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Have you ever been in the office or around town and seen someone who lost a bunch of weight, and you really wanted to go up and say, \u201cCongrats! You look great!\u201d Well, don\u2019t. Or at least think about things before complimenting someone\u2019s weight loss.<\/p>\n
Now, I\u2019m not saying you can\u2019t be happy for them and shouldn\u2019t acknowledge their amazing weight loss transformation, but there\u2019s a subtlety to the process and some things you need to know and consider.<\/p>\n
Consider it in a similar fashion to going up to a woman and congratulating her on the pregnancy, only to find out they were hitting the midnight snacks a little too hard and isn\u2019t pregnant at all (awkward). You don\u2019t want to go up and be straightforward with your approach.<\/p>\n
Below are some things to consider before complimenting someone\u2019s recent weight loss.<\/p>\n
When you bring up politics and religion in conversation, the eyes start rolling, and people tend to either tune you out or bring their opinion into play, which can cause some conflicts if viewpoints don\u2019t align.<\/p>\n
While your intentions may be in a good place when you approach the individual, know that it might be a topic of conversation that they don\u2019t want to converse with you about, which you need to respect.<\/p>\n
A person\u2019s body and body image are taboo topics these days. Say the wrong thing and all of a sudden, you\u2019re going to be called out for \u201cbody shaming\u201d or \u201cfat-shaming.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you couldn\u2019t already tell by the way society is today, talking about weight and weight loss is not a comfortable conversation. You want to tread lightly when approaching someone so as not to cause them to feel backed into a corner, as if you\u2019re attacking them for what they looked like in the past.<\/p>\n
One of the unfortunate things you need to understand is that weight loss can come in many forms, not just because someone \u201cwants\u201d to lose weight. If someone falls ill or even has a disease such as cancer, their body will tend to shed weight whether they want to or not.<\/p>\n
Bringing up someone\u2019s weight loss could bring about the uncomfortable conversation that they could be battling something in their personal life.<\/p>\n
Their weight loss could even be due to something like stress and the fact that they lost their appetite due to all the stress they have been under. Maybe it\u2019s more serious, like depression? You just don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n
Knowing that there may be underlying reasons for their weight loss could prevent you from inserting your foot into your mouth and feeling like a complete jackwagon.<\/p>\n
To avoid the apologies and \u201cI\u2019m so sorry, I didn\u2019t know,\u201d don\u2019t lead with the weight loss topic. Rather, ask them how they\u2019ve been, what\u2019s new, or how life has been treating them, and from there let the conversation naturally take place.<\/p>\n
Maybe they\u2019ll open up to you about things going on in their life, or maybe they won\u2019t. Or maybe they\u2019ll bring up that they\u2019ve been living a healthier lifestyle and focusing on weight loss, which would be your segue into the conversation and congratulations.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t simply assume someone is trying to lose weight, as the cause could actually be health-related.<\/p>\n
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