To think mentioning your weight a lot is boasting?

[Putitdownnow]

To set the scene, I'm very overweight so maybe over sensitive to this, but I'm trying to lose weight and get fitter. Am eating healthier and walking everyday to do 8000 steps at least and 10000 on average. I'm 5ft 7 and am 17 stone.

I would never ever tell anyone in real life my weight.

There is a woman at my work who is very slim. She takes every opportunity I think but maybe I'm paranoid to say that she weighs 8 stone. Says it almost daily. When she mentions her weight, the only other person who joins in is another very slim colleague who also says her weight. The two then sit and look at the rest of us, almost waiting for us to reveal our weight. No one does. I'm easily the heaviest but others are all varying from I'd guess normal BMI to overweight.

AIBU to feel peeved at them? Is this stealth boasting? Or am I a sensitive snowflake on this. Would you happily say how much you weigh to others?

She sounds like a character from The Catherine Tate Show! Or Smack The Pony.

I’m with worra on this, it wouldn’t offend me if someone even asked outright how much I weighed as it’s not an issue to me.... althougj I do understand that it’s an issue to others so would never ask others what their weight it.

God how utterly tedious they are. What the actual fuck is with these people? Maybe you should keep a tick chart somewhere - if they mention it five days in a row, treat yourself to a magazine or a bunch of daffs.

You keep doing what you're doing - and be glad that you have a life and don't need to be validated by a bunch of people that you only know because you have to work together.

It sounds as if their lives revolve around the magic number 8. I tend to feel a tiny bit sorry for people like this and fund myself wondering if maybe they should take an evening class or join a club to broaden their horizons.

To explain my rantiness on this topic, I have Crohn's and have been chronically underweight for years. The amount of female colleagues and acquaintances (and it was only ever women) who commented on my eating and said 'Oooh, aren't you thin, you'll have to tell me your secret' like it was some kind of weird 'girly bonding' thing was infuriating.

I was polite for years and finally cracked and answered 'My secret? Chronic bowel disease. ICU is a great place to crash diet by the way'.

The Weight Police can FOTTFSOFATFOSM.

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to respond. Interesting and very helpful.

It's just a normal office I work in, about 15 people in our section. Some people have noticed that I go walking now at lunchtime and will comment when I come back in a sort of encouraging way, bit like "well done on getting out" sort of way. I'm not a loud person and don't like attention so I'm not announcing that I'm off out walking or anything. It's around stuff like this, or if we have biscuits at coffee break and I eat fruit that the comments start and the inevitable "well, I'm 8 stone" comes in.

I think I just need to filter it out.

They may be 8 stone but are they getting their five a day?

Thin ain't necessarily healthy.

It might be like hair colour but I’ve never mentioned my glorious auburn tresses to anyone at work either. They’re real you know

I'm happy to state my weight - actually, any excuse and I'll bring up the 6 stone I lost - not to make anyone feel bad but only because I'm so friggin proud. And surprised. At myself. For doing it.

I hadn't thought of it as fat shaming though. Though when I was obese I was quite envious of anyone that was slim. Like they were lucky and I wasn't. Not that they ate well and I didn't!

Give her a chufty badge and a round of applause every time she mentions her weight.

That's mean. No one I work with has ever talked about their weight or continually mentioned it. Some people (and it's rife on MN which is why I never look at food or diet threads on here) think that being thin is a sigh of good character and moral superiority.

She just wants to point out how slim and light she is, like when some short women continually point out how petite they are and say things like 'room for a little 'un?' Yuck

It sounds like mean girl behaviour. I don't know anyone who mentions their weight beyond the odd friend who says 'I'd quite like to lose a few pounds'. I know lots of slim people but none who feel the need to give a daily announcement on how much they weigh! What bores they must be!

My boss does this and I just ignore her and never respond. I have to share an office with her and she is deluded and self obsessed. She has some kind of unexplained food phobia which means she only ever eats crackers or crisps (smellier the better) and never any real food. She smells weird. She runs 5k a day, talks about this every day ‘I went to the gym or did a run’ when no one asked and doesn’t care. She’s always late for work as she proritises gym/running over coming to work. She’s petite but obsessed with her weigh, if she loses weight she will tell everyone her actual weight (not just I’ve lost 3lbs) and if she puts on even 1lb she will tell you

I have been slim and big but discussing my weight is not something I think about 24/7. I think it’s sad and it’s rude. I pity her crap life as even if you are perfect BMI she’s still clearly miserable

Unless you are all jockeys or featherweight boxers I can’t think of any reason to discuss your weight in the office.

It’s time for someone to smaller and say, ‘Yes, Dawn, we know you are 8 stone- you told us yesterday. And on Friday. Quite often actually. Tea anyone?’

IMo it’s indicative of something else. My boss had such a food issue she won’t admit to so often makes comments to distract or excuse herself from what she is doing ie she is very self aware she only eats crisps and is aware other people know so it’s almost like she is imagining people think how is she so slim when she only eats crisps and has to make a comment on it

All I really think is stop eating those fucking smelly crisps

Matilda's retort is the best!

"I know! It's so amazing you lost all that weight and you've been so lucky it's not left you much of a double chin"

She sounds like my MIL - she is obsessed with how thin she is. It is some going to shoe horn your weight into every conversation and I do not think it is done in a kindly way - my MIL certainly always considered her thinness a sign of moral superiority and was viscous about fat people. It is pretty sad if being thin is your biggest achievement in life, but it really was for MIL. Much good it has done her now she has osteoporosis, I am sure her severely restricted diet over the years won't have helped with that.

There should be a law against announcing your weight repeatedly to all and sundry in public places. Telling Alexa in private is quite sufficient if you feel you really must say it out loud.

View it as her own insecurity, OP. That she needs to announce this fact so frequently. Her issues are not your problem.

Some will see that as 'boasting' and others will see it as fact.

Totally agree.

It's factual but it's also unnecessary. Tell your colleagues in the staff room a new fact each day. Develop a personality.

Fucking hell I'd start making loud quips every time she said it with a smile

Really? Is that the same as yesterday and the day before and the day before that?

Good for you!

Well done!

Have you alerted the media?

Who said that? Oh there you are, nearly didn't see you, you're so tiny

Yes fact but why every day?

Imagine if someone said 'I've got a husband' or 'I went to Harvard'

Imagine if someone said 'I've got a husband' or 'I went to Harvard'

I used to work with a man and every third sentence out of his mouth began with 'My wife Judith said...'

Yup - over-smugness & very tedious/painful to listen to am sure!

To people who don't have weight problems, weight is just weight and nothing to be coy about.

While I don’t disagree with this ^^ the fact that they mention it so regularly would indicate that they don’t think that “weight is just weight”.

Without knowing them it’s hard to say whether it’s insecurity or meanness on their part. Possibly a little bit of both.

Not one of your colleagues will be thinking well of them for it though.

It sounds like you are doing really well, keep up the good work and put them out of your mind.