What the Heck!!!!

I don't even know how to respond to this! When I decided to have the surgery last year I only chose to tell a few people in my office. Each of them knew it was not to be spread around. Well that was almost 6 months ago and I think some of them forgot! I have recently decided that maybe I'm not too uptight to keep it a secret anymore but I still want to have some control as to how it comes up in conversation. Soooooo.... today a Real Estate Agent whom I happen to really get along with comes into my office and introduces me to his new assistant. The introduction went a little like this..... This is Dana, she handles all the refinances for our company, she has just lost 100 lbs(I'm nowhere near 100lbs yet) and she looks awesome. *okay at this point I thought WTF, hopefully he just stops there* BUT NOOOOO!!!!! He goes on to say, "she had that surgery, ya know? And now she looks great." "I told her it didn't matter that I liked her either way but she's lost sooo much weight and she looks great" At this point I'm smiling like a fool because I was put on the spot. The chick looks at me and says yeah you look good, and that was the end of the meeting. The agents leave the office and the other girl I work with, Liz and I fell out laughing, I laughed so hard I was almost crying . Liz then pointed out to me that from now on I'm gonna be "that girl" "the gastric bypass girl". Is this true? Is this how it really is? I'm still laughing about it cause I'm sure he has no idea how that sounded. I will go have a chat with him in a little while but really - am I gonna be "that gastric bypass girl"? Dana

What is his deal? Why in the first meeting of a new colleague would your weight loss, let alone how you choose to acheived it even come up. I think what he did is totally unacceptable, unprofessional and out of line. Would you tell someone he just had a vasectomy? Be whatever girl you want, do not let some jerky creep with a big mouth define who you are!!!!!!! God bless, Jen

Hey Jen, Yeah I could see how that could anger people. For me actually it was more funny because of the way he did it. I think it was just a case of open mouth insert foot and he didn't realize how it came out. Given his personality and his heart, I don't think he meant any harm by it at all. I'm totally cool with it - it was just an odd moment that I wanted to share. Dana

I am glad he has a good heart and is not a jerk. I reread your post, laughing ... almost crying - I get it now. I thought you were upset. I am glad that this did not hurt you and that you do not think tht you will be defined as the "gastric byass girl" God bless, Jen

I think having a chat with this guy is a good idea. How totally inappropriate! Your attitude about it is great though -- it's so good that you are able to laugh at it! As for being the "gastric bypass girl", I can totally relate to that question as I've had it myself. My conclusion? It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of us. The most important people, family and friends, know who I am and my reasons for doing this, and how hard I am working to get it done. To the rest who might have their own ideas or thoughts or opinions, I say screw 'em! Hugs, Beth

Dana, I'm glad you were able to laugh about it, it does sound rather funny. I would just have a talk with him and not worry about being "that girl". In fact, if it comes up again, be proud to be "that girl" just make sure it doesn't overshadow your work with the company. It sounds like he was proud of you so I'm sure he meant it in a nice way. Good luck.

Yup, thats how I took it too, I do think he is proud of me, he does tell me often. It was just funny to me how the whole thing came up. If it had happened a couple months ago then I probably would of been a little angry but eh, today not so much. Dana

Hi Dana! I actually had the exact same thing happen to me at work three days ago. My boss is not trying to be mean, but still, I was a bit annoyed. I have made no attempt to keep my surgery secret, and I have told a lot of people, but my feeling is I will tell them, and she should not be announcing it at all! I am still a bit annoyed, but don't have the nerve to say anything because I know she meant no harm. I hope my whole life does not revolve around the fact that I had this surgery. All the compliments were nice at first, but now I have to keep saying, yes, I look good, but what is more important is that I FEEL good. People think that how i look is why I did this, when in fact it is a very tiny part of my decision to have WLS. Karyn

I can see what a great person you are. To take a situation that could have been a downer and turned it into humor, a true sense of humor, one that can laugh at ones self. My hat is off to you, you are my person of the day, well done!!!

Thank you Kristi! I'm still laughing. Dana