Instead of Praising Weight Loss, Try This

Praising someone for losing weight might seem like you're doing something nice for them, but it's actually harmful.

It’s a form of weight stigma, which is dangerous to mental and physical health. Complimenting weight loss says the person’s body was bad before and is “better” now—and that will stick with them when they almost inevitably regain the weight.

These kinds of compliments also enact weight stigma on anyone else within earshot, which is harmful to everyone but especially to people in larger bodies, and also to folks who already have disordered relationships with their bodies.

What's more, it’s worth noting that praising weight loss (intentional or unintentional) is often the catalyst for a person developing, or sliding further into, disordered eating or a full-blown eating disorder.

So my advice on complimenting weight loss: just don’t. Even if the person clearly wants the praise.

And I want to acknowledge that of course when someone has been living in diet culture and targeted by weight stigma, they’ll probably feel excited about having lost weight and getting a temporary reprieve from that stigma. But compliments about weight loss unfortunately only ADD to the weight stigma they’ve internalized.

Instead, try saying something like “I love you no matter what size your body is” or “I’m so much more interested in talking about [XYZ thing that the person cares about].” Or just abruptly change the subject! In my book it’s always better to have people think you’re super awkward than to get pulled into saying something oppressive. 🤭

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On this week's episode of Food Psych, my guest is fellow anti-diet dietitian and certified intuitive eating counselor Carolina Guízar.

We discuss why we need to stop vilifying emotional eating, the mental effects of starvation, why fighting diet culture is a form of social justice, the nuances of bringing intuitive eating to Latinx communities, and so much more.

Plus, I answer a listener question about whether certain foods really cause acne.

Check it out right here, and be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so that you never miss an episode!

Here's to all the awesome things about you that have NOTHING to do with weight or food, 
Christy

P.S. If you want to learn lots more about what weight stigma is, why it's harmful, and how to fight it, check out my book, Anti-Diet. It'll help you break free from diet culture's toxic beliefs about food and bodies, so that you can reclaim your time, money, and mental energy for bigger and better things.

P.P.S. If you've already read and loved the book, thank you! And I'd be so psyched if you could leave a review on Amazon and mark the other positive reviews as helpful ❤️ These reviews help spread the anti-diet message to more people, so that the world becomes a safer place for everyone of every size who's working to make peace with food and their body.