I'm still on the other side (surgery 1/21) but wondering for those of you who work in an office environment, how you handled it. I'm particularly nervous about eating in front of people. I've eaten with my group for years and so to all of a sudden be eating significantly less, I'm just worried about the questions I'll get. Plus the quick weight loss (hoping for) is another area where I feel people are going to ask or at least really wonder. I do not want to say anything. Not even sure how to explain my week off!

Thanks for any advice.

Kim

If you choose not to tell them the truth, just tell them you have chosen to eat healthier this year... try to leave it at that and hopefully you won't get peer pressure to have "just one bite"... In my office, we all work in cubes that are 6' tall ... so it took quite some time for someone to even notice (I eat lunch at my desk)... so I had no problem here...

good luck!

I just choose to tell them so when I eat a little bit I don't get the weird questions or stares. And if I do get the questions I just answer honestly. I find that it takes far more energy to conceal the surgery than just admitting to it. This happened when I was with a friend eating as well. He thought I didn't like the food because I only ate a few bites.

I used containers that weren't clear for a while. That way people couldn't see how much (or little) I was eating. Also if you eat slowly and chew thoroughly most people don't notice the amount you eat, because you're still eating for the same amount of time...

I too was worried my colleagues would notice. The only thing that they noticed was when I was eating hot Soup in the middle of the summer for several weeks :-). We have a non-air-conditioned building so they thought I was crazy!

Tell them u eat 4-5 meals a day.. But small portions.

They will notice. I wasn't originally planning on mentioning that I had undergone WLS, but the weight has been coming off so fast that everyone has noticed, and to my surprise as I began telling people everyone has been really supportive. The other interesting thing is as I tell people I am amazed to see how many people I know have other people in their lives who have undergone WLS. While it feels a bit uncomfortable at first, opening up and letting people know what is going on has been really great.

my co workers don't know and haven't really said anything to me on how much I am eating. I started changing my eating habits far in advance of the surgery to get them used to my changes so they knew I was trying to lose weight. For example I stopped going out to lunch everyday (fast food) with my coworker. I also started taking Protein shakes and eating low carb so they saw me doing liquids more. My weight loss has been slow and steady so it wasn't fast enough to catch their attention. What I tend to do is put more on my plate then I know I will eat-habit. They never notice how much I don't eat. I also eat slowly and since mostly at my desk they don't really notice. if they do notice which have occasionally I say I am not too hungry or don't want to get off my diet too much (like our company Thanksgiving meal)

i guess it depends on the people you work with. I've been working the same team for 4 years and no one has said anything to me about eating less. i don't think they care. If they did say something i'd just say the truth ''I'm trying to eat healthier so I can lose some weight and be healthier''. I thought everyone was going to notice and be whispering that I must've had WLS, but again, people just don't dig that deep. I guess they have their own stuff to deal with. I've gone from 243 ro 213lbs in about 2 months so people have been commenting that i'm losing, but that's all. Personally I don't believe in telling people about WLS b/c I don't want their opinions b/c I'm the type where I can get 10 compliments, but I'll obsess over the 1 criticsm.

Very few people at my work know about my surgery, and those who do are sworn to secrecy. So, I take many small Gladware type containers and snack ziplocs, so it sort of looks like I'm eating a lot. I've had a few people say that it's not enough food, but I just smile and say the thing about eating a lot of really small meals (true). When people ask about my specific diet plan, I say that I'm basically doing Atkins (true) and I'm trying to stick to it. They seem to respect that and we move on. Good luck!

Edited January 19, 201412 yr by Shells_Almost_There

I'm having surgery in March, but I've already switched to drinking a shake at breakfast and lunch so they already see me on a new "diet". They've seen me on so many different diets that this is just something else to add to the list, but my hope was that if I did have any significant loss that it would be more organic (that I've been drinking just shakes for lunch for months) and I wouldn't have to tell anyone. My big concern is when we go out for lunch (like for a birthday) then it will be harder to hide. I'd probably just lie and say I didn't feel good. I can completely relate to you though - I don't want to tell anyone I'm having the surgery either. I agree with the others though - switch to colored containers and no one will ever know. Or just say you're on a diet and trying to lose weight. Honestly it's no one's business anyway and they likely probably wouldnt care/notice much anyway.

I told my co worker which she is my biggest supporter. She's always searching new protein food I can have. I work for attorneys and the wife keeps calling me skinny lol nothing suspicious though