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I too have a huge mouth, and thought I would shout it from the roof tops.

But, I really haven't told that many people.

My Husband is deployed overseas right now, and I am staying with my parents. My Husband, Parents, and My Mother-in-law know. And, a few Mom's from my daughter's play group know.

But, that's it. And, it's so weird. I don't feel compelled to tell everyone, either. So very not like me.

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Penny, I LOVE you signature!

My husband mentioned I was having surgery to some out of town freinds. They live in Denver and that is where I am having surgery. So of course when they asked about it I told him. I was very angry with hubby.

I have had a couple of times that I thought of sharing it with a friend and now I know I made the right decision. This is very personal to me. There are only 2 people that know that live close to me. My husband and my doctor. Maybe after I am successful I will tell people, but I really don't know.

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I'm extremely private so I told my husband and of course the people on this board, but this is such a safe haven from judgement, etc.

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I told my husband, of course. Also, about 4 friends and my parents. Everyone else, well it is none of their business and that is the answer I give when asked. :smile2:

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My husband (of course) knows, as do my family. I am not telling any friends or coworkers...yet. If someone asks me point blank if I have had WLS, I will tell them yes.

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I cannot believe that I'm still on the fence about this one. My family knows, a few very close friends and so far, two folks in the facility where I work knows. The thing is, I've been off work for less than 2 weeks and have lost 17lbs.; well, the questions will be flying. Think I'll begin like the previous poster - if someone flat out asks me if it was wls - I'll say yes.

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I am scheduled for surgery on 10/31, and just told my mother about it this past weekend. She was really supportive and will be taking care of me after surgery. One of my co-wokers and I have talked about the lap band, but she doesn't know that I am going thorugh with it. The only other person I have told is a great new friend I met while at True Results doing my supervised diet and weight loss, and she will be having the surgery as well.

In a way I feel guilty not telling all of my family and close friends about it. Feels like I am lying to them. I have sworn my mother to secrecy and have left my best friend completely in the dark on this one. I have had time to realize this is not about anyone else it is about me, and what is going to make me feel comfortable. In time I may decide to share my decision with others, but until then :biggrin:.

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I was banned on Oct. 2nd. I have lost 13 pounds. My first Dr. appointment is tomorrow. I ended up telling everyone that I came across...friends strangers...you name it. I grew up hiding from the world...fat my entire life. I wanted to hide everything...even being fat! Even though it was totally obvious by looking at my large body. Never talked about the struggles I had with over eating. I literally would hide in a corner at clubs, or any public place. I never wanted to be seen. I was always embarrassed of myself and who I was. Tried to hide eating. If I was out, I would eat really fast thinking that people would not notice how much I was eating if I could eat 3 times faster than everyone else. I was obviously only fooling myself.

When I started opening up about over eating and just about who I am, I really started to feel less embarrassed about myself in general. I was able to pay closer attention and be more aware of my bad habits. The more honest I become, the more I feel hopeful that I will not be morbidly obese for the rest of my life. I know that everyone knows now. I have little guardian angels surrounding me, supporting me and cheering me on now. Instead of going out to eat, I can do other things with my friends. If I do go out, my friends will understand why I only eat 1/4 of my meal and not bug me about it. I was the one who could easily have 2 plates of food at a buffet and strategically think of how I was going to get up and grab my 3rd plate. So if I go from eating tons to eating a tiny portion and being full...they will all understand instead of ask me what is wrong. I have found the more open I am, the better I feel. I do not need to hide anymore. I did a lot of damage behind closed doors and when no one was looking. It is time for me to just be open and honest about things in my life. I want to come out of my food closet and I am ready to face the world. When certain friends found out what I was doing, I was surprised at how many people opened up to me about the same struggles that I have as well. I have 2 friends who are going through pre-op right now. I want to be there for anyone who needs support and who might be scared. Online support is great, because the amount of people that you can find who are dealing with the exact same things, but face to face and friends and family support is just as important to me. These are the people that I interact with every single day.

To each his own, but this is what is keeping me strong, positive and motivated.

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I teach second grade and i had to tell my students that i would be out for 3 weeks because i was having surgery. i have one student who has quite a few emotional issues and I spoke to him privately (he was suspended the day i planned to tell the class) when i told him he asked why i was having surgery and i replied that it was on my stomach. without missing a beat he said,"To get skinny?" So i looked right at him and said yes. He replied ok then changed the subject. (i think he expects me to come back a size 4 :wink2:) none of my other students caught on as to why i was having the surgery but some of their better questions were: "are you having your belly button operated on?" My favorite: "Are they going to put a baby in there?" :laugh: God i hope not!

Anyway i thought those were cute and you might get a kick out of them.

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So far the only ones I have told are my husband (of course), my daughter, one friend/co-worker who I know can keep her mouth shut and my boss (just in case I need some extra recovery time)...

I think, at least speaking for myself, that it has been such a rough journey over the past 20 years of losing and gaining weight over and over again....I've had a few successes (lost 30lbs; lost 50lbs - twice!).....but I gain it back again twice as fast I lost it. I've done everything from Nutri System to Slim Fast to Atkins to Richard Simmons to South Beach to Diabetic Exchanges to Weighht Watchers......

I guess part of me is just terrified that I will make a big (fat) fool out of myself and fail again .... and I just can't stand the thought of people knowing it! LapBand and other gastric bypass procedures are such a last hope kind of thing.....and I just can't stand the thought of having to admit that to anyone. I guess I also don't want people saying I am taking the "easy" way......Anyone who has gone to the LapBand seminars, gone through all the psychological tests, hospital tests and procedures can tell you it is anything BUT easy! I know that I will be on a liquid diet and/or pureed food for 4-6 weeks.....what's easy about that?

I know I won't be physically hungry so I am not worried about that.....I guess it's the "head hunger" that daunts me.....and I just hope I can get my head straight and apply all the knowledge of healthy portion size, nutrition, calorie, fat and carb counts etc.....to finally achieving successful weight loss AND a new way of eating for the rest of my life.

Any diet will work, but the hunger just gets to you after awhile....so I am hoping the LapBand will be that one tool I can use to finally conquer the physical hunger.

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I guess part of me is just terrified that I will make a big (fat) fool out of myself and fail again .... and I just can't stand the thought of people knowing it! LapBand and other gastric bypass procedures are such a last hope kind of thing.....and I just can't stand the thought of having to admit that to anyone. I guess I also don't want people saying I am taking the "easy" way......Anyone who has gone to the LapBand seminars, gone through all the psychological tests, hospital tests and procedures can tell you it is anything BUT easy! I know that I will be on a liquid diet and/or pureed food for 4-6 weeks.....what's easy about that?

I know JUST how you feel! My office mate had RNY surgery and she needed it for her health and she said it was the best thing she ever did. She is the one that finally made me get decide to just take the leap and make the call to take the first step. She said "I don't know why I didn't do it earlier." I thought that I didn't want to screw around for another 10 or 15 years and then say that I wish I would have done it when I was in my thirties. I haven't told her or anyone except my husband and my husband told a friend that lives far away and never comes close to anyone else I know. (It took me a while to stop being mad at him about it.)

I don't want people to say "Oh she needed to do it for her health." or "It was a last resort" or "She took the easy way out." I don't want pity. I don't want gossip. I know that to loose weight is still going to be work and I want credit for it, damn it! I don't want people to see me loose weight and think that it was easy.

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For me, my wife, my pastor, 3 friends. Most friends, co-workers, and family members don't know.

Of course, that makes me work harder to keep the Protein up (weight loss and sudden balding would start too many rumors that I am dying). :)

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Hang in there JulieAnn.....glad to know someone feels the way I do.

SeaSide....so glad this makes you smile, although there is nothing funny about this battle.

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    • LeighaTR

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    • Doughgurl

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      1. Phil Penn

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      3. Doughgurl

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    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

      2. Doughgurl

        Thank you so much for your well wishes. I am hoping that everything goes easy for me as well. We don't eat out much as it is, so it wont be too bad in that department. Thankfully. Also, I hear you regarding your back and feet!! I'd like to add knees to the list. Killing me as we speak! I'm only 5' so the weight has to go. Too short to carry all this weight. Menopause really did a doosey on me. (😶lol) My daughter also lives in Houston. with her Husband and my 5 grand-littles. I grew up in Beaumont, so I know Houston well, I will be sure to keep in touch and update you on my journey. I may need some advice in the future, or just motivation. Thank You so much for reaching out, I was hoping to connect with someone in the community. I really appreciate it. 💜

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

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