I am not complaining but...anyone else have this "problem'?

[JCP 619]

I think the only appropriate response to questions like that is total silence, long enough to make that person feel really uncomfortable, then turn and walk away. Some people really are idiots.

[boccob81 244]

I have told a lot of people .

I also get positive feed back they all seem happy I chose it since they have all watch me struggle with weight .

The problem if you don't tell them the first thing they think is you are dying of something to lose the weight that fast . I had a friend that has not seen me since I was 430 pounds before the band and I dropped a 100 pounds with it before it failed . Well I did not tell him anything and he asked me if I was ok one day and I said yea why he said well u lost a lot of weight really fast .i said yea it great don't you think ? He said well hell yea but how I was not going to tell him but it just game out and he said oh wow glad you did the band . So I asked what he really thought abd he said either illegal drugs or I contracted cancer or something else . So from that point on I just started talking about my weight problem from day one to the sleeve . I get a lot of obese people talking to me about the three choices and why I chose what I chose . You never know who you might be helping with being up front . Don't get me wrong I get how it's no ones business also but I figure I would like people to know . I am almost two months out may 30,2014 of the sleeve surgery and people seem to notice a lot of the weight loss I still have not lol

[penman53 493]

I have lost enough weight now that whenever I see someone that I haven't seen since surgery, they now think that I perhaps could have cancer or something. I daily get comments from people telling me to "eat more" you need to slow down. I don't think that they totally understand that now we all have this little teeny stomach and I am not about stretch it out just to satisfy them right?

[Patty'O 9]

I'm not telling most people because I don't want to deal with other people's crap. I have enough to deal with on my own. I lost 96 pounds pre-surgery, and people thought that was great. since then, my eating has changed radically, as I was eating lots of veggies and olive oil and lean meats. now I'm eating very little in the veggies, as most of my meal is Protein and small. I've told people I am changing up my diet and using confusion to keep from stalling. I've also told them I don't drink at meals because it makes my body work harder to digest my food, hence burning more calories. even if they ask if I've had WLS, I'm not telling them. just a few very close friends and some of my family know, and it's staying that way. I don't owe anyone an explanation, and don't need their questions about it as it's my personal business. I was actually loosing weight faster pre-surgery, so I think I won't have too many problems.

[katesuccess 990]

I don't tell people about my surgery either; only my family and three close friends know about it. It has been almost 5 months now, and I have lost over 70 pounds--so I too am also getting all the comments. So far almost all of them and gracious and respectful, but then there is the occasional bizaro one that makes my job drop. Blessedly most of the time I get to simply smile, and say "thanks, I am working very hard on this!" But for those inappropriate and backhanded ones, I look at them in mock surprise, and say "uh...you know you said that out loud?!" And I change the subject.

[FairySleeve 297]

Okay, the situation has changed, I told my big bosses about what kind of surgery I was having, so when the doctor gave me 6 weeks off work, they were totally cool about it.

When I came back after a month, my colleagues in the office (7 of them) were so happy with my new appearance. Then just last week, we just hired a new colleague and he's a big guy. (By the way during the process of recruiting. I heard one of the candidates said with confidence that he'd get the job because the other guy was too fat, Gosh! thank God we didn't hire that guy)

One day I brought him to the mail room and introduced them to other colleagues then a colleague told the new guy that I was doing a great job losing a lot of weight in 6 months (I told other colleagues outside my office that I've been on diet since March which is true) The new guy turned to me right away and asked if I had a By Pass surgery..and automatically, I said No!! and he said liar! so the other colleague asked me again, really did you have the by pass? I said, NO I did NOT have a By Pass Surgery. then we left the mail room.

On the way back to the office when we were alone I told the new guy that, by the way, it was NOT a by pass, it was a sleeve I had for surgery. He got so interested and said that he wanted to do it too but his mum said, it would do nothing to him (he's Lebanese and still young, only 28) He lost and gained all the time, the last time he lost 72 lbs and gained all back and probably more. Anyway, I told him briefly about my journey especially that the social security system pays all for it and the office gave me great support about this, I offered to give him as much as info if he wants to go for the surgery. I think now in France WLS is quite common now but I still prefer to keep it private, well, I didn't tell people when I had tooth surgery neither, why I should tell them about this one, right?

[snowbound 60]

I have not told any one except my very close family,don't plan on telling any one else

Hope they will keep my secret,someone from church gained her weight back she had the gastric bypass , so I think it's best I don't. Tell most people have never heard of the sleeve surgery

[bikrchk 1,313]

The only well meaning comments I've gotten are, "You look great. You can stop now!" Which started when my BMI dropped under 30 and I was still overweight. They continue today (My BMI is 23.2. I'm still to the right of the healthy average. I am NOT too thin!). I may decide to slowly take off another 10 "vanity pounds" to land me right smack in the middle of "normal" but reveal that to some of my friends and they firmly tell me I need to stop. I appreciate their concern, but my docs are supportive as long as I stay in healthy BMI territory so I thank them for their compliment and move on.

[KayleeC14 159]

Oh goodness, I have so many stories. I am very public about my journey to everybody including Facebook, so it has been bound to happen to which I get some public questions and comments from others. Normally I always answer back to the question "Can you believe you were that fat" is Yes, I know I was that fat before and I can believe it. I don't mind the attention even if I do not seek it out (which I don't). It is sometimes satisfactory to know that people are noticing all the hard work you are doing.

[shellyd88 463]

Some ppl just let their mouth over ride their ass don't respond to inappropriate comments let them them look as stupid and as rude as they sound it's just as rude as ppl commenting when your overweight they somehow feel the need to bring it up at every opportunity as if it has somehow escaped our notice I guess they feel superior when they can point out what they see as other ppls faults I think when ppl need to do that there is something about them they don't want ppl to figure out so they try to put the focus on others

[MNvan 1]

Hi, I am new here. I am pretty sure I will start out only telling family and closest friends. For those of you who didn't tell co-workers how did you explain needing to be out for "a while" (for surgery and healing)? I understand it's not their business but I'm the boss and my team works closely with volunteers who will notice my absence so saying nothing isn't a realistic option. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[Patty'O 9]

I told people it was female stuff. people usually leave that alone. if they don't, I just say then, it's private.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Patty'O

[FairySleeve 297]

Haha one time I went to a meeting, and one of the colleagues was naturally a bit naive got so excited when she saw me, it was quite early on when I just lost around 22 lbs, and she couldn't figure out why I looked different so she kept asking "there's something about you that changed!! what is it? there must be something, now you look different" I was kind of disturbed because her reaction drew attention of others in that meeting towards me, but I calmly told her that, "you're right, there's a big change.. I now am a real woman, after the sex change" she laughed so hard and said "seriously?" I said "yeah, I can show you later but gotta warn you, it's not pretty and still swollen" of course she didn't take it seriously but that effectively got her to stop asking. Also my answer made everyone laughed and went back to the agenda of the meeting.

[FairySleeve 297]

Today the same girl above said called me at the office, I thought she was calling for business but she just called to tell me that I looked terrific as she saw me yesterday in the cafeteria. She said it's not only about the beauty but I looked healthy, even the way I walk was different and more active. She only called to give me compliments. What a lovely girl. Of course she has no clue about my surgery but it's just a very kind of her anyway.