You've recieved a compliment lately, I know you have.
 

There's been a wonderful bunch of chatter on the boards lately about accepting who you are, natural beauty, perception of beauty, our good parts, appreciating how much good our bodies do for us ...

We are so prone to self deprecation. We are so into examining ourselves under a microscope and finding falt. We almost set aside the good stuff to focus on the (percieved) bad. We take a slight and hold it close to our bosoms like it's a treasure to be dwelt on all the day and into the night.

I double-dog-dare ya to print something here. I know some of you are thinking something like ... it's so unseemly to brag. Nope, not here in my thread! And I double-dog-dared ya.

I want to see a perk someone has given you. I want you to remember it too ... all the day long and into the night ;)


the fine print ... I have mods powers here and I will edit you! be kind to yourself, you're kind to others.

I was doing some volunteer work packing bags to give to the women and children's shelter. I was working with two other ladies who are a bit overweight. One of them made the comment to me that I was doing all the, bending, lifting, etc. I said "It's good for the waistline." She said. "Yeah . like you have to worry ". Little does she know that I used to outweigh her. People who have not known us at our heaviest just assume that we have always been slim.

I got a wonderful compliment today. My husband was stroking my belly and remarked how wonderfully flat it is. I always hated my tummy because it is so round and doughy, as are all bellies in my family. I know it`s not flat but it was ever so lovely to hear that it is flatter.

He almost mumbled it to himself, absent-minded, so he did not say it in order to please me. He really meant it. :-)

Today I was getting dressed and I changed into my unmentionables. My husband walked in on me adjusting my bra and got a big sloppy smile on his face. He asked me if I would be wearing the same thing when he got home from work. It was so nice to be reminded that my husband finds me attractive no matter what my size!

Just last weekend my girlfriend who is 14 years younger than me just had her 10 year highschool reunion and we were chatting about how much fun she had. Then I said holy shamoly, next summer it's my 25th reunion! She replied, holy crap Wendalyn you look AMAZING for your age and I hope I look as good as you do when I'm your age, followed by, I highly doubt I will though. Then she continued on with seriously Wend, you look way better than over 1/2 of my classmates did infact!
I still grin when I think about what she said because she looks like a model. Awe geesh & you wonder why I keep this chicklet as my friend! A boost to my self perception of myself for sure!

I have two:

1. I was shopping and one of the cashiers complimented me on my jacket. I thanked her and told her where I had bought it in town. The other cashier said, "I can never find anything in there. You probably have no problem, because you're small." I tried to tell them that there is larger clothing there as I used to shop there even when I was 60+ lbs heavier (TJ Maxx), but they were no longer listening.

2. My hair stylist told me last week that I was "seriously hot" and looked like "Posh" at my appointment with her. Then, my girlfriends and I attended an art show at her salon over the weekend. One of the other stylists there, who is in her early 20s, told me that I looked awesome and was asking me for advice, which she does not need at all!

My husband told me last night that I am extremely beautiful and he wishes I saw what he sees.

On Tuesday I saw a lady I haven't seen in three years. She and I used to be pretty close--in the same toddler playgroup. She is Polish and known for her honesty.

I saw her first and went up and said, "Iwona!" She looked at me with a puzzled expression and then began laughing! OMG??? She hugged me and said, "oh, Mary, you look so great." She made me feel really good. We talked there next to the yogurt for probably ten minutes. A couple of more times she stopped conversation and said again and had this huge smile and would say, "Omg, you look just really so good."

Anyway, it made me feel really good. I really liked her back in the day and always respected her opinion. Afterwards I went next door to Ross and bought a trendy looking outfit I wouldn't normally buy. I also bought a big orange, leather bag--again something I wouldn't normally buy.

Thank you Iwona.

The other day I decided to update my profile pic on Facebook. Many of my local friends haven't seen me in person for a month and a half. In that time I've lost 15 lbs. Anyways, In a matter of minutes I got 15 responses to the pic. everyone said I looked great and they couldn't believe how much weight I lost. A couple of them wanted me to guide them to lose weight too.
One of my friends sent me an email regarding the picture, this is what she said:
"I don't know if it would embarrass you if I posted this on your FB wall BUT I was going to say how incredible you look!!! The weight you've lost kinda makes you look younger too (not that you're old...but you know what I mean...right???) you look really good, you really are my encouragement/inspiration. WAY TO GO!!!"
I have been helping this friend to lose weight, she herself has lost 20 lbs.

My husband has been saying that he can see the changes. He's said that my trademark butt and legs are coming back. LOL

I never thought that putting a recent pic would lead to all this. But then when I look at my pre-weight loss pic and mid-way pic, I can see a huge difference in my face alone. If I can inspire one person to lose weight, that would make my efforts worth while.

This isn't really a compliment, but it sure made my day. I was walking into the hospital for my preop appointment (I had my gallbladder removed yesterday), and a guy said, "Mmmm, Nice! Holla back." I had to look around to see who he was talking to. I was the only one there. I just smiled and kept walking.

I went to a business event last week. I was one of the speakers so I was dressed to the nines. I looked pretty good.

So after the presentation part was over and everyone went into the reception, this man came up to me and introduced himself and said he really enjoyed the presentation, blah blah blah, and just wanted to meet me. He said he was the largest pork producer in his state. Then he proceeded to follow me around for the next hour, plying me with drinks and food (which I kept putting down and walking away from). A very nice, very tall, very very good-looking man (plus cowboy hat and boots! and a big belt buckle! and a couple of scary-looking diamond rings).

I haven't been hit on that hard in a long long long long time. At the end of the event I shook his hand and turned down his offer for dinner, but WOW was that a big ego boost. Stuff like that didn't happen to me 130 lbs ago.

I had a smile on my face reading all of these posts (I still do!).

A couple of recent things for me:

1) I was getting fitted for bras in Nordstroms and the lady said, "You have a really small band size". It made me giggle....even though I think it's small only in comparison to my cup size! LOL!

2) A 20 year old hottie at work looked at me the other day and told me that I look so skinny and that she's jealous. I so admire this girls body, you guys!

I want to hear more stories from people!

I love this thread!!

At least once a week I hear from coworkers "you look amazing!" "you're getting so skinny!" "look at you, miss skinny!"

Last week I met up with my good friend from college who has been with me through a LOT of weight crap (eating disorder, weight gain, etc) and she couldn't stop talking about how great I looked and how proud of me she was.

And, the compliments from my hubby... always telling me "your stomach's so small!" "look at those muscular legs!" "you look amazing!" He's always been a great guy and super sweet, but he's been with me from the beginning and it means a lot that he was always supportive of me, no matter my size. In a way I kind of feel like this is for him, too.

Last Monday I saw a friend i hadn't seen in a couple weeks, she gave me a hug, and said "you get smaller every time I see you". That totally made my day. It really gave me encouragement to stay on track too.