I am not telling people I've had labpanding done. Now I have told a few people, 4 of my close girlfriends know but they all live in at least a state if not several away. I have told my husband and my mother but that's it for local. Did you ever watch Seinfeld? You know the episode of worlds colliding? That is what it would feel like if this world met my irl world. I have been overweight as long as I can remember. My immediate family has never made me feel bad but I recently realized that my siblings are content with their weight because they are not as big as me. As long as I am the "big" one then they dont have to address their issues. I have heard the whole "you'd be pretty if..." line and the trump was when my Grandma told me "you could find such a nice boy if you lost some weight" I was maybe 16/17 yr old and told her if the 'nice boy' required that i lost weight to find him then he wasn't nice enough for me. That has long been my stance and it worked, I have been married to the nice boy in my life for almost 15 yrs. I have heard the stage whispers of "oh I thought she'd lost weight" at family functions. I dont want my weight loss to be cheapened by people talking about it as the easy way out. I have lost several pounds prior to surgery or preop diet because I am determined and focused. I dont want people to discount my work at this. Maybe as I lose weight and become more comfortable in my own skin my feelings will change. Right now I wouldnt count on it.

I know how you feel but I look at it the opposite way. I tell everyone about my band and I just got it on 2/6/09 the way I look at it is everyone knows I'm fat, it's not a secret and the band was a strong choice to make. Admitting your powerless over something like food and working to have something implanted in your baody is a HUGE step and one that I am so proud of!! I don't see the band as an easy way out I think it's the toughest because it will hold us accountable for the rest of our lives! Best of luck to you!!!

Hi, im new. and i chose not to tell anyone. Only my husband, who has always been so good to me. Hes always made me feel beutiful. and my mother and sister. AND MY VERY BEST FRIEND IN THE WORLD. Cathy. Who has band surgery Monday. My reason for not telling co workers and other family and friends is because i dont want all the quistions all the time. Not because im ashame. Where i work there already in my business enough. HA HA... And thay dont really care . I have the support i need. And this wonderful website. Best of luck to all. Donna ( ddt )

I have kept this a secret. The only ones who know are my hubby, doctor, and a friend. I am going to share with another friend this week. It makes me nervous. I think the biggest reason I didn't share was I want the credit for all the hard work I am doing. At first I thought that I didn't want anyone to know in case I failed. I also didn't want everyone watching what I ate. I found out a long time ago I wasn't going to fail. Now I am finding that people from work are telling me that I am inspiring them to watch what they eat and start working out. I don't want my surgery to be a reason they give up what they are trying. I might share with everyone at some point. I plan to tell my family this summer when I visit because I want them to think about getting banded too.

Good luck to you. I wish you all the best with your decisions. Only you know what is right for you!

julie ann, ive wanted to tell certain people who i can see are struggling. And who i care about. I saw commercials on tv. The one with the lion. And that was enough to make me check it out further. Im never telling. If its something thay would do, can do. I figure thay will figure it out. Best of luck to you. God bless. ddt