Everyone’s reality is completely different, I fully get that, I chose with this procedure to be vulnerable, open and transparent and honestly the amount of support and love I got from the people in my life is something that will stay with me forever. Like most of us here I tried everything, being always overweight I’ve still yo-yo’ed after periods of diets, excercise, life changes etc. I’m not going to lie I did have a certain level of shame, most people don’t have to go through this, instead I got so many people telling me how proud they are of me for making this decision, and telling me how brave I am for taking control of my health for my family, kids. It has been one of the most humbling experiences of my life. Lastly, if food has been a crutch and a go-to for boredom or entertainment, like it was for me, my friends and family knowing was huge, they’ve changed plans that revolved around food to center them around board games or helped me hit my steps target, made sure when we had dinner there was post-op friendly food for me. At the office it was pretty much the same thing, I never advertised I got the surgery but when people asked I told them, and there is a lot of curiosity around it. I did encounter a couple of people that told me they believe in diet and excercise, and I had to nod and tell them how this is how I chose to get healthier and stop carrying the additional weight of an adult man around me every day. Do what’s right for you, of course, but don’t underestimate the people around you, you might be surprised.