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The Social Pitfalls of Significant Weight Loss
How an encounter with an acquaintance at a party led me to feel my body and medical choices were on display and up for debate.
“You’re so bony,” she said as she squeezed my shoulder and poked my chest.“I’d like to see you put on five pounds or so.”
Is this really happening? I wondered. It felt like I was outside of my body, watching in disbelief as she poked and prodded my body as if inspecting livestock at an auction.
Say something! You’ve anticipated this and practiced a polite-yet-sassy response.
“I’ve been in maintenance for a couple of months now. I’m not losing more weight.” The second I heard me defending myself and my appearance, I regretted it.
Shit! That’s not what we rehearsed, Chris.
I was at my sister-in-law’s surprise 50th birthday party. I mentally refer to her as my sister-in-sin since her brother and I are not married, but we’ve been together going on 15 years. When I say that out loud, people don’t think it’s quite as funny as I do.
In May of 2024, I started a GLP-1 medication for weight loss to improve my health. Since then, I’ve lost 148 lb., or 53% of my starting mass. My cholesterol is normal, even after…