AITA For Slimming Down Just To Prove My In-Laws Wrong After They Predicted I’d Gain Weight Abroad?

We all know that painful moment when family members offer unsolicited advice disguised as deep concern. For one young expat, this passive-aggressive forecasting turned into an exhausting, multi-month prediction about her physical appearance and future lifestyle choices.

When she and her husband announced their exciting move abroad, her mother-in-law and sister-in-law didn’t offer helpful packing tips or local recommendations. Instead, they launched a relentless campaign of warnings, insisting she was destined to pack on the pounds.

They even smugly advised her to buy larger clothes ahead of time, turning her upcoming adventure into a countdown to weight gain. Relocating to a new country is stressful enough without having your body pre-emptively policed by critical in-laws.

When she did experience a slight weight change initially, she decided to take matters into her own hands. This choice led to an unexpected transformation that left her critical in-laws singing a very different tune during their next video call.

Curious how she managed to turn their negativity into fuel, and how they reacted when she actually succeeded? Want to know how her husband stepped up to support her through this family drama? The full story is right below.

AITA For Slimming Down Just To Prove My In-Laws Wrong After They Predicted I'd Gain Weight Abroad?

AITA for losing weight after my in-laws kept insisting I’d get fat after moving abroad?

Preparing for an international move is stressful enough without your own family scripting your inevitable physical decline. Instead of offering helpful packing tips, her in-laws focused entirely on her future waistline, making it their mission to predict her weight gain.

I (23F) moved abroad with my husband (28M) about a year ago.

Before we moved, my MIL (57F) and SIL (32F) would constantly make comments about how I was definitely going to gain weight once I got here.

Like... all the time.

They’d say things like, "Just wait until you move there, everyone gains weight," "You should buy bigger clothes now," and "You’ll see, you’re going to get chubby." Stuff like that.

At first, I’d laugh it off and tell them I wasn’t planning on gaining weight and that I’d try to stay active and eat normally, but they acted like it...

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We have all experienced that burning desire to turn someone’s smug, unsolicited prediction into the ultimate fuel for personal motivation. While adjusting to a completely new lifestyle can temporarily disrupt anyone’s habits, she refused to let their negative expectations become her permanent reality.

To be fair, during the first couple of months after moving, I did gain around 13 lbs.

New country, stress, eating out more, different routine—all of that.

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But eventually, I started feeling uncomfortable in my body and decided to lose the weight for myself.

I changed my habits slowly, started cooking more, walking more, and lost about 33 lbs total.

Part of it honestly was because I wanted to prove them wrong.

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Not gonna lie.

Their comments got under my skin.

Now, my MIL keeps telling me I'm "getting too skinny" and saying people will think my husband doesn't feed me or that he's "starving" me.

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Which is ridiculous because my husband has been supportive the entire time.

He literally tells me he only cares that I'm healthy and happy, and that I'm not developing an unhealthy obsession with weight loss or food.

Although she successfully reclaimed her health and felt better in her own skin, the lingering shadow of her family’s relentless judgment made her second-guess her triumph. It seemed that no matter what she did, her body remained public property for their criticism.

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For context: I'm eating normally, and I'm not underweight or anything extreme. My weight is 132 lbs and I'm 5'4".

But now, I’m wondering if I became petty about the whole thing because part of my motivation really was wanting to prove them wrong after months of comments about my body.

AITA?

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Community Opinions

Reddit users overwhelmingly declared OP "Not the Asshole," pointing out that her in-laws' obsession with her weight was both intrusive and bizarre.

u/AtmosphericPresh The only AH here are the grown ass women continuing to talk about your body over and over. It's gross. Why would you think you're an AH for losing...

u/3bag Next time they bring it up, say something lightly such as "Ah MIL before we moved here you were telling me I was going to be too fat, now...

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u/SundayEmpress
NTA. But you're putting a lot of importance on what those people think of your body.

u/GlowSeravia NTA.Gaining weight after a move is normal but losing it cuz u wanted to feel better (and lowkey rub it in their faces) is totally fine. U are literally...

u/FarOutLakes Lol this happened to a German woman I knew years ago when I was living in London, UK. She told me all her friends and family were telling her...

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u/Ok_Homework_7621
Why not simply tell them to mind their own business and stop being creepy?

u/TheExaspera
You were never the a\\hole, but your in-laws sure are.

u/Agreeable_Guard_7229
Are your in laws all over weight by any chance?

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u/LordInnsmouth
NTA, and it's time to tell the in-laws to keep their s*** comments to themselves

u/tiredgummybear NTA. You need to just tune them out. Whatever you do, do for yourself. Not sure what their issue is, but they sound somewhere between overbearing and toxic. Just...

u/bgreen134 Was it more of a commentary on the unhealthy food of their country? For example, I knew a German exchange student in high school. Her program literally gave her...

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u/Tea_laBleu
Fluff them lol. And your husband is a good one.

u/Training_Molasses822
Your in-laws sound like bullies.
NTA, but I'm wondering why your husband isn't stepping in to tell them to cut it out.

u/PicklesIsACat
NTA, they shouldn’t be talking about your weight. Period.

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u/KatTheTumbleweed
This is not about your weight but about infantilising you.
NTA

A few commenters also pointed out that her husband deserves credit for staying supportive throughout this family drama.

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It is completely natural to feel a sting of pride when you successfully disprove people who doubted you. However, keeping your motivation centered on your own well-being—rather than family spite—is the healthiest path forward in the long run. Do you think OP was wrong to let her in-laws’ comments motivate her weight loss, or was it the ultimate healthy revenge? And how would you handle family members who refuse to stop talking about your body? Share your hot take below!

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