YOU LOOK WELL!

24^th February, 2021

Three or four times recently I have had someone say to me, “You look well!”, which is nice, and I do know what they mean, but what does it really mean? I presume that what they mean is that you have lost weight and look good, but that is not what they have actually said. Losing weight was never mentioned, and they are not always people that know me well and what is going on in my life. I can't help thinking that really it's a strange thing to say. Are they saying “I have noticed you have lost weight, no I can't say that, so I will say you look well”? Would they say when I was overweight “You look unhealthy”? I am not sure that they would. Yes, it's nice that people give you a compliment, but saying that you look well is a strange use of words.

I was reading somewhere that you shouldn't say to someone “Have you lost weight?” because it could have been lost due to illness or mental health issues, so I suppose you can't win if you do feel you want to give someone a compliment. I myself would say to someone I know “You are looking good”, but perhaps if it's some one you don't really know, and you don't know their story, it might be better just not commenting at all. Then, someone might be upset if no one notices. :-) You just can't win.

Ramble apart, how do you always know how someone's health is? When I lost weight before, people would say I looked good, but I knew I hadn't lost weight the healthiest way I could, and my health may not have really been that good. Nobody knows how you eat but you. Even when a medical professional want you to lose weight, if you do it they have no idea of just how you have done it. The only way is by looking at blood tests, etc. but that doesn't always tell the full story. It can be great, someone has lost a lot of weight, but it doesn't mean they have done it in a healthy way. I suppose that what I am saying is, be genuinely interested in someone and really try to know them and what they are doing.

On a slightly different note, what also suprises me is how the weight loss industry can jump on someone's success and use it for their own benefit. Whether it's writing up a story in a magazine with photographs when really they are not sure, or care, if that person has followed their particular program, or, as has happened to me, a slimming product wanting me to sell their product to others when I myself have never used it at all.

I think what is going through my mind as I write this, is that when you are trying to lose weight and be healthy, it is your journey, and your journey alone. It's lovely when friends and family offer support and compliment you, but that's people that know you or know your story. It can be a very long journey if you have a lot of weight to lose, and people don't notice for quite a long time. So, be strong and remain true to yourself. Know just why you are doing something, and be proud of you yourself and of your achievements. Do your best to achieve the results you want, don't be used by those who want to gain from your achievement and take the compliments that are given to you.

Above all, don't overthink things, unless you have a blog to put your thoughts into :-)

Until next time,

Love, Jackie

xx