It took me 3 years to lose about 40 lbs. Went from 212lbs to 167 now through hard work and propper nutrition. I am a 6 foot tall male 36 years old. I feel better than i have ever felt in my entire life. But at the work place i am constantly being told that I need to gain weight because
for some reason they feel that i dont look right. Mostly these comments are coming from overweight to obese women. Even some obese family members are making these comments. I have never made a rude comment to anyone for being overweight but would only encourage them to go on a bike ride once in a while. When I mention to them that I would like to drop a couple more Lbs their eyes get wide open as if i was going to jump off a building or something. Its pretty hilarious actually. According to the BMI I am of normal weight. I work with mostly women who constantly bring in donuts, cakes, cookies ect.. Sometimes I eat what they bring in but most of the time i dont and it offends them. Has anyone felt like this before?

...unless there's something else your not telling us. Congratulations on your weight loss though. Maybe those women were just used to seeing the 'old' you, which is the robust version of the 'new' you. That, or they're just jealous you actually wanted to do something about your prior self and managed to pull it off. :thumbsup:

Congratulations, persistance, training, and hard work pay off. I'm sure you have noticed the difference in your riding.

60% of America is overweight. So you will be looking abnormal to others. Welcome to the minority. :D

60% of America is overweight. So you will be looking abnormal to others. Welcome to the minority. :D

exactly. congratulations on your achievement though. maybe keep a pile of donuts by your work desk and pretend to eat them when these women are passing by.:thumbsup:

I am going to print up some shirts that say "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels." So maybe you could wear one of them! :p

No, you're just awesome. They're just fat, jealous, lazy, slobs.

I had the same deal, but less extreme. People used to call me "skinny" when I weighed 160. When somehow it came up that I thought I could lose 5 pounds, they usually just gave me a confused look. Then I started cycling and lost over 20.

My girlfriend is 5'7", and went from 155 to 125 in about 9 months -- nothing drastic at all. There's this co-worker of hers (an overweight woman) that expresses "concern" for her being "too skinny" LITERALLY at least twice a week. She's been thinking about filing a complaint or something!

Meatball, that sounds like a pro-ana shirt. :S

I think the comments are jealousy like the other poster said. They are trying to build themselves up by diminishing your achievment. I've been lucky in that nature has given me a high metabolism and a slim build but my time in the Army taught me what extra weight must feel like. When we're in the field there is a fairly significant amout of gear we wear and it can get weighty. When you take it off and feel so light you wonder how do people who are carrying that around all the time manage. Could you imagine carrying all the weight you lost around in a rucksack or on a belt?

My college anatomy professor told me for every pound of fat on your body your heart has to pump blood through another mile of capillary network. Your heart can use that effort now to propel you for more and faster miles. Way to go my friend. Congrats to you.

If you want to tick'em off complain frequently you need a raise because you can't afford to buy new clothes to replace the old ones that are too baggy.

A pro-ana shirt, now that would be fun too! :)

I don't get very many comments from people around my workplace, except for the ones closer to my age (I'm 19 and I work as an interpreter in an office where the average age is about 35). There seems to be a trend, though...the guys are, for the most part, quite fit by my state's standards (Michigan is the 2nd fattest in the union, I believe), while the women are, for the most part, quite overweight...some to an extreme.

The comments mostly come when I wear shorts..."you shave your legs? why? how far? 40 miles?!?" "who brought krispy kremes?"

I don't say anything about it, but really...the first thing to do when you get in a hole is stop digging...and all people bring in are donuts and McDonalds cheeseburgers.

maybe society is cyclical, like how in the olden days people covetted fat women and now its going back to that. they're better for child rearing? :D

Its quite funny sometimes when I bring in donuts. I get responses like, " oh he is just trying to make us fat". Unbelievable! Dont get me wrong, I get along with all my coworkers quite well. I took one of my female coworkers to the bike shop after work. She never knew what a real roadbike felt like until she picked up a Specialized Ruby Comp. It was like taking a kid to toys r us for the first time. It was such a good feeling to see the expression on her face. She ended up buying the bike. I could not believe it. She is 52 years old. When I went to work the next day I told everybody that Maria bought a new bike. They asked me how much see spent. I told them 2,000$. All they could think was what a waste of money. I smirked and thought of how foolish they were. Her third time on the bike she pedaled 70 miles to the beach and back and managed to fix a flat. I was so proud of her. She truly addicted now. I was really worried about her because if she fell and got hurt I could not live with myself. She prooved me wrong. Now all we do is talk about bikes and I know it ticks off some of the other girls at work. Some but not all. I do feel great joy in having made a difference in someone elses life. It's such a good feeling.

I've gotten the same thing. One year ago I was 6' 192 lbs with a 22% body fat.
Through disciplined diet, weight training 3 days per week, and cycling for aerobic benefit,
I am now 182 lbs and 5% body fat. That is a fat loss of 33 lbs and a lean mass gain of 23 lbs. Waist went from 36 to 31"

All I hear from people is "you're getting skinny" "are you still losing weight" "here comes the incredible shrinking man" "where is the rest of you"

I laugh inside. I feel like showing them how a "skinny guy" can throw down 60 push-ups in a minute before they have time to reach for that 2nd doughnut.

I am about the same. Couple years ago, 180 to 160, then added muscle. But I only got positive comments. Now I'm trying to drop from 218 (10 down, lots to go).

People give me the "what?!" look when I say I need to lose 40-50 pounds. Maybe I can hide some "extra" weight well, but the math is simple 45/215 is a significant percentage.

We also had an interesting conversation about obesity at work....it only takes about 30 pounds extra to be definition obese. We have a stocky guy who maybe 60 pounds over, that did not consider himself obese. Just didn't understand the % concept...obese was something relative to him, and he wasn't it (he could also hide the extra well, but it's still extra and alot)

want to look good and feel good at 36 heheh:rolleyes: I`m 42 and been told the same, for some reason if you are over 30 you are suppose to be fat, bald, out of shape, ha even a "social" drinker, whos only fun is a game of some kind on sundays.

We are not the norm at our age brackets, and if what I`m seeging around is any indication of whats comming is going to be really scary in 20 years:confused:

Even my son`s friends who are 15-18 year old are fat, soemtimes they even comment on his great power to weight ratio. 5`10 and 135 lbs

Just keep at it, I`m 10 lbs away from my no unnecessary fat weight.:thumbsup:

You think you have a problem- I'm 6 feet and 145 lbs. I'm used to being a freak though, and I look a lot more normal now than I did in my goth days. Now I just look like a really intense skinny guy with no hair.

I get more comments about my motorcycling to work than I do about being "too thin". Maybe they're just being polite.

You work with BBWs???? PM me some pics please!!!

Congratulations! Misery loves company, so the sooner they get you fat, the sooner they can quit having to see you and realize they need to do what you did.

Sounds like you have a fairly normal build for cyclists. For the general American public, you are probably on the leaner side, but nowhere near "not looking right".

If you lose another 30lbs and look like da chicken, then that would be not looking right. So you have a pretty good cushion there.





It took me 3 years to lose about 40 lbs. Went from 212lbs to 167 now through hard work and propper nutrition. I am a 6 foot tall male 36 years old. I feel better than i have ever felt in my entire life. But at the work place i am constantly being told that I need to gain weight because
for some reason they feel that i dont look right. Mostly these comments are coming from overweight to obese women. Even some obese family members are making these comments. I have never made a rude comment to anyone for being overweight but would only encourage them to go on a bike ride once in a while. When I mention to them that I would like to drop a couple more Lbs their eyes get wide open as if i was going to jump off a building or something. Its pretty hilarious actually. According to the BMI I am of normal weight. I work with mostly women who constantly bring in donuts, cakes, cookies ect.. Sometimes I eat what they bring in but most of the time i dont and it offends them. Has anyone felt like this before?

If that's real and not photoshopped, then it's absolutely revolting.

That's Michael Rasmussen. TdF king of the mountains winner the past, what, 2 years?

Isn't funny how the comments are all about how you look funny. I actually commented once that it wasn't me that looks funny. That didn't go over to well. Especially since alot of the group were ladies. Yep, misery loves company. It's always amazing to me how people complained at work about how this diet isn't working well or this one did (for this week anyway). Then, when you quip in with a "why don't you try biking it's worked well for me blah, blah, blah" they start with the "oh, I could never do that I just don't have the time/have kids/so out of shape (this one makes me laugh all the time)/*insert your favorite excuse here*. When they finish and you state "so in otherwords you don't really want to get healthy you just want comfort from others like you so you don't feel so bad" you get the oh so nastiest looks, but mind you, usually not one word in return (well sometimes but not usually). No wonder America is the most obese country out there- people have to put their excuses somewhere!

The only thing I could add to this thread is this:

When they offer the cookies, cakes, donuts, take a serving, take a bite, then head back to your desk and either finish it or trash it, depending on your mood. That way you're participating in the 'fest', but not loading up on the empy calories.

I'm fortunate to work with several fitness-minded folks, and we have a gym at the office, so there isn't much of the 'I'm fat, you should be, too' mindset.

Jim

Its quite funny sometimes when I bring in donuts. I get responses like, " oh he is just trying to make us fat". Unbelievable! Dont get me wrong, I get along with all my coworkers quite well. I took one of my female coworkers to the bike shop after work. She never knew what a real roadbike felt like until she picked up a Specialized Ruby Comp. It was like taking a kid to toys r us for the first time. It was such a good feeling to see the expression on her face. She ended up buying the bike. I could not believe it. She is 52 years old. When I went to work the next day I told everybody that Maria bought a new bike. They asked me how much see spent. I told them 2,000$. All they could think was what a waste of money. I smirked and thought of how foolish they were. Her third time on the bike she pedaled 70 miles to the beach and back and managed to fix a flat. I was so proud of her. She truly addicted now. I was really worried about her because if she fell and got hurt I could not live with myself. She prooved me wrong. Now all we do is talk about bikes and I know it ticks off some of the other girls at work. Some but not all. I do feel great joy in having made a difference in someone elses life. It's such a good feeling.
52 yrs old ? 70 miles & fixed a flat second time out? Thats sheer class.