You and I are around the same size...I also don't like telling people I am working to get fit because people will hold me to a standard that I have let slide in the past (case in point...I am still fat!). I am embarrassed that I have tried and failed in the past.
I understand where you're coming from. I didn't tell anyone when I started making changes. Not even DH or the kiddos. I just gradually incorporated the changes into my life, and when people started noticing I was already well on my way.
I didn't mention it to anyone, other than hubby who knew because of the difference in the groceries that were being brought into the house. lol! Other than that, I didn't say anything to co-workers or friends because I essentially eat what I want and really focus on portion control and getting myself MOVING! I pass on the cakes, etc at work that they have for birthdays, showers, welcomes, and farewells....and there have been TOO MANY in the past several weeks, but other than that and the fact that I take several walks around the building throughout the day, I am not sure anyone I work with has even noticed a change in me.
If someone asks, I will answer, but I don't feel the need to "share" without being asked at this point.
I didn't tell ANYONE -- I just didn't want to be excited and tell everyone and then fail and be embarrassed. I actually went to lengths to hide it -- I think I had a similar thought of everyone thinking I was so miserable being morbidly obese and I hated myself or something if they knew I was trying to lose weight. I also wanted to do it completely on my own, with no help from my friends or family (my family wouldn't have been helpful or encouraging anyway). It was a couple of months when people started noticing my weight loss that I had to confess I was dieting.
Sometimes I feel like talking, sometimes I don't. For me, it's easier to talk about dieting with people who aren't particularly close to me, because I don't get as worked up about their comments. When it comes from family, it seems more likely to be irritating to me rather than helpful.
I also don't like a "fuss" being made about my weight loss, because it does sometimes seem like a backhanded compliment. "Wow, you're looking great,"
in my mind becomes "man, were you disgusting!"
But the biggest pain about discussing dieting, or even it just being known that I am dieting, is that friends, family, and even acquaintences start with the bird-brained advice on every aspect of what I am eating, drinking, or doing (and lately, with that stupid book "The Secret") even what I'm thinking.
I told hubby, because as mentioned, you dont just yank all the junk away and replace it with whole foods without someone noticing. I didn't say anything to my family who all live hours away until I had lost 50 lbs. None of their business as far as I'm concerned. While I accept my failings as a person in regards to diet since I turned 18, there's still plenty of anger/resentment/issues with how my parents, mainly dad since I lived with him, didn't care enough about his health, nevermind his kids to do something about it, even though he had his first heart attack at age 35.
I haven't told anyone, except you folks here! I eat the same things as my family, for the most part, just being careful with portions. Mostly it's because I don't want everything I eat scrutinized by anyone (I do that enough myswlf...lol!). Not that anyone even would...but still.
I told this guy at my job who now also wants to go on the Fat Smash Diet (that's what I'm doing). We're both 15-20 pounds overweight. I've been riding my bike to work every day and people have commented on that, assuming that I must be very health conscious to do such a thing. I just said that I wanted to lose weight, and since I work with mostly men, no one asked too many questions or made too many comments. Their collective response was something like, "ok."
Most of my friends know I'm trying to lose weight; a good portion of my old friends are people I haven't seen in about a year and a half. Basically, they saw me when I was thin and I felt compelled to tell them all that I "blew up" just in case I made a random trip up to DC. Now, I'm letting them know that I'll stop whining about my weight because I'm on an all-knowing, ever-powerful DIET!
Oh wow... I feel stupid... I just realized this was posted in the 100lb club (it was on the main page as "most recent messages" and I didn't bother to check the place it was posted in...
though I do imagine that if you want to lose 100+ pounds, telling people about your weight loss might be a bigger deal.
My family knows I am eating better, loosing weight, because they see I am eating different than they are, and I have stopped buying junk food for the house and doing lots of cooking. No one knows how much I have to loose, my son is a teenager, and he and I are not that close , my daughter is only 9 and understands that I am eating better, but doesn't know my weight, and if I told my husband he would not be understanding, he would probably put me down or get angry ,so I am keeping this to myself, when the weight comes off I will announce how much I weighed and how much I lost. For now it is my secret.
cheryl
I haven't told anyone except the people here. My family is so used to my numerous startings and failings, I just can't tell them, and feel like they are waiting for the fall. I also don't like the "is THAT on your diet" from friends if they see me eat something that they think I shouldn't be eating. When they start noticing I will be happy and may share, but until then, my lips are sealed.
I only told my family. My best friend likes to keep me fatter than her! She has only seen me 2 times and hasn't noticed that I have lost and that's good. I fear she may try to submarine me. I don't think she is aware that she likes me bigger than her but I know it.
There is Dairy Queen cake at work today, I walked away!
I had major issues with this as well. I never wanted to tell anyone that I was trying to lose weight, because to me that was admitting to a problem I tried hard to pretend I didn't have. I tried many times in the past to diet, and each effort would last a week or two, and then I'd fall back into old habits. That only reinforced my belief that I didn't want anyone to know I was trying to lose weight, because then they would also know when I failed. I was also afraid of my mother telling everyone who would lend her an ear that I was trying to lose; she was never really good at discerning what was appropriate for her to tell the neighbours and what wasn't.
Eventually they figured it out on their own despite my best efforts to not let them see my new eating habits and exercise routine. And for the most part they did exactly what I didn't want them to do, which was draw attention to it at every opportunity. My mother was particularly bad for this, and I'm sure my entire extended family plus most of the province of Newfoundland knows how much weight I've lost.
I've gotten better about talking to people about it, because it immediately becomes the topic of conversation whenever I see someone that I haven't talked to in a few weeks. People are also starting to look to me for advice about their own efforts, so it's difficult to avoid talking about it. People don't like hearing that I don't have any special magic pill though
So, don't worry, I was extremely secretive too, but I think it gets easier as time goes on.
Did anyone else have a problem letting family and friends know?
