To tell or Not to tell???

I feel pretty much the same. I have not shouted it from the roof tops either but I have no issue telling ppl I have my band . I am proud to have it and with the success I have had so far.  I can see not actively telling ppl but it is going to come up at sometime and to me it is just easier to tell the truth than to lie or skirt the issue.  I think I came across more negative reactions pre- surgery so I was very picky about telling anyone my plans. Mostly now no one says anything negative about it and if they did I would handle it accordingly and move on.  The whole Star Jones thing I think really hurt her b/c she had a forum that she could have used to further inform ppl about wt issues and WLS but she chose not to and to LIE. That is the problem I have .I do not think anyone really thought that she lost all that wt that fast all by herself so she looked foolish lying about it.

I am one of those who did not tell other than on this site.  You feel the way you feel and I feel the way I feel.  Yes I feel it is a personal thing, you and I can do the same thing even prior to WLS and still not get the same results.  What you eat will not make me crap.  You are entitled to your opinion, but what I don't believe is that you are entitled to try to make someone feel bad about their choice of telling or not. These are my thoughts.

My point was not to make anyone feel bad about not telling or to say that you should tell every Tom Dick or Harry your business.  My point was to shade light on my view point and experience with someone out right lying to me.  No one even has the same results from having the lap band because we are all different.  But when you have someone who is asking you how you did such a wonderful job losing weight and you can see that they really want to know and are not just being nosey it wrong to lie. I think it's bull crap for people to down play how important WLS was or is to thier weight lose.  Forgive me if I offended you as that was not me intent. 

You and I will just have to agree to disagree on this.  WLS is not a secret, it on the TV, the website. If someone really want to know about it, there ways for them to find out about it, it out there for them to find during their research. You did not offend me....you and I just dont agree. In accord to the HEPPA, it not a lie...it is my right to disclose information in regards to my medical health.

Hello,
I am still pretty new here but I am not telling anyone but my family (not my children, I don't think they need to know about an adult issue like this but that is my just in my family) and a few friends. I work in a building of over 150 women and maybe 5 of them are overweight and they all love to gossip. I think that it is none of their business and I don't need the stress of people at working tracking my weight or talking about me. Everyone's situation is different and we all need to decide what is right for us.  For example the women who works in my room just last week said what is there a lap band club going on I just heard 3 teachers had lap band last year they should just eat less and excercise. I said it's not always that cut and dry. I just don't want to deal with my personal life with anyone at work.

That is understanble and your totally right!!!

I wish you not but blessing on your weight loss journey.  Getting banded was the best thing outside of attending college I have done for myself. 

 I'm a blabber.  I tell everyone, including the security guards at work.  I always think that maybe someone may have been thinking about weight loss surgery or maybe a member of their family, or maybe just morbid curiosity, but most people ask a ton of questions and I am willing to share every detail.  

I'm pretty darn proud I got the band too.

Pam

To each their own...

My entire family, and my closest friends know...

all of my coworkers know...

random people that I've run into from my past and I get the "howd ya do it?"    My answer is always the same... 1200 calories a day and 5 to 6 days at the gym.   This IS the truth.  Its the short answer.

Am I leaving out the band??  Sure am...  

Why?  Because people who have never been fat, dont get it. 

Even fat people who have never had, or understood weight loss surgery dont understand.

More often than not, people think its the "easy way out".  And as we all know, that is NOT the case for any surgery you choose.  Its WORK! 

But - tell that to someone who knows nothing about WLS
or tell that to someone who's never been fat and see what their reaction is..


Just my two cents

I agree. When I first let my immediate family know that I was just interested in WLS. They were all negative nellies except for my mom and my best friend. So, from that point I only updated my BFF and my mom and on my progress in getting approved for WLS. I had not told anyone else not my dad, sister, brother, granny, and so on...

Now that surgery is nearing (4/21/11) and I'm on this liquid diet, it's kind of hard to hide from my immediate family what I'm doing sipping on shakes all day and NOT eating. So now my sister knows, and she said she'd be supportive only cause I asked her to, but she's officialy against WLS. And my aunt was snooping and saw a calendar hanging on my wall where I had written my surgery date in... and she was like "what surgery are you having?" and I just said "mind your business" and she went on to say... "oh you're so pretty you don't need that... and look you're already losing weight...blah blah blah", so when I finally told her that YES I'm having WLS and it's no ones business keep it to yourself she got all defensive ... then proceeded to tell me how she knows a girl who had the Band and got pregnant and lost the baby at 7 months <--- negative nelly! She knows I want kids because I actually tried before WLS and because of PCOS could not conceive naturally... and then she also said she knew another lady who had the band and did very well with it...
So I'm not sure if she was trying to change my mind or what, but the date is set and that's that... She also argued that if I lost a lot of weight what would I tell everyone? I jokingly told her "everyone could assume I was on crack for all I care"...
I guess I just agree with those who say that don't want everyone trying to be accountable for what I'M doing and what I'M eating... let me and my band work together and when you see the results... "Don't playa hate! Congratulate!" LoL!

I guess I am such a who cares what you think type of person and I take for granted that everyone feels the way I do.  I didn't care who did or didn't support me or who tried to hold me accountable.  I am and was accountable to myself only. My lap band was a gift that I gave myself to save my life.  Congrats on your date and enjoy your journey it such a wonderful ride.