Every person handles this conundrum differently. I definitely struggled with some feelings of shame myself. I felt that I had failed because I wasn't able to do this "myself". I have some perfectionist issues and had to make peace with that. Going through this the last 8 months and realizing that success takes a lot of hard work and that this is no magic bullet has helped me, too.
As for others, there will be naysayers and negative people. After a complication-free surgery I decided not to hide how I was losing weight. I felt I owed it to those who were obese, like I was, to not lie. I learned about the VSG because someone else was honest about their weight loss so it was almost a paying forward issue with me. I have not encountered anyone who is openly negative but I am sure there are have been comments I didn't hear.
I think the key is to make peace with your decision, what you are comfortable sharing and then live your life as you see fit paying no attention to those willing to rain on your parade.
Best of Luck-
Amanda
