[StarGetsFit]

Hmmm, I guess I've just kinda thought that as you lose weight, most people gain more confidence and feel better about themselves, which is attractive to other people. Hence, more people are attracted to you.

I don't really hold that against them.

[DhaniCauldwell]

I don't mind the attention if it's from people I have known for a while who are proud of me for working towards a goal. However, I don't like the attention I get from people who wouldn't give me the time of day when I was a little bit heavier.

Dhani

[mkendrick]

I get a ridiculous amount of attention now at 128 lbs. At 180+lbs, I never knew what girls were talking about when they complained about guys always hitting on them. They acted like they couldn't get anything done because guys were constantly throwing themselves in the way. Hearing these complaints, I first of all couldn't imagine it being as dramatic as they were making it sound and second, felt like they were bragging. I hated the "oh woe is me, sooo many guys hit on me, it's just awful!"

However, now that I am thin, I understand why they were whining. It IS frustrating. I mean yes, attention is flattering, but there's definitely a point where flattering turns to degrading and just plain obnoxious. Can I please walk through the meat section at Walmart without three people ask me if I have a boyfriend? I can't go to a bar conservatively dressed (jeans, flats, long sleeve shirt, hair up...and, um, an engagement ring!) and enjoy sitting around a table in the back with some girl friends because I'm endlessly fighting off guys. Catcalls every time I walk or jog, getting stared down or nods constantly, silly pick up lines, etc etc etc. Not to mention several of my guy friends who KNOW that I'm engaged say or try some very inappropriate things.

So yes, I know exactly what I sound like. One of those thin girls that complains about all the guys. I have been annoyed with girls who say the things that I'm saying. But I never understood where they were coming from. When I was big, people mostly ignored my presence, but I knew that the attention that I did get, I earned with my confidence and personality. Now I'm just another skinny chick that guys feel like they have the right to say obnoxious things to or stare too long at. It really isn't flattering at all.

That all being said, I was with my guy at my highest weight and we're engaged now, and knowing that I have his attention is all that really matters to me If I'm invisible to the rest of the world, so be it.

[Petite Powerhouse]

.

[ThicknPretty]

I don't resent it, but I've noticed it.

I've worked in the same building for two years and just a month or so ago, a guy who has seen me a hundred times over those two years, gave me his number. He asked me how long I had been working there!! I honestly don't think I even registered on his radar until I hit a certain weight, he didn't even notice me. I don't think it was intentional though, so I can't resent him for it.

[calluna]

There's a lot been said on this here, and it is pretty clearly a complex issue. I'd emphasize, though, what some folks have said. Part is perception, part is presentation.

At nearly 85 lbs lost, I wear brighter colors, more fitted clothing, walk straighter, am more likely to make eye contact, make more effort with my hair, and a host of other things. Some of it is us making ourselves more noticeable and sending people different signals.

Like many others, I give short shrift to those obviously shallow folks who just like you when you're thinner, but for the most part that hasn't been much of an issue.

[one day at a time]

I was actually thinking about this yesterday. I was walking through the grocery store and was hit on by a middle aged guy. The type of guys who are checking me out has definitely gone up since I've lost 27lbs. Yeah I still have a lot of weight to lose, but I carry myself differently. I know its hard to not be be resentful. I was/am concerned that I will be resentful too. However, frankly, over weight is not attractive to most the population. Period.

I hope that as time goes on and as my body changes that I can embrace that I look better and that is why I am attracting more attention. And that is okay.

[imperialistic]

Well, I've never been thin. I've always been the overweight one and I always assumed that I would be annoyed when eventually I started getting attention.
But the thing is, as I'm getting smaller... I am getting attention but I ignore it. I'm not resentful. Maybe I should be, I don't know.
I'm still nowhere near what I want to be so I don't have to deal with the constant attention that someone like mkendrick may be getting but I do receive a more attention from strangers/people at the bar and to be honest, I just find it embarrassing.
I know I don't have to say it here but people don't realize how emotionally wrecking losing weight actually is- especially for someone who has always been overweight. I'm totally out of my element and it's not as easy as 1-2-3. I'm internally a fat girl and it takes a lot more than diet and exercise for the internal fat girl to shed her pounds.