I am very similar. Absolutely no one will know until I actually have had moderate success. I plan to tell my employer I am having my gallbladder taken out. When it is obvious that something happened, I intend to only tell friends of mine who are in similar situations (morbid obesity) in order to educate them and give them hope that it is not permanent. Question for you guys though, when you dieted, did you also keep that a secret? I often did diets with the aforementioned friends, and my biggest requirement was that they not share the fact I was dieting with anyone. Seems like a lot of people are just willing to put that information out there, and I always seemed very withholding when it came to discussing food, eating habits, etc unless it came to discussing with a professional (Nutritionist, surgeon, PCP, etc). Did you all treat dieting the same way?