Weight loss is an incredibly personal journey. For some it can be abundantly positive and be a huge goal in that person’s life, and for others it can be the complete opposite.
One person who has experienced the latter is artist Demi Lovato, who has been super open about struggling with an eating disorder from a young age.
“I used to genuinely believe recovery from an eating disorder wasn’t real,” they wrote on Instagram last year. “That everyone was faking or secretly relapsing behind closed doors.”
The 28-year-old, who recently came out as non-binary, suffered a near-fatal opioid overdose in 2018 which, they say, was contributed to by an untreated eating disorder.
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Now, Lovato is making it her mission to speak about the issues honestly and openly on her social media, starting with how others can learn to help their friends going through the same thing.
“IDK who needs to hear this but complimenting someone on their weight loss can be as harmful as complimenting someone on their weight gain,” they wrote on their Instagram story.
“If you don’t know someone’s history with food, please don’t comment on their body. Because even if your intention is pure, it might leave that person awake at 2am, overthinking that statement,” they continued.
They admitted that it can feel great sometimes, but other times, they start thinking, “Well damn. What’d they think of my body before?”
“I am more than the shell for my soul that is my body, and every day, I fight to remind myself of that, so I’m asking you to please not remind me that that is all people see of me sometimes.”
Lovato absolutely has a point – unless you know the person very well an are aware of their story, be mindful of the implications pointing out weight loss can have.
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