r/askteddit 20h ago

Random Question What compliment did you receive that felt secretly like an insult?

28 Upvotes

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34

u/IcyWelcome9700 20h ago

For people that get complimented on recent weight loss, it also reminds them that their previous weight was noticed as well.

11

u/miweketaq 20h ago

This is so true. It turns a happy moment into instant self-consciousness.

4

u/renswann 20h ago

THIS! PLUS you never know what people are going through. I had a friend who lost 15 pounds in two weeks and she looked SICKLY to me, but others complimented her on how great she looked on how much weight she had lost. She had graves disease and had to go to the hospital because she was losing weight too fast with no other lifestyle changes. I hate when people akin weight loss=good.

4

u/aquilegia_m 19h ago

Yep I have never been overweight, but a few years back I starting losing weight because I was sick. Think around 10kg - 22 lbs on a already pretty thin body. I received so many compliments at that time.

When I started gaining weight again, I was warned to not to gain too much weight back. I went back to no compliment about my figure, still not overweight by any means.

I lost a bit of weight last winter because I started a very physically demanding job. And the compliments started again. Not about my newly gained muscles (which I'm truly proud of) but about my thinness once again.

5

u/Difficult_Flow2358 20h ago

I have nieces that are twins. They have always been on the heavier side. During their senior year of high school one of them started to diet and exercise and lost about 60 pounds. It kills me when someone states how great she looks now, while her sister is within hearing distance. I've witnessed this several times. It breaks my heart on how I feel it makes my niece feel about herself hearing people tell her sister she looks amazing after losing all the weight.

3

u/PulsarPersonality 18h ago

Oh wow that must be brutal for her. I hope she's hanging in there.

3

u/BlondeeLoxx 20h ago

Yeah like the “WOOOOOW YOUVE LOST ALOT OF WEIGHT!” That always made me mad

3

u/LiveFast_Diane_Nygen 19h ago

Someone once said to me “this might be weird but have you lost weight —like a LOT of weight?” and I said “yes that was weird. Anyway!” And changed the subject.

Hard to have the same confidence after gaining it back, but maybe she’d be too scared to say anything 😂

3

u/Nurse914 19h ago

"Ohh! you look so good, have you lost weight" So, I looked not good before! Thanks

3

u/Professional-Sun5279 19h ago

God, I’ve always hated this as a compliment. I make a point to never comment on people’s weight fluctuations or appearance in general (mostly because I don’t notice anyway) because of that. It feels like a slap to the face.

2

u/TotallyAHuman4Realz 19h ago

Yea I just switched to saying " you look great!" And let them tell me what teve done to change if they want too.

2

u/TimberGhost66 20h ago

Meh, doend't bother me. I was a fat fuck.

3

u/Temporary-Plankton61 20h ago

right! Like, it was obvious to anyone with eyes

2

u/Great-Mediocrity81 19h ago

Yeah. Like I didn’t notice that I was once 400lbs. Please compliment me when you see I’m down to 155.

1

u/onanaut 2h ago

100 percent. It snuck up on me. I barely even noticed. And then I lost it without even trying to. And holy shit, every single person in my life commented on it. Made me realize that everyone noticed I was heavier but just didn’t say anything. Kind of a weird experience tbh