When I had the surgery I was very open about it -- and you kind of have to explain why you are taking a couple of weeks off work and why your eating habits are going to be rapidly changing and why you will be dropping POUNDS like crazy to the people you see at work every day.
Less than a year after the surgery I went back to work at a place that I had been at years before. I was hesitant to tell everybody that I had gone through GB surgery because I had found that people can be SO judgmental and not supportive. They actually try to sabotage your efforts to eat healthy and to keep portions small.
I started another new job just over 2 years ago and decided not to tell ANYBODY about the surgery. But then I became good friends with a guy who had the surgery a few years ago and is still in the weight loss stages so I told him and then he told me about a TON of people who had it at my current job. So I have now confided in some who have had it that I did too. And I have confided in a few people that I feel close to and trust but I am not at all comfortable putting it out there publicly that I had the surgery. People treat me different...kind of the way I felt I was treated when I was really obese. But if people don't know then they treat me more human. It is sad, really. And I go out of my way to treat people the same, whether they are overweight or thin, whether they dress in name brand clothing or not, whether they have a college education or not....I do my best not to be snobby or exclusive to others because I have gone through much of my life feeling snubbed by the rich and beautiful and popular.
So I have reached a balance. Of course my fiance knows I had the surgery and it doesn't bother him one bit. I can't eat huge portions of food, but I also eat a lot more than I did when I first had the surgery. Sometimes people will comment on my small appetite but generally nobody even notices that I don't usually finish my plate. And unfortunately I can snack non stop without any problems so I just blame it on that if someone makes a big deal about me not eating a whole plate of food at a restaurant for lunch.
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