I’m a very shy person and keep to myself. I simply stay private about my personal experiences in life. I only told my immediate family and my parents. I now regret it though.
I had a hard time making the decision to keep it private because I knew I would have a rapid weight loss and it would strike up conversations about my weight loss. It would then definitely keep the rumor mill busy and boy, it has.
I regret not coming forth and just telling people I had WLS when they asked me and not worry about criticism. The reason being is that during my first 6 months, I avoided lunches with coworkers and other friends as I wouldn’t be able to eat a regular sized meal and the questions would pop up. Now that I can eat up to 8 oz of food, it’s still difficult to hide or beat around the bush. Some folks will notice that I eat very little and some have asked me straight up “have you had WLS? You eat like my friend, relative, brother or sister that had WLS surgery.” I deny having had WLS and I hate it because I’m lying to my friends and coworkers. I’ll sometimes say that I splurged on the donuts/cake in the break room or that the vegan lifestyle I’m trying to live by is upsetting my stomach. I just think that I created a very uncomfortable situation for me and I think people suspect that I had WLS. I’ve had close coworkers tell me that people talk about my new eating habits and that most likely I was one of Dr. Nowzaradan’s patients. There’s also other nasty criticism that has come along with it.
In hindsight, in my case, I should of just answered with the truth when asked and not worry about the nasty criticism and stupid rumors. They’re doing it anyways. This would of let me know who are the true supportive individuals.
I hope your experience with this topic goes as you wanted it to be. Good luck with your journey. It’s going to be a positive transformation, trust me.