Demi Lovato Speaks Out About Why They Think We Should Stop ‘Complimenting’ People for Losing Weight

Demi Lovato has been using their platform to make a lot of announcements recently, announcements that are important to them personally.

First, they called out a frozen yogurt shop for triggering wording in their store. Lovato explained, “I’m protective of the little girl inside of me that didn’t get that representation at a young age of someone saying, ‘All of this diet stuff at a young age is not OK. You’re worth more than that.”

Lovato later apologized for their harsh words about the store. They explained that they did not understand the whole story and never considered that some items are necessary for people with certain health issues like diabetes or people on certain diets such as a gluten free diet.

Next, they made a very personal announcement. Lovato announced that they are non-binary and official changing their pronouns to “they” and “them.” They wrote, “This has come after a lot of healing & self-reflective work.”

Now, Lovato, who has struggled with an eating disorder, is making another announcement about weight loss. They’re not telling anyone they should or should not lose weight. Instead, they are pointing out that complimenting someone when you notice he or she has lost weight can be damaging.

In their Instagram stories, Lovato wrote, “[I don’t know] who needs to hear this, but complimenting someone on their weight loss can be as harmful as complimenting someone n their weight gain in regards to talking to someone in recovery from an eating disorder because even if your intention is pure, it might leave that person awake at 2 a.m. overthinking that statement.”

In a second slide to their Instagram story, Lovato explained that the compliment is really just a compliment to the eating disorder. They explained, “the loud ass eating disorder voice inside my head that says, ‘See, people like a thinner you,’ or ‘If you eat less you’ll lose even more weight.” They added that the compliment might also make someone wonder what people thought of them when they weighed more.

Lovato ended the story by writing, “Moral of the story: I am more than the shell of 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.”

Have you ever struggled with an eating disorder? Have you ever considered that complimenting someone for losing weight could be damaging?