The last time I lost some weight, I eventually got a compliment from one of my bosses friends, and within a week I'd quit the diet and started gaining again. Soon I was heavier than ever.

I finally figured out what was going on (after 2 decades spent being obese) and have steeled myself this time. If someone compliments me, I WONT let it stop me. I don't like that sort of attention at all, if it's not from my husband-- but I'm not going to hurt myself again for other people's shallowness.

I was hiding behind the weight, before. Now I'm starting to get exposed, but I think I can handle it now. I'll hate it if/when I get comments or *looks* but I'm not going to let it stop me. This weight loss is for ME, not them.

Oooh yeah, I forgot about that one. I have from time-to-time noticed that doors do seem to get held, whereas they didn't before. And this before I had my son or was pregnant. When you're pregnant or sporting a baby in a stroller, they get held even more. But there was a marked increase in the old door holding after I'd lost weight.

I have noticed the door holding thing too! I used to only get them held open when i had the baby in the stroller, now they get held even without the stroller. but i think it helps that now that i have more confidence, i have started doing my hair and makeup more like i did before i had kids and got fat. lol

BINGO! Another way we are treated differently. We treat OURSELVES differently. When we're overweight, we often opt for baggy clothing, unflattering hairstyles, too much or too little makeup. For me, I used to wear more makeup than I do now. Most of the time now, I don't even bother with makeup. I'm not trying to hide a double chin anymore, or trying to create shadows to make my cheeks look like cheeks instead of blobs of fat. I'm no longer trying to draw attention to my eyes with a lot of shadow and mascara in the hopes that it will draw attention away from the rest of me. Not that it mattered much when I had so many problems looking people in the eye. I still work on the eye contact thing. But the last time I wore mascara was when I was pregnant and going out somewhere.