I tell people I am going to have this surgery and they say dumb stuff like "why don't you just try herbalife" or "just eat healthier" "ill go to the gym with you"..... like ummm do they really not think I have tried pretty much everything out there!?! And great for them if they are happy eating disgusting shakes FOREVER in order to lose 25 lbs but sorrryyyy just can't do it! lol ugh I needed to vent. I told my friend last night what I am doing and obviouslyyyy was not a good idea to tell. What do you hate about amythingggg have to do with this process??

I think people mean well but it can come off as insensitive.

I don't like talking about my private life at work and fortunately, my co-workers have respected that. But I was taken off guard when my boss asked me how many pounds I have lost. (No one at work has directly asked me that.) Then he said I'll need to buy new clothes. He most likely meant well but I took the comment to mean he didn't like my (newly) baggy, baggy clothes!

I hate it when people act like surgery is the easy way out! My family is always saying things like "if you would just exercise and not take the easy way" and "You have to put in the work in to get results". We are still doing the work. Its not like we wake up and the weight is gone. This is a hard journey and it takes everything you have got to get through this. It just makes me mad to hear that when I am struggling with this.

Yeah I feel like a lot of my friends that I have told feel like I'm taking the easy route. If only this was easy! And they have no clue what I go through in my head being so overweight! In no way is this easy!

I don't plan on telling anyone other than maybe 1 or 2 friends who also are obese, just so they know there is something the can help them. When people ask, I do plan on saying "I just eat less now", because in reality, that is the true reason the weight comes off. Making the stomach smaller does not make you lose any weight, its eating less (because the stomach is smaller) that actually causes it.

I feel the only true "cheating" or "Easy way out" would be one of the procedures that does not restrict eating, but bypasses most of the small intestine requiring high calorie intake in order to avoid nutritional deficiency.

I only told close family members and my boyfriend before surgery. They were all amazingly supportive. After I started losing weight and it was noticeable to people, did I tell them I had surgery. I work in the medical field, so everyone has been supportive and I have only had one or two negative responses. Now everyone asks for a weight loss update and they are always complimenting me and congratulating me. I was scared how people would react prior to the surgery knowing I was going to have the surgery. Now I just don't care. I am down 100 lbs in 1 year and I feel amazing. My asthma and reflux is gone. I was also on my way to hypertension and diabetes. No amount of hurtful words someone has about the surgery can make me feel bad about the surgery now. Don't let anyone hurt your feelings. They have not been 100% in your shoes. They don't know what you are feeling and thinking. You deserve to get yourself healthier and feeling better. And if anyone is seriously critical about the surgery and can't give you the support you need, then they can be shown the door. Good luck.