tell'em in your own words
 

You can always tell them you're about 30% there! I wouldn't have to know anything about how much a person had weighed, weighed now or wanted to weight in order to feel excited about the progress they had made.

I tell people what I've lost, and I often have a flicker of fear that I might see in their eyes "oh my god, she must have been SO big!" but so far everyone's just been thrilled. Just remember how many so-called thin people find it impossible to lose weight, so anyone who is managing to do so, no matter how heavy they started, will probably earn respect.

Gez

I tell people the LBS I've lost but I never tell them how much I weigh.

Don't worry about people figuring out how much the average woman weighs and then figuring how much you weighed. Be proud of your accomplishment and if anyone DARES :nono: to say something snide about your beginning weight just respond "Yup, huge accomplishment - not many can attest to that!"

I have had people actually argue with me. My boss said the other day, You did not weight 220 and you did not have 60 pounds to lose. I said, I did weight 220 and I did lose 60 pounds. He said I can not believe it. I said suit yourself. Then I turned and went back to my desk.

I am a little guilty about this
 

I admit, I don't post my beginning-beginning Pre-Atkins weight for fear my husband will one day look at my profile. When I originally started Atkins (over 6 years ago), I weighed 217 pounds. I lost down to 175 and was wearing a size 10-12. That is when I met my husband. I have told him I had lost a lot of weight before we met, but he has NO IDEA. I feel like this is my business! After a lot of surgeries last year, and a few minor ones this year, a little of the weight has crept back up. I feel like since I have maintained most of my weight loss, now is the time to go for it all! I know Atkins works, and I can't wait til the rest of the weight is gone!