Ranting and Raving

[Guest guest]

On the other hand, sometimes it can be hard to know whether it's even

appropriate to say anything. Speaking for myself, I know that sometimes

people are very sensitive about their appearance and don't like having

anything pointed out. Even, " Boy, you look like you've lost a lot of

weight! " can be construed wrongly -- we don't want to be accused of ever

having thought that the person was fat. So insensitivity can possibly

really be hypersensitivity.

And speaking as a guy, I like to err on the side of caution. At WW

meetings, I know it's perfectly okay for me to say to a woman something

like, " Wow, you've lost a lot and you look great! " (Last night I told a

woman that I thought she was 26 or so, when she is really 38 -- she

attributed that to her weight loss as well.) And I can say it to my wife

and my family without much trepidation. I'm safe with *most* of my female

friends. But in the workplace, it's a different story; if I tell a woman

co-worker that she looks great, will it sound like I'm coming on to her?

Or what? And I'm married, so is it even appropriae for me to notice what

another woman looks like? Or she's twenty years younger than me... or

twenty years older... or the same age as me... And so on. ;-)

Trust me on this. If you lose a lot of weight, people will notice.

Members of the opposite sex (or the same sex, depending on your

proclivities) will appreciate. But they may not know how to express it in

a way that will be complimentary and won't be subject to

misinterpretation.

On the other hand, yeah, losing a lot of weight and having no one notice

can be disheartening.

I hope that made sense; I do tend to ramble at times.

Sliante,

S. Crawford

http://www.mossroot.com

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