Why's everyone nagging 'bout my weight?

The nagging tends to intensify right around when you're actually succeeding, which is one of the more frustrating things about weight loss. People who've never struggled with it genuinely can't model what it took to get here - the snap judgment sample is formed before they understand the work involved. 45 lbs at your height is real and visible. The people nagging have their own thing going on that has nothing to do with your journey.

Starting at 0.5 and having the worst reaction, stepping back to 0.25 and working back up again is the right approach but it does not make the next 0.5 dose any less nerve-wracking. The OP's situation is about family pressure rather than dosing, but the underlying thread of managing people's reactions to the process shows up in both directions. How was the step back up this week?

5'7" with an athletic build means the BMI threshold for 'overweight' is capturing muscle alongside fat in a way that's not accurate for your actual composition. Defining your own goal weight based on how you feel and function rather than what a chart says is the approach that makes sense for your starting point.

Totally get it. Some doctors are really cautious about this stuff. My previous family doctor got concerned when I mentioned wanting to lose weight, but after switching once she retired, the new one worried I was on the edge of underweight instead.

Wow, congrats on the loss, your body's probably relieved not hauling that weight around anymore. That said, dropping that much in such a short stretch does worry me a little, not exactly the healthy pace.

Not blaming anyone, just genuinely asking. Pretty much everything I've read on weight loss in general touches on those same three points. Honestly just curious about it.

It's genuinely not okay to just ask people about sudden changes in their weight, not sure what you grew up believing, but commenting on someone's appearance like that, whether it reads as positive or negative, gaining or shedding pounds, is just plain rude. The fact you think that's acceptable small talk honestly says something about how you were raised.

People tend to just assume and pass judgment until it happens to them personally.

Everyone's path here looks totally different. Judging isn't something I do, this whole situation is rough and my heart goes out to everyone dealing with it. Grew up with parents who were extremely focused on body weight, mattered a lot to them. Wasn't actually heavy when younger but started dieting early anyway. Hearing comments from your own father like 'why can't you be as thin as her' does something to you. Pretty sure that wrecked my metabolism long-term. Hit my mid-twenties and just stopped being able to lose weight at all.

Spent years and years dieting and exercising hard (multiple fitness classes daily, five days weekly, plus walking, sauna sessions, gluten-free, avoiding soda and anything fried or fast, staying strict about water only, logging everything closely and averaging under a thousand calories daily, and so on). Nothing moved the scale. Tried every diet imaginable, stuck with all of them. Even when barely eating anything, still couldn't lose. Doctors had no explanations. Never even tried an older appetite suppressant. Only about five weeks into this now, but for the first time ever I've actually dropped 8 pounds.

Can't believe the negativity you've gotten! I'm around five foot four with a healthy BMI. My visceral fat reading is low and muscle percentage keeps climbing, which for my age (57) is solid. Bone density's well above average too. Small-framed, and honestly look nowhere near underweight, still have rounder cheeks and everything. Lost my weight very gradually over time.

Would never judge anyone else's weight, ever.

Well done on your progress, and good luck reaching whatever weight feels right for you.