MetaChat - I gain weight in your mind

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29 May 2009

I gain weight in your mind →[More:]With nearly every acquaintance I have, if I haven't seen them in a while--let's say at least a year--usually one of the first things said to me is "you've lost weight!"

Now, I'm a big burly guy and comments about my weight really ceased to bother me some time ago. However, I've been pretty much the same weight for at least twenty years and this phenomenon is so persistent I have to wonder.

I always accept the compliment graciously by the by but I'm wondering just what the heck I'm doing in these folks memory centers? Eating bon bons 24/7 or what?

Does this happen to anyone else?

post by: WolfDaddy at: 12:55 | 12 comments

Huh... come to think of it, yeah, I get that too.

posted by kellydamnit 29 May | 13:01

I see my parents once a year or so, and they say I've lost weight every time I see them! I thought it was because I can now afford clothes that actually fit me (thus making me look thinner?) but perhaps there's something deeper going on here...

posted by muddgirl 29 May | 13:06

Two years ago I lost 40 pounds over the course of several months. During that time, people who saw the weight loss gradually would say each week, hey, you've lost some weight! What puzzles me is that some of these people continue to do this, even though my weight has been the same for about a year.

posted by Melismata 29 May | 13:09

Maybe their eyes are getting fatter.

posted by Atom Eyes 29 May | 13:32

Heh...the father of one of my oldest friend's used to ask me "how much weight did you gain?" or "how much do you weigh now?" every time I saw him, which was about once a year. It started around freshman year in college and continues on just about every year I go back home for the holidays. About 90% of our conversations consisted of this. He was a quiet guy in general, and I never detect any malice in his voice. So I would answer him very matter-of-factly and unemotionally. He would just nod and go back to whatever he was doing.

Very strange. It embarrassed the hell out of my friend though.

posted by mullacc 29 May | 13:37

you're dressing better?

posted by desjardins 29 May | 13:41

I think it's mainly that when you are happy to see people you look better in their minds. So the longer you go without seeing someone, the more upbeat your seeing them is, and the more they think you look better.

Other people probably just think it's what people like to hear.

posted by dhartung 29 May | 14:04

Most people get gradually fatter over time.

Maybe by staying the same weight, you're losing weight relative to them, their friends and their mental image of an average person.

posted by TheophileEscargot 29 May | 17:52

I gain weight in your mind

That explains why my head keeps pitching forward. or maybe that's the jameson.

posted by jonmc 29 May | 20:08

Happens to me pretty much every time I see my aunts and uncles.

Most people get gradually fatter over time. Maybe by staying the same weight, you're losing weight relative to them, their friends and their mental image of an average person. - ooooo, good theory.

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 29 May | 21:15

People confuse haircuts and weight loss a lot.

Also, if you look generally relaxed, happy, and healthy, that instantly becomes "You must have lost weight!"

posted by Miko 29 May | 22:17

I dunno--sometimes when I look relaxed, happy and healthy, people ask me if I'm high.

posted by box 30 May | 11:18

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