How do you answer when people ask, "What did you do to lose so much weight?" Do you tell them about the WLS or do you say diet and exercise? All of my good friends know that I'm having the surgery done but what about acquaintances? I'm not ashamed I'm having the surgery but I also don't want people I don't know very well (who aren't going through WLS) knowing the details.

Telling them you have tapeworm has my vote (I think I read that on a different thread) LMAO

If anyone even mentions how much weight I've lost (that is, they don't actually ask me how I lost the weight) I tell them I had lapband surgery. I then tell them about how it restricts my appetite but I also exercise 4-6 times week, so it basically gave me the 'edge' I needed that I didn't have before.

I tried for 15 years to lose weight with all the 'old-fashioned' ways and I don't want to pretend anymore that I managed to do it without the lapband. To me, I feel like I do myself a disservice by not being truthful with people about how, in previous attempts, hunger was not letting me succeed. Now I have something to help with the hunger, and guess what? I'm succeeding!

I also tell people that if I ate what 'naturally' skinny people ate, I'd still be overweight. I have to eat like a 3yo to be thin. Honestly, how many people can do that for the rest of their lives without a lapband?

So I also feel a little bit responsible for making sure that people stop treating obese people like they did it to themselves. I hate that obesity is still openly discriminated against. The fact is obesity, for many, has become a medical condition, therefore there should be no shame in treating it with a medical solution.

I do feel like being honest has helped others. I know of 2 people at work who have been banded over the holidays because they believe me to be a walking advert for it. They asked me loads of questions, which I answered truthfully. Now there are 2 other people who have committed to changing their lives because I don't hide the fact that I have a band.

I tell them I had lap band ..

If anyone even mentions how much weight I've lost (that is, they don't actually ask me how I lost the weight) I tell them I had lapband surgery. I then tell them about how it restricts my appetite but I also exercise 4-6 times week, so it basically gave me the 'edge' I needed that I didn't have before.

I tried for 15 years to lose weight with all the 'old-fashioned' ways and I don't want to pretend anymore that I managed to do it without the lapband. To me, I feel like I do myself a disservice by not being truthful with people about how, in previous attempts, hunger was not letting me succeed. Now I have something to help with the hunger, and guess what? I'm succeeding!

I also tell people that if I ate what 'naturally' skinny people ate, I'd still be overweight. I have to eat like a 3yo to be thin. Honestly, how many people can do that for the rest of their lives without a lapband?

So I also feel a little bit responsible for making sure that people stop treating obese people like they did it to themselves. I hate that obesity is still openly discriminated against. The fact is obesity, for many, has become a medical condition, therefore there should be no shame in treating it with a medical solution.

I do feel like being honest has helped others. I know of 2 people at work who have been banded over the holidays because they believe me to be a walking advert for it. They asked me loads of questions, which I answered truthfully. Now there are 2 other people who have committed to changing their lives because I don't hide the fact that I have a band.

Lellow,

You and I are on the exact same page and our thought processes mirror each other. Your honesty will help a ton of people... people you don't even know...

Congrats on being the walking advert of success!

I will actually tell most people that I had the band. Sometimes you can see their expression change when they find out you "cheated". I don't consider it "cheating". I have been riding the diet roller coaster for 12 years and it was time to get off. I thank God for leading me to the Lap-band and most people understand. The best thing I can tell them is that I am starting to feel like ME again. If someone is actually overweight they are eager to learn more. Lots of people don't even know what it is, overweight people even.

I Tell Them too.

yarddawg 72, I agree. Cannot thank God and the Doctors to get me this far. It is up to me, to continue. the Word Spread fast where i work and some have asked about it. My Dh was the least knowledgeable ( he needs one too) and expected problems but there were none. Maybe someday, he'll get tired of being left behind.

I am pre op. My family and two close friends know about it. The rest my aquintanices do not.

My boss does because I have been taking time off for my Doc Appointments. Cubicle Neighbor knows cause we chit chat through out the day.

Though, I work for a small company. There is another employee who is obese like me. As much as I would like to tell him about my upcoming surgery, and he should look into it. I don't because, It would be difficult for us to be both off from work running to Doctor's and recovering. I might bring it up once I have my surgery date.

My ex does not know. Though, I know she snoops the interwebs for me. I dunno if she knows or not. When I see my daughter from my previous marriage in February, I will tell her. because next time I see her, I will be living a new lifestyle.

I usually tell anyone that ask what I have had the Lap Band and that it is one of the tools that assist me in my weight loss along with exercise.

I love the fact tat I have to take small bites and take a long time to eat and I am certainly enjoy meal times a lot more then when I use to stuff as much food as I could get in my mouth in the shortest amount of time.

When I was going through pre-op, I wasn't even sure I was going to tell my mom. I had basically only told my aunt and my sister and my husband. But I'm glad I told her and I'm glad I told my other family members. The people that know are under STRICT rules to not tell anyone and that if someone they know is discussing dieting with them and they feel this is someone who would benefit from the surgery, they can tell them that they know someone who had it done and could that person contact them. Then I will be contacting them on MY OWN TERMS -- which was important to me.

I don't like to be taken off guard by questions I don't want to answer. I don't want to talk about it in front of large groups of people. I don't want to talk about it on holidays. It kind of stems from my own social anxiety and from the fact that I had twins. When I was pregnant with them, every holiday and every get-together was one question about my twin pregnancy after another. I was so sick of it after 9 months I thought I was going to lose my mind. I don't want family get-togethers to turn into one big lap-band discussion the way my twin pregnancy did. Ugh.

That being said, I tell acquaintances and busybodies that I workout constantly (true) and really watch what I eat (also true). I also tell them that I am finally done being pregnant, trying to get pregnant, having twins, and nursing twins, so my hormones have finally returned to normal. This seems to satisfy the people who are more skeptical and don't believe me when I tell them diet and exercise.

HOWEVER, I have encountered one person who asked me my "secret" to weightloss, and I feel she and her husband might be candidates for the surgery. I was honest with her and told her, and I would do it again if I met someone else who might benefit from it. I didn't say I thought she was a candidate -- I wasn't rude or anything -- I just told my story and answered her questions.

I hope someday I will be able to help someone who is struggling.

I told everybody.

Sometimes I regret it.. simply because I hate it when people watch me eat.. waiting to see what will happen or how much I can get down. I also have friends who won't eat what they want around me. If I order a salad then they feel they have to order a salad, so I get that a lot and I hate it.

I've only had one person tell me I took the easy way out and say they thought I had done it on my own and were disappointed at me and then I chewed him a new a-hole and then he begged for my forgiveness . lol. Especially since I haven't had any restriction for two months.

I guess each their own. But, I was too excited about the band not to blurt it out to almost everybody I knew. And I do love talking about it with people.