Each time I am in a situation where someone notices and comments, I have the dilemma many of us who have used weight loss surgery to help our transformation have: To tell or not to tell.
I did discuss the surgery with most of my family and with my co-workers. They were the ones who would know I was gone for a week and going through recovery and with whom I wanted to be able to discuss the whole process. The rest of the world - I don't feel the same obligation to discuss it. I have lost and gained a lot of weight over the past 30 years and I didn't discuss the specifics - why now?
Of course, when asked point blank, I can't seem to manage a diversion (lie) so I explain the type of surgery I had. I am not sure if those few people have taken it upon themselves to spill the beans to others. For instance, I had not planned to tell the book club since I was not attending meetings for the several months during the time I had surgery - so I just returned about 60 pounds lighter. One member knows, I don't know if she told others.
No one in my neighborhood or grocery store or other local haunts has asked and I haven't told. I think the reality is that most people don't even realize when someone else is losing weight - no matter how quickly. At some point it registers but they don't have a sense of how long the weight loss has been in progress, so it doesn't seem unusual. I have lost nearly 100 pounds since August - in 7.5 months. But people didn't "see" it until just the last couple of months.
I don't feel embarrassed by what I chose, I just know people can be very judgemental and I am not interested in experiencing that any more than I already have in my life. I still have major restrictions on what I eat and how I have to support my nutrition, the additional tool I have used to get to this point is my business.
