I was upfront about the whole thing from the beginning. I knew that trying to play coy about the surgery was fruitless. When you weigh 386 pounds, none of the people you work with have ever seen you at a normal weight and you are losing as fast as we do, they are all going to think (a) weight loss surgery, (b) terminally ill. So everyone knew before the surgery and they all have been really supportive and positive. If anyone thought this was a "cheat way to lose weight or the easy way out or even that I won't be able to maintain the loss and regain everything" they've never said it to my face.

I still bring my own food daily and only occasionally go out to eat with any of them. They now expect that when someone brings birthday treats, 99% of the time I'm going to go in and sit with my coffee while they all indulge. They have stopped asking me in advance if there's something special they can bring for me. Because frankly there isn't any low calorie, high protein desert out there! :laugh: But I do get asked what I'm eating if it looks or smells good and I'm sometimes asked for the receipes.

Don't stress about it. If you are a very private person there's nothing wrong with telling them you are losing with the help of your doctor. It's the truth, but not the details. But remember, when we share our journey, and this is why I am so open about it, we give other obese people who see our success the opportunity to ask questions and we may just be able to help someone else become healthy too.

I'm really open about having had the surgery. I have been working with these people for 25 years and it just didn't seem right to be hiding such an important part of my life. Also, for me talking about this openly is all part of me learning not to be ashamed of anything about myself. Sometimes I get a little tired of answering the same questions over and over, but I just remember that these are people who care about me and are curious.