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How many people did you tell about your WLS?  

1 member has voted

  1. 1. How many people did you tell about your WLS?

    • Everyone who would listen...I'm happy to share
      90
    • Family and others (>10 people)
      46
    • Family and close others (5-10 people)
      65
    • Family and close others (2-5 people)
      154
    • Only one person
      28
    • No one
      4


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I have told my parents and a few close friends I am considering having it done. Thanks for this post. I have been thinking about this very thing. With the rate of weight loss, no one would necessarily know, unlike with gastric bypass. I don't really want to tell people, but I don't know what I would say when they ask about my weight loss. I am not good at lying, and I know word will get around any way.

I am still having a little trouble dealing with the fact that I cannot do this on my own. I am a little embarassed about having to have surgery to lose weight, so that's why i don't want to tell many people. Still, I have never had bad thoughts about anyone who had WLS, so I know it's just silly. If there were a surgery that would cure alcholism or drug addiction, it wouldn't be embarssing to have surgery. I know I will get over this feeling, and eventually I will probably tell everyone!

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So I'm just curious who all you told about your WLS. I'm pondering this question now and would love to hear from you all.

Thanks,

Mslynn

I told everybody.

Anyone who was stupid enough to speak against my choice was obviously not a friend of mine, and I was perfectly willing to drop the relationship with anyone who did so.

As it turned out, everyone was supportive.

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The only people who know about my upcoming surgery are my fiance, his mother and 2 close friends. I will wait to tell my parents closer to my surgery date. I just don't feel like explaining to everyone lap band is not gastric bypass and on and on.

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The only people who know about my upcoming surgery are my fiance, his mother and 2 close friends. I will wait to tell my parents closer to my surgery date. I just don't feel like explaining to everyone lap band is not gastric bypass and on and on.

YOu know, it's funny that you say that. Even though I have been an open book and told everyone, part of my explanation without even being asked was that it WASN'T gastric By-pass. not sure why I felt that was necessary but it was almost like a rabid compulsion to make sure they knew the difference...

T

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I am also a "slow loser" but if you look at it you lost 4#per month- THE healthy way- SLOW!! Just think you didnt gain- you lost!!!

Your band did exactly what it was suppose to do!! 1-2pounds per week.

I cant speak for you- but I CANT lose that without my band. In my case my dietary habits were not that bad- the portions were too large but I made healthy food choices MOST of the time- I think that plays a HUGE role in the speed of loss. IF you ate crap , put on your weight then couldnt eat any junk the weight probably is going to fall off of you- Dont know but thats the only explanation/rationale I can come up with for not losing as fast as everyone else!!

HANG IN THERE!!! Its coming off not going on!!!

Hi,

You are absolutely right. I'm not complaining, really. I couldn't have lost (and especially couldn't have kept off) that weight without the band. I'll take slow loss over the place I was (yo-yo dieting ultimately gaining more and more) anyday. Thanks for the encouragement!

Mslynn

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At first I wasn't going to tell anyone besides my mother and a few close friends. Then I realized that coworkers would wonder why I stopped stuffing myself during potlucks, and would perhaps support my goals if they knew what I was up to. So everyone who is anyone in my life are aware of my WLS and dietary restrictions. They are my cheering squad!

:clap2:

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So as a follow up to my original question...for those of you who didn't tell initially, and decided to tell later when you'd been successful, how did you break the news? Did people get upset with you for not telling them sooner? Would love to here experiences of this.

Thanks,

Mslynn

:wave:

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I've said it before, I wasn't really keeping it a secret, I told friends and family and co-workers. I thought everyone knew! Today I went to lunch with the office girls, we go out on Fridays to a Mexican place (luckily for me, I don't like Mexican and always had a hard time eating there, so it didn't bother me at all not to be eating)...and when I walked in with my friend, 3 of the CSR girls said "I thought you were on vacation, I didn't know you had surgery!", and that's the last of 'everyone I know' knowing LOL. I thought they all knew, but I was the topic of conversation for 30 minutes.. lots of questions, and of course.. the typical "I know someone who had GB and this and this and this..they did great blah blah".

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    • 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

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    • 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. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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