She gained some weight but she is not fat at all!
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“I don’t think so but if you want us to eat healthier and get more exercise I’m game”
He said in his post she has put on weight. Why lie when there are many other not lying answers that are much better?
She was underweight before because she hardly ate anything. She’s way better now. But some people comment on her change of weight because they compare it to how she was before.
It´s a trap. She seems to suffer from an eating disorder, so if you directly respond to the statement, you can only lose. No matter what you say she will find a way to turn it around. Instead ignore the “I am fat” part and immediately steer away from the topic. Try something like:
I’m sorry, it looks like this is freaking you out. You know it’s not useful to talk about it, right? So, let’s do something to change the mood. Shall we (insert activity you both enjoy) instead?
I wish you both all the best!
‘Tell your gf to just ignore it and not talk about being upset to you’ is a great way to ruin a relationship. A woman being upset is not a trap, and viewing relationships as adversarial is setting yourself up for failure.
ETA: This guy can’t stop editing comments to try to make it look like he had less of a meltdown than he did.
You (and the others who downvoted my comment) are completely missing the main point here, which is that the gf is obviously showing behavioural patterns connected to a form of eating disorder, like Anorexia and/or Bulimia.
A woman being upset is not a trap
Of course not. However, a conversation about “being fat”, with a person who suffers from an eating disorder is definitely a trap, as long as you are not a specialized therapist.
viewing relationships as adversarial is setting yourself up for failure
I view eating disorders as adversarial, not relationships. Please stop projecting your incorrect assumptions on me.
I am on blahaj, I literally can’t downvote you.
‘Just don’t think about it’ is a pretty terrible way to deal with eating disorders as well. Which this might not even be the case, as there are plenty of other things that manifest in a lack of appetite, not all of which are even mental illnesses.
Why are you ignoring the fact that OP said “She was underweight before because she hardly ate anything”? Seems like you are not arguing in good faith. I am done talking to you because you seem either naive, or even worse, pro-Anorexia/Bulimia.
I don’t think you have any experience with eating disorders or women in general. Someone who used to be skinny gaining a bit of weight and feeling fat is not “behavioral patterns connected to anorexia/ bulimia”. And even if it was, how does “this is clearly freaking you out, let’s ignore it and do this instead” supposed to help?
I’ll assume you have the best of intentions in mind, if that’s the case you really shouldn’t be giving advice here because everything you’ve said so far is harmful.
I don’t think you have any experience with eating disorders or women in general.
That is nothing more than your assumption and you assume wrong. I will not tell you details about my private life, because it´s not your concern, just this much. I have several years of painful first hand experience of living with a women who suffers from severe eating disorders, so I intuitively recognize certain patters the moment I see them.
Someone who used to be skinny gaining a bit of weight and feeling fat is not “behavioural patterns connected to anorexia/ bulimia”.
That is not what OP described though. You are diminishing the facts. OP wrote:
She was underweight before because she hardly ate anything. She’s way better now.
So let´s believe OP and consider that she was not just skinny but in fact underweight, which is a very important and significant difference when talking about eating disorders. Furthermore, consider that the reason OP states for her being underweight before is that she used to “hardly eat anything” which clearly points to anorexia. Now combine being underweight and hardly eating anything earlier, with the fact that not being underweight anymore makes her feel “fat”, which points to distorted self perception and misguided body awareness.
And even if it was, how does “this is clearly freaking you out, let’s ignore it and do this instead” supposed to help?
By avoiding a discussion that will only do harm to someone with an eating disorder, independently of what you say to her. Did you ever have a discussion like that with someone who suffers from an eating disorder? I had them hundreds of times. There where in fact phases when I had such discussions on a daily basis and trust me, you can only loose there. Btw, I did not come up with that sentence myself. It´s from a website that gives professional tips about how to deal with people who suffer from eating disorders. I wish I would have known about it back then, when I would have needed it. Instead I fell into the trap over and over again and I wanted to help OP to not make that mistake.
I’ll assume you have the best of intentions in mind
You assume correctly.
if that’s the case you really shouldn’t be giving advice here because everything you’ve said so far is harmful.
I honestly do not understand how, because my intention was the exact opposite of doing harm. Please elaborate.
Has gained weight is different than is fat.
She could have gone from 97lbs to 98lbs. Gained weight, but not fat.
Yup, I have to make this point to my wife every time she says it. BDD is a bitch.
It’s not lying. Fat and overweight mean different things in this context. Fat is a pejorative word, carrying a negative connotation. Overweight is a statement of fact
The gf isn’t saying, “I’m fat,” as an acknowledgement of her weight being over the recommended bmi, she’s actually saying, “I’ve gained weight, and I feel ugly and I’m concerned you won’t be attracted to me anymore.”
Wow. Rhetoric is important. You have to convince people. Sometimes that’s doing it with them.
Might as well ask Lemmy how to pass the Kobayashi Maru test, while you’re at it.
Might be a tricky example. The answer to that according to a certain cadet is to cheat. Not sure gf would appreciate that.
I always liked Calhoun’s solution. Obliterate the Maru. It’s either a trap or it’s not. If it is, you don’t want to leave it there for someone else to fall for. If it’s not, you don’t want to leave it there to cause a diplomatic incident, and fiery plasma death is probably better than whatever the Klingons / Romulans would do to the crew.
Of course, I don’t recommended launching a full spread of photon torpedoes at your gf.
If done successfully she’ll never know
Understand the deeper meaning of the situation and what they are actually looking for?
You know what, other poster that recommendations cheating may be easier.
Edit: or is this a helplessness, try anyway deal??
Tell her the truth (as I understand it you don’t think she’s fat), but also ask why she’s asking in the first place. Offer some support if she wants to lose some weight.
I think open and honest discussion is the best approach here because now you’re jus guessing what the real issue is.
I think it’s due to comments from people. She was underweight before because she hardly ate anything. She’s now much better than before but people keep mentioning how she changed. It’s really dumb when people keep commenting about your appearance, but I gets to her sometimes. The same people were telling her she needs to gain weight before. ( we are in a developing country where these comments are sadly so normalized)
I see that the comments are geared towards bigger bodies trying to lose weight.
Your case is special. Food scarcity / eating disorders are very different from American lifestyles if you want to call them that. Emphasize your support and how much healthier y’all are in the present and will be in the future.
I hope it all goes well.
It sounds like she is definitely not fat, so you can be truthful and you aren’t looking for a way to tactfully say she is at an unhealthy weight. What it sounds like is happening instead is a bunch of busybodies are just stirring up trouble and trying to undermine her self confidence. If it wasn’t her weight, it would be her clothes or some other body part they would criticize. (for instance they’d claim she had a weird nose or ears, I had a “friend” comment on my how my knees looked weird and knobby one time. They were and are normal knees. My grandma tried to make me feel like there was something wrong with me because my breasts hadn’t come in yet. I was 12. Both of these were people “looking out for me and trying to help” - they were not. They were trying to make themselves feel better at my expense.
You need to make sure she realizes these comments other people are making are not motivated in kindness, even if they are claiming they are. Try to find ways to help her see her worth and to help her ignore the bullying comments by these people.
Because of mainly my grandma, I learned to recognize when these comments were meant to be mean and to not let let them affect my self-esteem. Instead I realized they just made the person saying them look worse.
Occasionally, when they would get a comment in about something, like a big pimple, I would gray rock it and respond with, “yeah, that happens, oh well” and move on. Learning to not give them a reaction also makes it not fun for them after a while and they find other targets or shut up.
Learning to gray rock and not internalize the crap other people are flinging will help a lot. Having someone like you that she can trust to be actually kind and honest will help her reinforce to herself that the other people are just being unkind.
I think make sure she knows you’re on her side, and that you don’t value the opinion of those people. “I just don’t understand why they are so critical of your body and feel the need to comment on you all the time. You’re a healthy weight, and you look incredible, its just bizarre that they behave that way. What is their problem? I wonder if it’s jealousy, or maybe they’ve been brought up to be insecure about their bodies, such a shame to be like that, I’m glad we’re not like that” etc. Keep trying to reinforce that this is their issue, not hers.
Oh man. That is really rough to deal with. I watched my wife going through what you are and it was really hard on her. I hope you’re taking care of yourself as well as your girlfriend.
I(male, 36) have an autoimmune disorder that really kicked in during my teen years. I hit 172lbs(78kg) at 12 years old and then again at 32. At one point I weighed less than 138lbs(62kg) and I’m 6’4”(192cm). Got some medicine figured out and now I’m 215lbs(97kg), which feels and looks(!!) much much better.
It’s all a bit personal but I know to some extent what she’s going through. It’s really really hard to watch your body change even in positive ways. Hell, I was so malnourished I couldn’t do math in my head for ten years, it’s fucking weird having parts of your brain turn back on and get smarter. She’s probably going through a lot.
I’m not sure I can DM with this lemmy app but feel free to try. At the least I can lend an ear for someone for you to shit on. Everyone needs that!
My best advice, as trite and cliche as it is, would be to meet her where she is at. Talk to her. Find out what’s bothering her. Don’t judge even the silly stuff but remind her to laugh. Remind her that love is about who she is not the skin or body she wears.
She might need to be reminded or shown that not all comments are criticisms. People saying stuff about how she’s changed may be intended to be a compliment rather than a put down but it can be very hard to hear the words the right way.
Also, if you’re in a developing country this has got to suck. One thing no one talks about is god damned expensive gaining or losing weight or just getting health can be. I’ve spent about 2% of my gross income on clothing this year because I put on 25lbs(11kg) and I make around the Canadian median wage. The conflict of guilt around being an expensive person or feeling like crap in your clothes is hard. It feels stupid and invalid but it’s this constant ache of budget vs feeling like you don’t want to be seen. Maybe take her shopping if you can?
“You callin my girl fat you piece of shit?!”
i love this comment. it is extremely funny. /gen
What do you expect? Your mom was fat and as you grow older you’re becoming her.
This kills the man
If you’re still alive at that point, and want that to change, start talking about her younger sister.
#nailedit
nail edit
na i led it
How to get a divorce with one easy step!
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Thank you for a serious answer. I would love it if a man did this for me after I expressed dislike about my appearance.
“Is that what we’re gonna do today, we gonna fight?”
“Have you tried eating less than a metric fuckton of junk at every meal, ya goddamn ham planet?!”
That’ll work.
You have to rebuke her. For real. Go like this:
" Don’t you dare! I love this lovely girl here. Don’t you dare badmouth her or you’ll have to deal with me! "
(and not a word about fat or weight or width or any outside descriptions, because this is only about self deprecation)
You can’t win this one.
It’s over OP, she has the high ground.
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Yup, whatever you say is going to backfire, make sure you got an exit plan :)
“Phew! I thought you were pregnant.”
“It’s all in your ass tho and I’m an ass man.”
Lmao, damn I’m right there with em.
“Even if you have gained weight you still look beautiful. If you feel you need to lose weight let me know if there is anything I can do to help.”
Very thin ice
Even if you have gained weight
You already lost by the time you get to that part of the sentence.
After having some nice intimate time, during the quiet afterglow, ask her how her self esteem has been lately. Maybe she’s feeling down and wants to talk about it.
Once her feelings are in the open it will be easier to feel out a solution.
