The minefield that is: talking to women

I saw a young lady I hadn't seen for a while, and she looked great. I mean double-take-to-make-sure-it-was-actually-her great. I knew she'd been dieting and now gathered from her attire that she'd been going to the gym. She'd lost weight and toned-up, and now looked fit and healthy. That's fit as in fit, not fit. But it was more than just that. There was something else about her I couldn't quite put my finger on. What is it the French call it? I don't know what, but she seemed to exude a new self-confidence. Perhaps she'd paid more attention to her appearance, like recently washed her hair, a lick of paint, whatever. Anyway, she'd obviously been working hard on improving herself and it showed.

She's a lovely person, so I wanted to tell her that I'd noticed, to give her a morale-boost so she'd feel even better about herself. Therein lay the problem.

As a man, one with possibly a touch of Aspergers-type social ineptitude, here's what I would have said:

Wow, you look great. I had to do a double-take there to make sure it was you. You've lost a load of weight, and the gym's clearly working for you. Have you just washed your hair? And have you got make-up on? I'm saying this to make you feel good, not because I fancy you.

Clearly I would have to run it through the female filter before uttering it. Something like:

Wow, you look great. Have you been going to the gym? You look glowing.

Okay, that would sound like I was chatting her up. Badly. A rethink was needed. How about:

Wow, you look great. I had to do a double-take there to make sure it was you. In a good way, because you look so different. Not that you looked awful before or anything. Just different. Have you lost weight? You have? I didn't notice you had any to lose, but I s'pose you must have had then. Have you been going to the gym, too? You have? That must be why you look so glowing and healthy then.

That would just make far too big a deal of the whole thing. So I settled for:

Hi!