Telling coworkers and friends

[CVanPelt 19]

Hello group,

I just finished my 6 month weight loss diet with my Dr and I'm down 40lbs! So excited to continue this journey. My biggest fear is telling people. My family all know I am working towards the sleeve and I told a few friends years ago that I wanted surgery. Now I work in a small office where durastic weight loss will be noticed and I don't want to deal with judgements from some of my skinny-mini coworkers... Any advice on telling them? Or ways to avoid telling them?

Thanks!

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[thenewlilly 7]

I'm in the same boat. I have chosen to only tell a few select family members. I am hoping in time I will be comfortable with talking about it.

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[KristenLe 5,980]

Don't tell them if you're not comfortable. You have already lost 40lbs pre-surgery - just go along as though you are eating healthy and exercising! That's the truth.

[silverthreads 183]

I quietly took time off work for "surgery" and after I returned told the few who asked or noticed I didn't eat much that I had stomach surgery and am on a limited diet while I heal. Nobody has asked any follow up questions... Now that I've lost the first 50 pounds I've had a few "are you really OK?" questions from friends and I tell them I feel better than I have in years. That satisfies them.

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[CVanPelt 19]

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I needed some inspiration to get me through some cravings and a bit of weight gain these last two weeks and this really helped!

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[triplethreat 257]

I don't think you need to provide any information to someone who may not be supportive at this point. I am down 2 dress sizes since being sleeved 7/12 but it's not such a huge change that people are shocked. The bariatric team told me I'll likely level out at 2-3 lb/week once the rapid loss slows, and that's a nice, healthy rate of loss. Someone today did ask me what dietary changes.. and I told her no sugar, no rice, no bread, 80 g protein/day, etc. She shrugged and said, "that seems like way too much work!" The truth is that after surgery you will have to work at it, and telling people it's diet and exercise is not a lie- the surgery is a tool that has to be used correctly.

[Dub 9,942]

It's an understandable fear.

Most of us had the same concerns.

Here's the thing.....It's likely gonna seem way more significant of an issue to you now....pre-op. Once you've had the surgery and are losing at an accelerated rate......everything seems to fall into place. You can decide then what to do. It's a done deal then.

Telling them ahead of time will give them time to each weigh in, pun intended, and talk you out of it....or give you a list of horror stories that their cousin's best friend's neighbor's uncle's car salesmen's wife had with her wls.

You've already told the folks that matter to you....the ones that you've planned this with. Everyone else will be reactionary after the fact. You'll be feeling so much better about everything by then that you'l decide with ease what say.

For me, it was easy. I started at a high BMI. I lost 55 on the work up to surgery.....and took 3 weeks off due to healing time for an abdominal hernia repair along with my VSG. I forget how much I'd lost that 3 weeks after work....but it was enough that folks were noticing and commenting. I planned on losing 200+ pounds in this first year and it was easy for me to be honest with them in stating that I had wls and was following a low carb diet. All of my coworkers knew of my back problems and understood why I was motivated to have the surgery. I've received nothing but positive comments and questions about the surgery. I've had several conversations with people who are very interested in the surgery for their own personal reasons. 3 of them are now entering my surgeon's bariatric program. One guy's daughter, another guy's wife and a young man is going in himself. I can't wait to see their relief once they take a seat on The Loser's Bench.