To tell or not to tell?
Bottom line, you need to be comfortable with your answers whether you tell people or not. Unless you're protecting yourself from people you know will bring you down, I would suggest telling people rather than not. I think sometimes keeping surgery a secret gives it more power than it deserves - like it's maybe a somehwat "shameful" thing for some people. I tell everyone, and if they don't like it or have something negative to say, I usually say "it's been a fantastic experience for me" and change the subject. Unfortunately when you do share, some people feel the need to say "my 3rd cousin twice removed had that done and was SO sick..." or something like that. It's their problem if they have issues with it, but I've been around people who don't tell, and it's kind of awkward sometimes. Like the whole Star Jones thing - telling people or not is totally a personal decision, but keeping it secret sometimes makes it seem like a bigger deal than it is. The only real argument I have for telling people is that if we do say "it's diet & exercise", someone *****ally is dieting and exercising but isn't seeing the same great results could wonder why they're not doing as well as we are. That may be way over-analyzing the situation, and I might be a total co-dependent, but that's one of the reasons I tell people. Anyway, just my opinions, and you need to be totally comfortable telling or not. I think you can make an argument for doing it either way. Best wishes to you whatever you choose to do!
That makes perfect sense to me! I actually did feel that way for quite a while but didn't remember untail you said it. I totally used to be afraid that surgery would fail. I don't know when that ended, but for a while it transitioned into being afraid that I'd gain it all back, etc. Now I'm reasonably secure that ongoing success relies totally on my behavior, but I still have times when I worry about failing. I probably always will worry to some extent and hopefully that will keep me on track! ;-)
Laura, I DO think it gets easier to share the news of your WLS the further out you get. I was very hesitant at first - before and for a while after. I still don't shout it out, but once I felt that I was succeeding, once I had enough WOW moments and comments from others, it became easier to share. And frankly, several people guessed on their own, just based on the rate I've been losing! I'm not saying easier = easy, but I don't want to be a Star Jones type, either. In fact, I ended our annual Christmas letter with the news! No before/after picture, but I did include our family photo from our church directory, which was taken in early October. So we'll see if I hear anything back from that!
Bottom line? Go with whatever you're comfortable sharing. Stop guilting yourself if your answers are just "partly" honest - diet and exercise IS the truth! Omitting the part about WLS isn't dishonest. We've been hard enough on ourselves. Now's the time to be NICE to ourselves!
'cuz YOU ROCK!!!
Imperfect does not = unsuccessful
I feel guilty too........ but I have also decided that I am not discussing it with some people. There is no need for everyone to know my personal business.
I say watching what and how much I eat and exercising daily for
one hour. This is not the whole truth, I am omitting the surgery part but it isn't a lie either.
Hugs, connie d
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