Yes, exactly! It was hard to not be cynical about it because, to me, I saw the same person in the mirror, and it was an insult that people suddenly cared about me. Nobody cared about me before, and after my weight loss, everyone wants to look at, talk touch, and touch you. I'm a lot better at it now, and that competition I spoke of in my blog has helped me with that, but it's still a hard thing to cope with. I hate knowing that people validate my existence on something as fickle as arbitrary as a few extra pounds! Well, it was almost 80 on a 5'2 frame, but still, my point stands: weight is easy to put on. I know the people who count don't base my self-worth on it, and neither do it, but's definitely tough.
As far as attention from men goes, I've never really sought it, AND I'm introverted (um, duh
), so all of that combined with the fact that I went from obese to a conventionally accepted size made it really hard to deal with. I'm not a casual dater, and as an INFJ, I'm sure you understand me when I say that I'm very selective of the people I include in my life, as we're very different. Men don't get that, and tend to get upset when I'm very blunt and don't play their games when they try to flirt. It makes me seem cold and aloof, but I've gotten better at being warmer and friendlier when I politely tell them I'm not interested, instead of a very dry, concise "No."