Did you tell anyone?

thrld

No. Not when I started. For me, it was more about the commitment.

My goals are my own, my commitment is to me. I don't want to announce to anyone my commitment about how I'm going to live my life.
When I do discuss my lifestyle changes, it is in the context of this is how I've been living my life recently, and I'm going to continue on doing so.

Yes, for some declaring your goals can help you keep them. But I'm done seeking the approval of others, or needing their support (although who doesn't appreciate the support when given). At this point, if it is important to me, then it's important.

EmCarroll1990

I told a few people, then when the whole, "You don't need to lose weight" comments started I just stopped talking about it to anyone that didn't ask or mention an interest in losing weight.

Gemini570

I told everyone. I wanted to accountable. And I have a big mouth and tell everyone everything...LOL

Same here. I did the same with quitting smoking.
I'm more likely to stay the course if I am accountable to someone other than myself.

I gained tons of support. I now have three work-out/diet buddies, and without their support, I would have already failed.
Also, in telling, others have shared their techniques, successes and failures, which I can learn from.

Deltafliers

I only told my friends who are also on MFP..but for others I only bring it up when they are encouraging me to eat or drink more than what I should. Then they say "oh you don't look fat at all" but they don't see me in my underwear, etc. You know the deal.

I agree, I hate hearing "skinny size 5 and under" or "I have never been pregnant" people tell me (last month size 14 tight, this month size 12 loose), "Stop being hard on yourself, you don't need to lose weight, you are beautiful the way you are!" :grumble:

I mean, really?

IveLanded

I told everyone.

Being very public about it was great motivation to stick with it. After I lost a certain amount of weight, it was pretty obvious anyways.

deadstarsunburn

I only tell people if they ask how I'm doing it.
Whether I tell everyone or no one doesn't really affect me, outside of MFP anyway.
I do share my day to day successes with my boyfriend, but that's about it.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

The only person I purposely didn't tell was my dad because he's not the most positive person (I've lost 55 lbs since I saw him last), but I only actively told a few people until others started noticing the losses. I hooked MFP up with FB so every time I work out it shows up on my news feed. Those people know me IRL, so I figured it would be an incentive to stick with it. I was a little embarrassed the first time my weight loss showed up, but everyone else seemed to know how big I'd gotten but me, so I don't think about it anymore. I saw my dad, for the first time since August, last weekend. He couldn't believe his eyes, and my stepmom said she turned to him and said "That can't be Rachel!" It did feel good to see how happy he was. He couldn't stop looking at me! It's your journey, so you need to do what's best for you.

senyosmom

I didn't really tell anyone either. My husband knows I am making some changes but that is all. I worry my best friend will sabatoge me as well - I don't think she would do it to hurt me intentionally I think she just wants me to remain where she is. Misery loves company, right? I see my best friend every day.

Maybe you could slightly hint that you are trying to eat better - if your BFF starts in on the negative stuff just say "I want to try. Lets not talk about it because it makes me upset." and move onto another topic. This way she cant say you didnt tell her and get mad at you when she sees how awesome and slim you look! Who knows maybe seeing your success will motivate her.

KyleB65

I told only my wife & children.

As I progressed I was asked about what I was doing. But initially it was just the family the was in on it!

Now, I get asked almost daily to provide some secret recipe to losing weight. :-)

Same answer every time - Eat healthy, drink lots of water and exercise regularly. The rest will take care of it's self!

inraptorswetrust

The only person who knows is my boyfriend, because if I tell anyone else they tell me that I don't need to lose weight because I'm technically not "overweight," so why bother? I've been encouraged to eat unhealthily and take days off my workout routine because I "don't need it." It's very discouraging.

Carissamr

I have told a few people that are close to me and a couple of my facebook friends but I have for the most part kept it to myself...those that I live with know and are very supportive...I want to wait until I have hit 200lbs before I post it on my facebook and then I will post a pic too...I guess I want it to be a surprise to everyone who knows me...also there are some people I hope won't recognize me when I go back to the town I am from...I am estranged from my family and would prefer to keep it that way so when I lose the weight they may not recognize me...At least that is what I am hoping...lol

chinita96

I did tell some people. It's amazing to hear the responses. You can really tell who your true friends are. I had an acquaintance that I told and she was more supportive than my bf and other friends. There was one instance where we talked about getting together for dinner and drinks. Then out of the blue, she mentioned, "Oh that place isn't the best if you're counting calories, let's go here instead." I could've kissed her right there and then!

alyson820

I told my mom, and that was it. But after I started losing weight, people asked me what I was doing, what 'diet' I was 'on', and I told them I had been eating healthier and working out more. Everyone's shocked by that, they want some secret haha.

cyndispot

When I started I only told a select few people. My bestie who I knew would cheer me even if it got bad, my boss cuz I needed to adjust my work schedule and my trainer. I told my mom at about the 15 lb mark. And I didn't tell son or hubs. I also didn't tell the ladies that are usually in the weight loss game with me. I didn't want the comparisons or questions. My not telling wasn't an issue of whetehr or not I would commit, I knew I would do that. But it was a matter of I didn't want advice, feedback, competition or pressure. I wanted to do my best with only my expectations.

The reason I didn't tell my son and hubs was easy - They would have complained about the food you eat on a diet and I had decided that I was going to not change exactly what I was eating yet, but that I needed to do portion control and learn to say no to more not to favorites. My hubs is also full of advice for dieting but he weighs to much. I wanted to set an example not become a topic of conversation.

When people started noticing I was honest about what I was doing. They started noticing at around 20 lbs and some noticed closer to 40 lbs....

So no, I really didn't tell many people - and those I did tell honored my request to not say anything to anyway. Besides I wanted to know when people started noticing for real not becuase they were looking for it.

ZombieChaser

I didn't want to at first, but found myself having to tell everyone b/c they kept trying to feed me things that just didn't fit in my new plan.

vegancakelady

I haven't really told anyone about MFP - not even my husband. It's my little secret and I love it! He kept asking my why I'm on my iPhone every minute, so only yesterday I told him that I have a food diary on it.

When I first joined in Jan this year, I sent out invitations to a few family members to see if they wanted to join too. I had no response from them at all. I was a bit p*ssed off by that so from then I've kept it to myself, and its working. I find it better having my wonderful friends on here than if they had joined anyway!!

So, I say dont fret about anybody else and what they might think. You must put yourself first. Love yourself best!

korsicash

In the beginning only my mom, best friend and husband knew of my journey. Now however I sing it to any one!!!! I love what my journey has done for me and I want others who are unhappy with themselves to feel the boost I feel. I love it! I stopped calling it a diet 8 months ago and I now call it a life style change. I stopped saying I have to do this or I can't have that to I want to do this and I don't wan that. The change of mind has made me even happier!

amber_gem

I used to tell people when I started trying to eat healthy, then I fell off the wagon and would feel silly. I'm not telling anyone this time - too much living under a microscope and dumb comments thrown my way. People can be so hurtful and petty, ironically, the ones who love you the most.

Tdk4685

I told my close family and friends at first. Now when friends or coworkers ask me how I lost so much weight I tell them.

Psyb3r

My husband and I started this together last year, but we didn't tell our families. We saw his after losing about 40lbs each and they were really surprised and supportive, but mine didn't find out until last Christmas. They were totally suprised by our 75lb weightloss! It was kind of fun to see their reactions. If you don't tell anyone just imagine how surprised they'll be, and how accomplished you'll feel! Also don't worry about falling off the wagon (as long as you don't get run over), just jump back on. We've all been there and you can do it!:flowerforyou:

skinnyshelli

Someone told me one time that people get a lot of pleasure from talking about their plans for losing weight. Sometimes that pleasure makes individuals feel so good about talking about losing weight that they don't every really lose weight (in order to feel additional pleasure or accomplishment). I know this may sound silly, but it happened for me when I was telling everyone about training for a marathon. I loved talking about it. I felt proud of myself for training for a marathon. My training ended up fading out and I never actually ran the race.

When I decided in December to lose weight (seriously this time). I decided that I would just start my diet and not tell anyone. About a month in, I decided to ask a friend to join me. It was the best decision. We have been a team ever since. We keep each other strong. We both want this more than ever before, we want it for ourselves and we want it for each other. We have tried many things together in the past few months, such as protein drinks, exercise challenges, and cleanses. However, what we are doing to lose weight is OUR secret! Our close family members know we are working to lose weight and are encouraging to us. However, even though they know we are working to lose weight, I try hard not to spend time talking about all the details of my journey with them. I don't want to get pleasure from talking about losing weight. I want to get pleasure from actually LOSING it!

People around me started to notice my weight loss after I had lost about 20 pounds. When they ask how much I have lost or how I have lost it. I just tell them that I'm trying to be healthier and then I change the subject and move on.

This has worked for me. This is the first time I've been able to get real weight off. I still have about 15 lbs to go until I reach my goal... and I don't want anything to stop me!

littlepinkhearts

Sounds like you made the right decision in not telling her. It would appear it's working for you. I would do the same thing, in fact I also pick and choose who I tell, based on their personalities and what kinda "crap" i'm gonna get back from them. Most are ok with it, but obviously there's always one or two people who can't handle it and they just remain uninformed at my discretion. Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. Keep doin what you're doin! Good job!:flowerforyou:

devonette

My immediate family knows, my siblings know, and I tell anyone who I will be dining with so that they know not to try to talk me into foods that would be bad for me. Besides, once they'd spot the travel food scale, they'd kinda figure it out anyhow. I have not mentioned it to anyone else, though eventually I'm hoping that when the loss is more visible in person or photos people will ask, in which case then I'll tell them! I haven't lost enough weight yet for it to be noticeable in everyday clothing.

dancingj2

People can have lots of comments that are not always helpful and are sometimes down right hurtful so I have told very few people.

Gay11nell

I indirectly told people. My Cardio workout trainer app, on my phone, tracks my workouts and weight lost/gain. It had a link to facebook and pretty much posted the info for me. So it made me accountable for my actions and worked in my favor. I didn't want people to see me fail - so that became motivation, in a "TAKE THAT" kind of way-lol.

verptwerp

bump ..... interesting discussion .....

mjanet22

This time around, the only people who know of my goals are my husband, my mom and dad. Other than that, I don't think anyone else cares. Plus i'm not doing it for anyone else, this is for me. So in reality the person that will be disappointed if I fall off the bandwagon again is me.

Yes2HealthyAriel

I told everyone but most importantly my live in boyfriend. This is because he is overweight also and I wanted us to be on the same page and for him to do this with me. It took about a week and half before he finally came around. I am happy I have told my friends and family as they are very supportive.

notnormallyacaloriecounter

it took me almost a week to tell my boyfriend (he had school and work so i had the house to myself a lot) 2 weeks to tell my mom and best friend and as of right now that is it. the people are my work are very close knit, but i decided not to because i don't want everyone watching me. plus, it's fun to have a secret, and it makes it that much more exciting when you drop weight. mum is the word lady! looks like you're doing good so far, keep it going!

trud72

only hubby :bigsmile: until people started noticing