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Losing weight isn’t always something worth celebrating. Sometimes it comes with a story nobody would ever want.

That’s what this restaurant employee had been living through for months.

She’d gone through countless tests, repeated trips to the emergency room, and so much pain that many of the regular customers already knew what was happening.

But then, one of those regulars decided to compliment her on the weight she’d lost.

Without really thinking, she gave him an honest answer that stopped the whole room in its tracks.

Read on to see what happened next.

AITA for making a customer uncomfortable when they were just trying to give me a compliment?

I (31F) work in a family-owned restaurant with an abundance of regulars who come in every day to sit at the bar.

Back in March, I began suffering from a mysterious stomach pain.

Basically, it starts off as a pressure in my lower abdomen, then rapidly escalates to a sharp pain. Then it becomes indescribable pain that spreads into my back and puts me on the ground. I experience sweats, shakes, and extreme vomiting for about 2–4 hours. Then it gradually begins to subside until it’s just gone, and it’s like nothing happened.

At work, everyone knows.

If I hadn’t already had my gallbladder removed, I’d swear that’s what it was.

It started out as an occasional incident, but over the months it’s become pretty common and frequent. It’s been a bit of a ****. I’ve had ultrasounds, CT scans, endoscopies, and colonoscopies—not to mention tons of bloodwork—with no success in finding the problem.

All of our regulars are aware because it’s happened at work more than a few times. I have a saint for a manager who is very sympathetic, and the customers have either witnessed her abandoning ship to take me to the emergency room or witnessed me being wheeled out by paramedics.

Without thinking, she offered a snarky response.

It’s no secret at all.

I’ve lost a significant amount of weight from it—nearly 50 pounds. I was slightly overweight at the start, so I’m not dangerously thin, but in another 15–20 pounds, I’ll be underweight.

Well, the other day, a regular decided to announce in front of everyone that I look fantastic.

Before really thinking it over, I said, “Thanks. It’s from all the suffering.”

He hasn’t spoken to her since.

It went dead silent, and I carried on with my work.

The regular hasn’t looked at me or spoken to me since and is telling everyone I made him uncomfortable when he’d only meant to compliment me.

I might be the ** because he is a nice man, and I do think he meant no harm. But at the same time, he is fully aware of the situation.

AITA?

Wow! It’s easy to see both sides of this, but that probably was pretty embarrassing for him.

Let’s see how the readers over at Reddit feel about the whole situation.

The words were not offending for this reader.

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This reader is on her side.

His comment doesn’t sit well with this person.

Exactly!

The customer probably meant well, but he picked the wrong thing to compliment.

He already knew what she’d been going through. But rather than thinking about why she’d lost so much weight, he focused on how good she looked because of it.

And yes, her response may have been uncomfortable to hear, but it was also the truth.

Hopefully, he learned an important lesson and never does that again.

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Author

Heather Hall

Heather Hall | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Heather Hall is a contributing writer for TwistedSifter specializing in internet culture, workplace conflict, and viral customer service stories. With over a decade of editorial experience in digital publishing, Heather excels at curating trending online discussions and providing insightful commentary on the daily dramas that capture the internet's attention.

Since beginning her career in 2011, she has developed deep expertise in SEO-driven digital content, having written for a wide array of publications covering lifestyle, business, and travel. At TwistedSifter, Heather focuses on synthesizing complex social media threads into engaging, highly readable narratives that highlight the human element of viral news.

When she isn’t analyzing the latest internet discourse, Heather is a dedicated mother of three sons who takes family gaming nights entirely too seriously—whether she is dominating in Mario Kart, exploring The Legend of Zelda, or jumping into Roblox.

Connect with Heather on Facebook and LinkedIn.