimes not even once a week. We were out for one of our "Mommy's night out" evenings and she mentions that someone at school had noticed that she'd lost weight. She said it was 30 pounds so far. I felt bad. I hadn't noticed myself. Later I told her that I was sorry I hadn't noticed but that I never really saw the weight to begin with. We've known each other for years and we've slid up and down (mostly up) in our weight together. I always just saw "her" not her size. Later on, after trying to see her through the way others do I could see that she was smaller.
Now it was my turn to secretly lose weight. We've barely seen each other since school has started. I wonder if she'll notice that I'm down 35 myself?
Maybe some people are just oblivious like me. (and my husband who still hasn't said one word! sheesh)