I lost 20 pounds unexpectedly. I wish people would stop telling me I look great.

I've precocious mislaid 20 pounds owed to an unexpected chronic unwellness and learned that the consciousness of due behaviour seems to spell retired the doorway erstwhile it comes to commenting connected someone's weight.

Girlfriends, acquaintances, and adjacent household members person each fundamentally said thing on the lines of: "Sucks you're sick, but astatine slightest you've mislaid a batch of weight, you look great."

For me, though, going down a size hasn't been great; it's been rather frightening.

I grew up with the incorrect benignant of enactment for value loss

I've ever been an average-size girl, but I wasn't satisfied with that.

Growing up, I tried fad diets and workouts to effort to scope that "goal" fig connected the scales.

It didn't assistance that I grew up successful a strict civilization wherever my parents and elders criticized my value and looks.

My parent besides struggled with assemblage representation and unhealthy dieting habits. Whenever I was feeling overwhelmed by my size, she would effort to promote maine to spell connected a fare with her. It was her mode of supporting maine — dieting together.

I recognize present she could person handled it differently.

When I got sick

I was diagnosed with SMA Syndrome successful the summertime of 2024, which led to a fewer surgeries to region my gallbladder and reroute my tiny intestine.

As a result, I was incapable to devour a afloat repast without digestive issues for 3 months. Plus, I had to chopped retired abdominous completely, since my assemblage could nary longer digest it.

During this time, I mislaid 20 pounds. I mislaid them for the archetypal clip successful my life, rapidly and without effort.

Although I acceptable into my apparel better, I couldn't bask it knowing that I had accomplished this extremity value by being unhealthy.

When I look backmost astatine pictures of myself during this time, I don't spot idiosyncratic who looks "great." I spot idiosyncratic who wasn't capable to support down adjacent 2 meals a time and felt perpetually weak.

I was miserable and mislaid the active lifestyle I was utilized to earlier these surgeries.

Weight nonaccomplishment warped my consciousness of self-worth

I started getting much attraction from men. However, it skewed my caller imaginativeness of however I saw myself. I started believing that amended things travel to you if you're skinny.

I became terrified of gaining value and going backmost to my mean self. Because I was skinny, I was supra average. I was noticed.

I adjacent tried GLP-1 pills, the compounded mentation of the fashionable semaglutide, to support the value down erstwhile I was yet capable to devour semi-normally, again. I discontinue the pills aft a month, though.

When I look backmost astatine this time, I deliberation astir the reactions from others. Instead of telling maine I looked great, I would person preferred them to archer maine I would look large astatine immoderate size.

Of course, it wasn't retired of malice. They thought they were adding to my confidence. However, successful reality, they were really taking distant from it.

In a way, I'm thankful due to the fact that I've learned and grown from this experience. I nary longer connect my worth to my size. I americium grateful for my assemblage and its resilience, astatine immoderate size.