I’ve lost a bit of weight over the last three or four months. Not intentionally, just because stuff has been happening and I forgot to eat. The truth is a lot more boring and not relevant to this blog at all, but the easiest way to explain it is that November last year was crazy-busy, stressful and little food was consumed. Whatever.

Apparently, it’s okay to comment on people when they’ve lost weight. And with it comes a lot of praise – as if it’s something of which I should be proud. But I know that the tough few months I’ve had is the reason I look this way, so when I stand in front of the mirror, I don’t see someone who looks good in what she’s wearing, I see someone who is looking tired and a little defeated.

It is another example of just looking at what is in front of us and not trying to work out what is going on behind the scenes.

My HbA1c is sitting in the low 7s at the moment which of course, would have every health professional alive patting me on the head and calling me a ‘good diabetic’. Well, thank you. But the reason for it is a combination of erratic highs and lows, and not eating much which does wonders for keeping a steady line on the CGM.

The truth behind results – whatever those results – can be more than a little deceptive.  And being the person I am, I want people to know the truth. Well sort of. I want people to know that I haven’t been trying to lose weight out of vanity. It metaphorically has fallen off me because I’ve been stressed and busy and barely eating. So the numbers on the scales (if I bothered to weigh myself) wouldn’t be a reflection of effort at all. Equally, my A1c isn’t because of hard work; it’s because the limited food has helped, and the highs and lows have averaged out. I’d feel like a fraud if anyone thought anything else.

It’s all too easy to take what we see at face value and assume that what we see is what is real. But the two are completely different things. I’m never sure how much I should pry into what is really going on in others’ lives and I certainly don’t want a million questions thrown at me. Is a ‘you look good’ comment all that’s warranted when discussing weight loss? And should an in-target HbA1c be taken as an absolute that needs no further investigation? Honestly, I don’t think so.

The devil is in the detail, I guess. But making assumptions and not delving deeper will never get the truth. It will only tell half the story.