Do you tell others your success?

I talk about my weight loss with family members who are also choosing to live a healthy lifestyle and lose weight. Otherwise, I only speak of it if someone asks me about it.

My husband and I have both made major improvements and we've lost a lot weight. We talk to each other about it often. Other than that, I keep it to myself. If someone says, I look good or what am I doing to lose the weight, then I will tell them.

Congrats!!

I had a small group of people who knew about my healthier efforts. Recently I publicized my blog. I've found that my story has inspired and motivated others, which is just one more push to keep me on track. I have about 37 pounds left to lose and now I have others who are willing to hold me accountable, encourage me and join me on this journey!

When I first started making changes to be healthier I didn't tell anyone except my best friend. I was so afraid of failing that I didn't even want anyone to know I was trying. My first changes didn't focus on weight loss in particular anyway. I knew that I needed to get more active since I basically live in front of a computer. And I needed to eat healthier and get rid of the sugar roller coaster that was my daily lifestyle.

After I started making changes and having success, some people did notice. After about 30 pounds lost I started to get a few comments from co-workers. It's not something I felt necessary to keep secret, so I did talk with those that asked. Usually I kept it pretty basic "Oh, going to the gym 5 days a week and trying to eat healthier."

Now that I've lost over 65 pounds lots more people have noticed. That's more than 25% of my original weight, so it's pretty obvious. Now when people ask I try to gage what they really want to know. If they want some details I usually talk about working with my trainer because that's something most people understand and don't argue about. I still seldom talk about the food part. It's much harder for me and a much touchier subject with many people.

Also, many of my friends are still obese. There are a couple that are also making lifestyle changes and working to get healthier, but some are not. I don't want them to feel like I'm being judgmental or that I in some way feel superior. There were many years where I was that person who wasn't ready to make changes. And this is something you truly have to want for yourself. No amount of outside intervention if going to help if you aren't ready to mentally face up to your issues and make the changes needed.

I blog about it, so that I am not tooting my own horn all the time. The thing is I haven't really told people about that blog. There is a link to it in my profile and signature here, and one the blog about my son, but other than that the only person that knows about it is my sister, because she is the one factor that got me motivated to run a 5k, and thus a whole new healthier world has opened up to me. a coworker noticed when I was like 3 lbs down from the lowest weight when I took my son in to see her... and I have no problem talking about it with her all day. I told her I'd be a skinny b!tch when I came back to work....and I plan on holding myself to that goal

I have status updates about my c25k more than actual weight loss..... but I think my boyfriend brags about it all the time.

I tell others for a few reasons:
1. Because "I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it" I seriously feel like calling my mother everytime I get on the scale to let her know hoe much I'm down.
2. I live in an apartment with 4 other overweight rommates, one of which is my girlfriend, who is truely the person who jump started my drive to begin this journey (she has a lot of weight related health problem) and I want to encourage them to eat better and work towards being healthier too.
3. I feel like it makes me more accountable, ya know? Like, if I say I've lost 20 lbs, a week from now I wanna be able to tell people a different number. I don't want them to hear the same number 3 or 4 weeks in a row, )or heaven forbid I stop telling them numbers cause that would probably mean I've gained.)

First, to the OP, congrats!

Re: your question - sort of. Just about everyone in my life knows I've been working on eating better and getting fit for the past year and a half but only a select few get updates when I'm proud enough not to be able to keep it to myself. Most of the time I just wait until someone asks me how much I've lost and how I'm doing it.

I tell my significant other everything, from how many calories I've eaten today, to how many I've burned today, how much weight I've lost so far, what kind of things we should by at the grocery store, what kind of meals we should plan, everything! Although I'm sure it drives him nuts sometimes, he likes seeing me happy and excited about something instead of moping about my weight. He has always told me he loves me the way I am, no matter how much I weigh, and that I should do whatever makes ME happy. And now I am. I have also disclosed the information to my co workers, who wonder why I am so picky when we order our team lunch or why I'm not eating the donuts they brought for breakfast. Really, I don't try to gloat about it to other people, but I do explain to them what I'm doing and why if they ask!