askchapo

I go through it myself so I just come at it earnestly, and then let the consistency in that platonic approach ward off any misconceptions. And stick to things that they have control over and likely made conscious efforts to present a certain way “your glasses look great!”, “that’s great shirt color for you!” - which draws their mind from what they feel less confident about (their body) to something that makes them proud in their choice.

Depending on the closeness of your relationship, and your knowledge of their struggle, a “you look great/strong”, or an acknowledgment of their hard work goes a long way; at least between me and my friends. In my experience - at least speaking about being overweight- very few people appreciate the difficulty in moving the needle even a little bit. So I find that acknowledging efforts rather than results is a good method too.