Ep 104 - Why it's best not to compliment weight loss

<p>We had a pretty controversial post on Instagram about this with lots and lots of comments so getting this topic on the podcast felt appropriate! </p> <p>The reason is was so controversial is because we had a handful of dieters who couldn’t accept the fact that getting compliments for all their hard work is damaging - in a way they may have felt threatened that they wouldn’t be getting the external validation they so desperately need from the world to let them know - “hey you’re body is smaller, you are now worthy and enough.” </p> <p> </p> <p>Of course this need for external validation was something that was learned from diet culture - dieters aren’t bad or wrong for wanting this validation - it’s just how diet culture has groomed us as humans - no one is bad or wrong but our intention of bringing up this topic is not to demean anyone - just share our opinions on this …. </p> <p> </p> <p>So what’s so damaging about the phrase “Have you lost weight? You look so good!” ?</p> <p> </p> <ul><li>Most importantly - it perpetuates diet culture, it says “being thinner is good, and you’re thinner now so yay, you are now beautiful”. We want to get to a place where losing weight doesn’t get praise and gaining weight doesn’t get “concerns”... it’s all just natural body fluctuation and all bodies are good bodies. If you also are wanting to change diet culture this is a great place to start, keep the positive and negative comments of others bodies to yourself.</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <ul><li>It can negatively impact someone with an eating disorder. That need for external validation becomes so great, that now there is pressure to keep the weight off even if it’s in a very unhealthy and obsessive way. </li> </ul> <ul><li>There is deep shame when the compliments stop - meaning that someone is no longer losing weight/ maybe gained all the weight back and more and now there’s no more external validation. That weight loss is the only way to get people to notice them - it’s like a hit of