"Have you lost weight?"

When you hear that phrase above, you feel flattered, when you're my size. You look down and think, "Well, my jeans DO fit better." Unless you hear it from a near stranger.

It's one thing to hear "Have you lost weight?" from a friend or family member who knows of your struggle with losing weight, it's a whole 'nother thing to hear it from a person who has only seen you maybe 5 times in the last 6 months. I don't know why it's a difference, maybe it's because in saying that, they're telling you they noticed how heavy you were before. To me, it's like saying, "I didn't want to say anything about how big you were before, but now that you've lost some of the heft, I can say something now". Like they're automatically assuming you were trying to lose weight.

As a fairly recent fat girl, I had never been exposed to the hidden world of weight loss and gain. Sure, I wasn't a skinny Minnie, but I had never heard the words, "You've gained weight" or "You've lost weight!" before. Now that I am hearing it, I don't like how it makes me feel. Like I said before, comments from family and friends are fine, they've seen me at my lighter days and my now heavy days- to hear things from them is different (also, they are usually kinder with their comments, unlike random strangers).

Honestly, while it is great to hear that you look like you've lost weight, it's still quite a shock to realize other people have noticed your weight gain. Yes, I am aware it's pretty obvious when your jeans now have stretch marks, but hey, let me grieve in peace.