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How did you lose so much weight? How do you answer this question



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7 hours ago, summerset said:

With WLS being around since a whole while now and more and more people getting it I'd guess people asking questions will suspect WLS anyway. It's not a niche procedure anymore. Most people know that these procedures exist.

A former colleague from another department lost a ton of weight after having been absent for maybe two or three weeks. People are suspecting WLS, even though they've not asked her directly.

People are no fools. Most of them won't believe that story about "lifestyle changes" and "healthy diet and exercise" while conveniently not mentioning the surgery anyway. The easiest way is to say "I had surgery". People who're interested in the whole thing might want to know what kind of surgery it was but usually that's the end of it.

Most of the people I'm working with now have not seen me at my heaviest. Only two of three of them. The problem is when staff from HQ come for the monthly meetings / site visits. I try to keep a low profile during those day but still will get noticed lol.

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This week we have a lot of visitors from the head office (I work in a remote site) and I've not seen some of them for quite sometime. Some even before Covid hit. I was the star of this week with everyone talking about my weight loss and all kinds of praise and encouragement. Almost everyone asked me how did I lose the weight including the big bosses from the client and the contractors.
I've only told my direct boss and the company managing director about my surgery. I took time-off to do it and told everyone else that I was going on vacation. It helped that we were still working from home while I was recovering so nobody noticed any change during that period.
I chose not to tell my coworkers because I didn't want the unsolicited advice and opinions some might have about the WLS and also the follow-up questions. I learned that from when I was on Keto and made the mistake of telling a few coworkers about it. Suddenly I would have people come over to talk to me about it or advising against it etc. It was too much. One guy in particular would come in a for a weekly update on how much weight did I lose etc.
Outside work, only my wife, my direct family and two of my closest friends know about my WLS. They have been very supportive and helped me throughout.
I've been telling people that I was on Keto, then started a low-carb diet and exercising. I even have a photo of me on my maintain bike to prove it [emoji23]. I would love to hear how did you respond to such questions / remarks?

I just got , so I just told them the same way I put it on, but the opposite .They never ask why I was fat...

Sent from my SM-G991U using BariatricPal mobile app

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24 minutes ago, lavette43 said:

I just got , so I just told them the same way I put it on, but the opposite .They never ask why I was fat...

Sent from my SM-G991U using BariatricPal mobile app

That is brilliant!

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If I didn’t want others blabbing my sleeve surgery I got June 21, 2023 to other people they trust with their secrets… I better just keep quiet.
My closest best friend of 15yrs knows and my fiancé. That’s all….. I feel bad cause I haven’t even told my parents or sister..yet. I told everyone including my coworkers I had Hiatal Hernia repair (that covers why I was in the hospital and why I was off).
I am getting married Sept 22, 2023. I just tell coworkers I’m on some crazy awesome bridal diet. Lol … of course they ask “what type of diet”. I just say low calorie, low sugar, low fat, smaller portions, no fast food and walking.
I’m not completely lying …right? Lol

But in a few months I do plan to tell my parents and sister. The guilt is killing me! Lol :)

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I don't plan on telling anyone but I know someone is going to remark about my lack of weight. I plan on just giving them a somber look , and saying " I had to have stomach surgery and they ended up removing part of my stomach" .I'm hoping they think it's a serious enough condition to not ask any questions.

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On 3/3/2023 at 11:38 AM, RaiderRhode said:

I've been very open about my surgery, mainly because I live in a very rural area where gossip reigns supreme. There are a few people I know who have had the surgery and didn't tell many people, so now rumor has it they lost weight on the 'meth diet'. I don't want that, or any other controversy so I'm just being an open book.

This is a big part of it for me, too: I am open about how I lost the weight because I too deal with a lot of busybodies and didn't want them starting the narrative that I had an eating disorder or was on drugs, because that is absolutely what they would do.

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On 2/16/2023 at 8:22 AM, SpartanMaker said:

I tend to just say "eating less and moving more". It's factually correct and avoids any judgements or follow-up questions I might get if I went into more detail regarding surgery or my specific diet & exercise routine.

My favorite response also......"Eat less, move around more"

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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.
      · 0 replies
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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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      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
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    • KimBaxleyWilson

      Three months and four days ago... I was in Costa Rica having a life changing surgery! Yesterday we had a followup visit with Dr. Esmeral via video chat and this morning my middle number changed.  I'm down 47lbs and two pants sizes. I can wear a Large tshirt for the first time in like... 14 years! Woot!! Everything is going great. I have zero regrets. I went down to the riverwalk with a friend and walked 2 miles on Monday without even getting fatigued. And no more snoring or chugging pickle juice for crazy leg cramps! I need to go to the gym more... I'm making new shirts next week so that will motivate me. LOL But I'm also just not as TIRED all the time! I have a LONG way to go...but seeing the progress on the scales and in the mirror is a huge motivator!! Thank you all for cheering me on and supporting me!!
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      https://alluniqueguide.com/java-burn-coffee-reviews/
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