How did you tell co-workers? How did they react?

Hey Terri - Is that this Thursday?  I missed the last one and hadn't heard the date of the January meeting.  Will try to make it.

Thanks!

Yes it is this Thursday

I have chose to tell no family and only one friend.  On New Years Eve I went to a party at the home of friends.  Several of the women there are what I would call drinkin' buddies.  When asked what I'd like to drink I said water please and of course that sent up all the red flags.  My response was I'm on a diet....truth.  What kind of diet....Lowcarb...truth again.  It was throughly accepted, none of these women have any fat issues so they understood, except one gal started asking me questions.  Wanted to know if I had been to a doctor and I answered truthfully, yes my diet was doctor supersived.  So then she wanted to know if I was on phen-phen or what ever the drug is called. I told her no because I wanted to try with out drugs, and she told me a GF of hers was on phen-phen and she could drink!!   I changed the subject! One gal just kept exclaiming "you're being soooo good!!!"   I'll probably tell these GF's some day in the future, but right now I don't want to answer all the questions and the Why's?  I get enough of that from the one and only friend I told. 

I guess I was lucky.  I was 500 pounds and everyone I work with was very concernced for me and my health so when I finally looked into getting gastric bypass about all the windows in my office blew out from the sighs of relief LOL  I work in a very supportive environment and so far I've lost 214 pounds and still losing and luckily no one has questioned me at all or monitoring what I'm eating mainly because they already know I have had surgery and don't pay attention to what I'm eating. 

Don't advertise it but I'd suggest telling folks that may inquire you had surgery to get healthier and lose weight.    If you try to keep it a secret- you may end up  spending too much energy trying to keep the secret by making excuses or giving vague reasons for weight loss- and then the energy keeping up with what reasons/responses you told to whom.... .  I just didn't want to spend my energy and time covering it up or tiptoeing around the topic.  Reactions vary greatly but overall you will probably recall the compliments and praise the most.   Some relatonships will change significantly.  You might be surprised how some people had some level of dependence on your obesity/fat label.  Some struggle how to react to your changes--- perhaps greater assertiveness and confidence.  While it may be liberating for the WLS patient, some co-workers may struggle accepting the new you "inside" too.  You may become a threat in some way as a non-obese person and be a target of petty jealousies.   Same can be said for a significant other's reaction over time.  Not always but something that may gradually emerge over time. 

I waited till the last minute to tell everyone because where I work THRIVES on gosssip. But I did want to avoid anything *madeup* by someone else so I eventually came out and told everyone the exact truth.

I honestly am so glad I did. It diffuses the whole conversation of 'what have you been doing' etc etc. I honestly have encountered nothing but awesome, supportive, positive and encouraging responses.

I am so glad I made the decision to be upfront about it.

With that being said you do what feels comofortable for you.

I started out only telling my director, for one reason to let him know i would be having to take some time off of work, and also to let him know i wouldn't have to use as much sick time due to (hopefully) improved health after surgery.  As surgery got closer, i was Ok with telling more people because I was getting very excited and hopeful about the outcome.  Everyone I told was supportive and encouraging.  Some asked questions for themselves or a family member.  Most people have not asked anything afterward except how i am feeling/doing.  No nosy questions have been asked like about the number of lbs lost or my weight etc.  I am actually glad they don't make comments noticing my progress, since I don't want to be the center of attention. I have a great group of colleagues and they respect privacy. At this point, I do not care if everyone knows, or even if they do talk about me when I'm not around.  I am so happy with my results, and they speak for themselves.