What Makes a Conversation About Weight Loss Uncomfortable
Rogers says she’s happy to answer someone’s questions if they genuinely want advice or hope to find success themselves. It’s powerful to hear from someone else who has navigated a journey like weight loss, a major reason why Rogers became a community advocate for Obesity Matters, she says. But more often, it feels like curiosity about something else, Rogers says.
“A lot of people comment and say, ‘Brenda, you look great,’ and then they stop because they’re waiting for me to open the conversation about if I’m on medications,” Rogers says. “That’s nobody’s business. My weight isn’t any of my business, either.”
Rogers set out on her journey to change herself to do the work to get healthier. This has included following an eating plan, taking medication, going for walks daily, and caring for her mental health. The number on the scale, a metric that others can be relentlessly curious about, isn’t something she worries about.
Rogers says that questions about “how she lost the weight” can make her feel like she’s under observation, like an animal at the zoo, or judged. “Some people might be thinking, ‘Oh, obviously you’re on Ozempic, that’s the easy way out — and I can tell you, it’s not the easy way out,” she says.
Plus, comments and questions about weight bring other questions to mind for Rogers, she says, such as:
- Weight goes up and down in any weight loss journey — what will you say when I gain weight again?
- Do I only look good now? Did I not look good before?
- What do you think of me now?
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