What If Things Go Horribly Right?

May 3, 2024

We noticed a common mistake people make is placing too much focus on how not to fail, how to get everything right, until something they never prepared for happens: they do succeed and it goes right, or worse—it goes horribly right.

Eye Opening

The upside of a healthier and more attractive body is, frankly, eye-opening; your family, friends, acquaintances, co-workers and bosses, and even strangers will look at you differently. This has the obvious upsides, but has some downsides no one prepares you for.

At 10kgs (22 pounds), the change is so dramatic that you’re in new wardrobe territory. The new clothes you wear will fit nicer, and will visually communicate the leaner and more toned structure of your body, and people will notice.

Because you’ve improved your perceived social value, people now have more to gain by staying on your good side and giving you the benefit of the doubt. Those who ignored you will do a double-take, once immediate punishments become warnings, and the extra guac is suddenly free.

Envy and Jealousy Are Real

Unfortunately, the positives only come from people whose status and position is either enhanced by associating with you, or otherwise not put into question. Your parents, boss, and superstar siblings and irritatingly hyper-competent friends will cheer you on.

The people whose position is now in question—friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances, strangers who themselves were just so-so—will feel threatened. Every group you belong to has an invisible leaderboard, and you just leapfrogged them.

Socially, to them, it’s like you cut in line, so you can expect all forms of sabotage and undermining of your efforts; from backhanded compliments, stuffing pizzas and cookies in your face, to straight up preventing you from doing more workouts, you can expect just about anything.

The problem is they think that they’re just like you—but you had the nerve to think you can to better than them—and then actually did it, while they still can’t. The solution is recognizing that the more such people attack, the more you know who your friends really are.

Gaining It Back Will Terrify You

A few weeks or months of this and your mind will get used to this treatment, but still remember how people treated you before. These two completely opposite experiences will confuse your mind, so it will try to make sense of it—by saying your previous negative experiences is illegitimate.

After all, if people were capable of being this kind to you all along, then the weight you lost must’ve been the problem. If you gain it back, then you will be treated badly again—and this will terrify you into staying in shape and eating right.

Doing right by your body—regardless of societal impacts—should always be your priority. Your friends, family, co-workers and strangers—whether they mean well or not—won’t ever get to live in your body. Only you will, so why not make it a nice place to live :)