A complete stranger you’ve never met and will never see again asks you how you are and they they mean it? Really?
This isn’t meant to be sarcasm… just disbelief.
If you’re already very thin, it might be a comment that means more along the lines of “have you been sick?”
If you’re average or overweight … it’s a compliment.
That’s how I (overweight) always take it, anyway. Only these days when people say it to me it’s true; I’ve lost about 100lbs since May. 
Why can’t people just say, “You look great!”
I think most people mean it as a compliment, but unless you’re really close with the person, you should never bring up their weight.
Like lisacurl said, why can’t people just say you’re looking good or something.
I have lost 70 pounds in the last 4 years.
Not trying.
“hey - you look sickly!” would be a comparable comment in my case. I don’t look sickly as long as I keep my shirt on (it goes to the crotch). The sagging skin is something of a giveaway.
Just say - “hey - lookin’ good!” - unless they obviously are not - do not risk giving offense/harming feelings when there are neutral terms available.
A simple “Good to see you again!” will cover all bases. Well, maybe not if you’re a mortician…
It might feel good for a moment, but then how would I ever trust them again?
I think people who say this maybe realize you look different, but they aren’t sure just how.
Asking if you lost weight seems safer than, “Did you color your hair?” or “Wow, finally got those eyebrows waxed, huh!” or “Botox?”
They mean well I believe, or at least that’s what I’ll choose to believe. 
Doesn’t that imply you haven’t always looked great?
Neither. It’s generally intended as a compliment. Maybe you look better for some other reason, maybe you look the same, maybe you gained a bit a weight, does it really matter? I always try to take remarks in the best possible light. Thus, I expect they either mean “you look good and I’m just assuming it’s weight” or “you look different than I remember, it’s not a hair cut, maybe you just lost weight.” It goes against that concept to think “I remember you being fatter than you are now” or something like that.
For a personal anecdote, I never hear that sort of thing because I’m in good shape and always have been. Instead, I’ll often the opposite but similarly intentioned remark from people I haven’t seen in a while akin to “you’ve gotten bigger.” When, in fact, I’ve been roughly the same weight and strength for years. The proper response isn’t “well, I’m not any stronger” it’s a simple “thanks” and then whatever other crap we might chat about.
I voted neither; because it seems like people today have to FEEL something about everything that’s said to them. It’s like they’re waiting to be insulted. Geez, with a statement like the OP, I’d simply think the person made an observation with no insult or compliment attached.
Oh and while you’re at it… get offa my lawn!
Male (just checked and everything), but I think that’s irrelevant - as is asking friends what they think of a question like that.
It doesn’t really matter what the person being asked the question thinks. Whether they take it with the implied flattery or as some kind of convoluted insult, they are likely to answer with some meaningless demurring pleasantry. I think that the question/greeting - just like “How are you?” and “You look good today!” and “Have you done something new with your hair?” and “Is that a new suit/dress?” are all just semantically null variations of “Hello.” The variations and the need to make a unique greeting come from both general societal pressure and the plethora of “success” type books that imagine these cues give the sayer some kind of leg up on sociability, trustworthiness, friendliness etc.
But if you ask a friend for “what it really means” you’re going to get an answer that has nothing to do with the underlying exchange of pleasantries and probably involves a level of analysis they’d never apply to a greeting of “Wow, you look happy today!”
I am reminded of the Japanese customs regarding business cards - when handed a new person’s card, besides receiving it with both hands, you are supposed to ask a question about its contents, to show interest - “Is this your home or office number?” etc. Meaningless but polite.
I would take it as a compliment; they think I look good, can’t quite put their finger on why so they’ve guessed at weight.
I wouldn’t just brush it off as a standard pleasantry because it is rare that someone would say such a thing to me (I’m in good shape, but as a 30-something male, I don’t get many people commenting on my figure).
It’s intended as a compliment, I think. Stupid thing to say, but a compliment.
As everyone has said, it’s intended to be a compliment, so that’s how I take it*. I agree, though; it’s one of those things like pregnancy that are just too fraught to be casually mentioned or discussed. But yeah, it’s meant in the spirit of, “Hey, you’re looking great!”
Nope. As Blaster Master said, you just look different somehow (not even necessarily better, mind you; just different), and they find this different look pleasing. In my experience - when I’ve used it and heard it - it means “Wow! You always look great, and I wouldn’t have imagined it was possible for you to look even better than that, but… here you are!”
If someone really wants to imply that you haven’t always looked good (and that in fact, you still don’t) then they’ll say something along the lines of what a friend of mine was told by her high school frienemy (in the most condescending tone you can imagine): “Oh, you changed your hairstyle! It looks a lot better.”
*or would, if anyone had ever said that to me.
I get this all the time. IMO, it’s meant as a compliment. I’ve always just figured that people remember me as fatter than I am. Whatdyado. :shrug:
It’s a no win situation, so I never mention weight. The last time I told someone (who had obviously slimmed down considerably) that they looked good, I found out she was dying.
A friend of mine asked someone when the baby was due (she was wearing an obvious maternity top) and found out she wasn’t pregnant. Again, unless your water breaks in front of me I would never ask about pregnancy.
I had a very annoying acquaintance who would always ask me if I’d lost weight or if I was “working on it.” I am not overweight, I’m just normal sized and don’t really care one way or another since in my opinion my weight is not a problem. I always laughed uncomfortably and changed the subject.
Same guy would make similar comments about my skin (“Your skin looks so great! Are you using something new?”). His boyfriend did point out though that there was nothing wrong with my skin before.
In this case I think the person saying this to me was very insecure about his own appearance based on comments he made about himself. I have no idea what that had to do with me though. I don’t know if the things he said were intended as backhanded compliments or what, but I wished he wouldn’t always go on like that. Thankfully we no longer speak.
I’m willing to admit that I’ve become a bit of a fatass over the past decade, so in my case I would take it as a compliment. Also given that I’m actively trying to lose weight, I would consider such feedback encouraging even if I haven’t actually succeeded in shedding any pounds.
It’s not a comparative adjective. I assume it means I’ve always looked good, but look particularly breathtaking in the present moment. 
Comments on my weight are okay in passing, but it really tells me a lot about what the compliment-giver values or thinks I value when that’s all they can say.
For some reason, I get hair color comments, too. It amazes me that people think it’s okay to say, “Oh, your hair looks so much better, more natural than it used to.” I start to wonder if I’ve been going around unwittingly looking like Bozo the Clown.
Yep, me too. It isn’t often that anyone mentions my weight but invariably it is when I am at my fatest. I think I look like a pig in a suit now. If they really think I look better now it’s depressing to think what their mental image of me is. So, even when it is meant as a compliment it isn’t unless I’ve really lost some weight.
I have one friend, a skinny little thing, who always asks me if I’ve lost weight, to be irritating. I don’t say “thank you” to him.