Yeah, I agree with Stephanie, Christina, and PhysDom.
For a long time, I didn't mention to my hubby that I was changing my eating and excersise for the purpose of losing weight. The changes were just "to be healthier." Recently, I've admitted the real reason to him. He's been supportive.
The only other person who knows that I'm consciously trying to lose weight is the woman who clued me in on WW.
Mainly, I saw myself as a failure for having gained so much weight. People who hadn't seen me in a while always wore a look of pity on their faces. Fortunately, these people weren't crass enough to mention the topic. But I didn't want to mention it either, not even to myself.
There are so many people who care more about fashion than they do their health. And I'm not hating on people who want to lose weight to look good -- everybody here probably would agree that they
don't mind looking better as they lose weight.
Just that the fashion reason leads to so much obsession and competition. There are lots of stories on 3fc about friends and relatives who get all snarky when we lose weight. And we don't want to be that shallow.
So I agree with what you're saying. Maybe, think of your weight loss as a lifestyle change that includes a mental attitude that you're changing for healthy reasons. Then you can be alternative and subvert the dominant culture.
Good luck!