Woman Loses 150 Pounds and Realizes How Differently Skinny People Are Treated

It's no secret that people find a skinnier figure more attractive and view it as a "goal" body. Every day in advertisements and on social media, we see that people are chasing a skinnier body image.

There is immense pressure on everyone to avoid gaining weight and to maintain a lean and skinny figure, especially if you're a celebrity or a well-known person. Those who are on the "bigger side" have faced harsh criticism and have been made to feel inferior because of their figure.

We see the harsh reality of weight gain and the double standards applied by society to both overweight and underweight individuals.

What about those who have experienced both sides of the spectrum? Many people have lost significant amounts of weight or gained it and have experienced the differences that come with these fluctuations.

One of these individuals is Katiria Duque. She is a woman who was on the "bigger side" and was treated completely differently after losing 150 pounds.

She is here to share her story about how people's interactions with her changed once she lost the weight and to delve into the double standards presented by society regarding body image. Nenad Stojkovic

Katiria Duque is a 26-year-old Colombian American who works in photography and lives in Houston, Texas. Katiria first spoke out in response to a woman's post discussing how she lost 70 pounds and got a boyfriend for the first time in her life.

This brought attention to the double standards based on weight. Katiria related to the statement and decided it was time to share her own story as well.

Katiria first replied to a post that someone else shared, stating, "When you lose 70 pounds and suddenly you have a boyfriend for the first time in your life."

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Her video garnered 2.4 million views, so it's safe to say that many women resonate with what she said.

When she discovered her video went viral, this is what she had to say: “My reaction to my video going viral was overwhelming, not because of the views, but because of people's reactions! I had no idea so many could relate to my exact story. It brought me to tears because I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy,” adding that, “At the same time, it brought me peace, knowing we could all overcome fatphobia if we stick together and continue to live our lives. It seems like we all stopped living so that we could accommodate the people who hate looking at us in bigger bodies. So many people in the comments have been hiding for years. Enough is enough!”

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The video she posted states that she lost about 150 pounds in 2019, going from 275-285 to 130-135 pounds. The TikToker wanted to lose this weight to feel more energetic and for health reasons, all related to her well-being, not necessarily body image.

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The main goal was to do this for her well-being, but once she saw how people treated her, that changed...

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Katiria was not expecting the side effects that occurred. People began to like her for what seemed like no reason.

Between random people saying hello and random guys buying her drinks, it seemed like everyone wanted to become her friend and be part of her life. Her relationship with her family even changed.

They became nicer to her and showed support for her achievements, and she even received more job opportunities. She was starting to enjoy how this felt.

Losing the weight changed EVERYTHING

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Random guys started buying her drinks...

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There is always a dark side to everything. Once she realized how things had changed, she became terrified of gaining the weight back.

This is completely understandable, as she was suddenly adored by everyone, and she didn't want to lose that.

However, on the other hand, she did realize that this meant she had been treated terribly when she weighed more. This took a toll on her mental health, and she soon developed an eating disorder.

Her family even changed how they acted towards her

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The way everyone treated her changed

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Of course, she tried to fight it and incorporated food back into her diet. Her fears became a reality, and she gained everything back.

She stopped going out because she didn't want to be seen. She didn't want anyone to witness her "failure." She clarified her family's reaction to this situation because many people thought her family wasn't treating her very kindly.

"Everything around me was perfect..."

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She says, “My family does know I gained my weight back, and they are so supportive in every way. I mentioned that I had been treated differently by them when I lost weight; I was treated nicer, but they truly didn’t know how to react. They had watched me give my all day after day. They saw me change right before their eyes. It was their natural first reaction, and I didn’t give them enough credit in my video because once I let them know that it hurt my feelings how they had changed towards me, they immediately apologized and told me they loved me in every size. They’ll support me through anything.”

Everything made Katiria fearful of gaining back the weight.

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She soon developed an eating disorder

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She doesn't blame her family for reacting the way they did when she lost the weight.

She said, “I am so thankful for them and really can’t blame them for being conditioned to a skinny world when the world has brainwashed us all. My family is only human, and I am grateful they reacted so kindly when I talked about how they made me feel. They’re allowed to learn and grow with me.”

Katiria shared a bit about how they reacted when she gained the weight back, saying, “No one commented on my weight gain, and we actually all got closer. I never felt uncomfortable again. That’s why I’m in a much healthier headspace this time around; I’m trying to find my balance this time.”

She eventually started gaining back the weight

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Nobody deserves to feel this way

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Weight loss is a very triggering and sensitive subject for many people.

The message that Katiria wants to convey from her video is, “You matter in this world, and there are thousands, if not millions, of people feeling just like you. This brings comfort in knowing there is a community where we can feel safe, uplift each other, and go out into the world unapologetically as our authentic selves. Because we deserve a place in this world just like everybody else.”

Here are some responses to her story

mildmamacita

She went through similar things as Katiria

miggity.mo

A different perspective

iamprettyawesome

Another similar situation

janayaragonez

Yes! Exactly!

jezzykah

Confidence for sure

ladycheesemess

It is sad how people change the way they act towards you based on your weight

laineljss

Even family can't accept it

ajnamasic3

Katiria is not the first woman to go through something like this, as we see from the comments. It's extremely sad that people are treated this way, but hopefully, Katiria's story will help shed some light on it.

Katiria was brave and opened up about her situation and what she experienced.

Share her story with your friends so more people will hear about how individuals are being treated.