the lexicon of weight loss

About a month ago, when I got back from San Francisco, I tweaked my diet to see if I could get the scale moving again. Essentially, I cut back on drinking from 7 days a week to 2 days a week. It seems to have been the ticket. Since the beginning of September through today, I have lost 8 pounds. In fact, this week, I may very well break below 200 (since I weighed 200 exactly last Thursday). Although, I sometimes feel that its just the scale not working. But hopefully it has (crossed fingers).

But I was out and about the other day and got a compliment about my weight loss and I started thinking about it. Inevitably, every compliment about weight loss is a backhanded compliment about how less fabulous you looked before. Not that I don't want to get all the great compliments as I lose the weight, but still... Why does all of our encouragement to the formerly big-boned have to be, you used to look horrible. For instance, you look great means before you didn't.

One of my friends told me to my face, knowing I could appreciate how this comes across. And he's right about it, but it made me think about how we compliment people. J1 and J2 were walking to the bar that I was outside of on Friday night.

J1: Is that Scott?

J2: No, I think that guys too skinny to be Scott.

J1 and J2 (as they get closer): It is Scott!...

I appreciate that that means I'm skinnier than I used to be and skinnier than people think I am, but all losing weight comments are like that. oh well.