- You are eating like a bird. Here, have some more CRISPY PATA!
Your plate and mouth are full of delicious roasted chicken, and while you are trying to swallow that bite of Brussels sprouts and start explaining that you are eating right, your other friend joins the “conversation” and says:
- Eat more! Skinny people are ugly!
You finally swallowed that bite and start defending yourself by telling them that as they can see, you are eating. In fact, you were chewing when your friend turned against you. Plus you are not skinny, but FIT. There’s a difference. And you start flexing your muscles to prove your point. All this, while some of your friends quickly go into supportive mode and starts explaining that your weight is in the normal range. You cut their sentence in the middle to inform everyone that if they remember, not long ago you were obese. You worked hard to lose weight in order to look like this. This ain’t no accident.
But they seem like they hear what you are saying but anything that you say does not convince them that this is healthy. For them, you are way too skinny. They loved the fat girl/boy, not you, the fit girl/boy.
Now imagine this scenario repeating itself every day. Every single FAT, undernourished, no exercise person you meet everyday telling you that you're too thin.
Sounds familiar? Then keep reading to find out how to deal with family (or friends)saying you are too skinny when in fact you’ve lost weight and went from obese to fat to fit!
Some of my favorite things my friends say to me after I’ve lost weight and went from fat to fit are:
That’s right, my overweight and obese friends are concerned about me not taking care of myself. My friends with diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, indigestion problems and obesity are giving me health advice. Yeah, I should definitely follow their advice – if I want to end up with those kind of health problems. The thing is: I don’t. It was my main motivation to start living a healthy lifestyle and start working out regularly to avoid all of the above mentioned health problems that I’ve seen my family members struggle with.
Polite reply:
- Thank you for your concern, but I am fine. I have never felt this good in my life before. I am energized, focused and I sleep good. In fact, I have my latest blood test results with me as a proof that everything is okay with me. Care to check?
They never check.
Angry reply :
- I just had my blood test results back. My doctor says I am in top shape! How are your results?
Trust me, they’ll never ask you about your health again.
2. “You look too skinny”
It’s like you can do nothing about becoming fat, but being fit or how they call it, “skinny” is something you should be fixing – by eating more!
Polite reply :
- I am fit, not skinny. And I worked hard for looking like this, it didn’t happen by accident. I want to look like this.
Angry reply :
- I think you look a little heavy. How many layers of fat can you see when you sit down? Oh wait, sorry...you can't even look down there because you're too fat.
Just be prepared that they will get offended, because the social norm is people thinking it is okay to call someone skinny, but telling them that they are fat is considered really rude. You won’t get more comments about being too skinny. Though very few people in your family or friends will like you after that.
3. “Are you still on that diet?”
A diet in some of my friends' heads equals strict dietary limitations, staying unrealistically thin and depriving yourself of the foods you love. For them, you are not on a healthy eating plan, you are dieting. And it can’t be kept up in the long run.
So what to answer when they ask you if you are still dieting?
- It is not a diet, I am eating healthy. I developed healthy eating habits for long term. This is a complete lifestyle change, not a 12 week eating plan.
Angry reply :
- Do you believe it is healthy to eat even when you are not feeling hungry? Did you know that hunger is the body’s way to let you know that it needs nourishment?
- I eat right and I exercise regularly. I observe a 2,000-2,300 calorie diet a day. I do body weight exercises. I lift weights. I do yoga. I do cardiovascular workout routines. I am living a physically active and healthy lifestyle. And how about you?
However, my overweight friends believe that I am way too skinny – for them being overweight is normal. Sometimes it seems to me that in our society, where most people are overweight, being overweight is the new norm. Being fit equals being too skinny.
If your family or friend's constant remarks bothers you, then you need to learn how to deal with them. Try explaining them the reasons of why you choose to live a healthy lifestyle, and be sure to tell them how you feel better now that you are working out regularly and eating healthy. If this doesn’t help, then do what I did: shut them up by threatening them! And tell them to never hear a bad remark again.
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| The foods on the photo are what I NORMALLY eat EVERYDAY! And they are a LOT of HEALTHY STUFF. |
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