Enough is Enough - Or Is It?

Welcome to the Good, the Fat and the Hungry. I'm Karla and I have been -- or am -- all those things. Here, I will share with you my lifelong struggle with my weight, and I hope you'll follow along on with my determined attempt to lose the last 40 pounds. I promise to tell you every Wednesday about every win and setback along the way.

I look good. OK, so that's me being modest. Actually, I look great. With more than 200 excess pounds gone forever, I'm a walking "you've come a long way baby" sign. But coming this long way has taken a lot.

In 2006, gastric bypass surgery opened the door to a life I never had -- an active life. In 2008, abdominoplasty (tummy tuck) let me see things I'd never seen, like my navel and um, my noochie. In 2009, brachioplasty (arm lift) surgery let me do something I'd never done -- go sleeveless! With every pound I've lost, there have been milestones. These milestones have motivated me to begin running, eat better and make fitness a part of my routine.

Having done all of this, I have to stop and ask myself why am I still tripping over my other imperfections. Now that I've got good arms and abs, all I can see are my sagging thighs, which look like melting ice cream. That means I'm prevented from wearing anything really short. In its own way, that poses an obstacle. The question becomes how big of an obstacle. Is it big enough to consider more surgery?

Recent 90-degree weather called for a day at the beach and my first tube top. Yes, a tube top! Thrilled to let the sun kiss my arms and shoulders for the first time in history, I still fussed over back fat. Having to tuck it in the tube top nearly tainted the experience. I call these two fat rolls my back breasts. A nifty procedure called a bra line lift can make back fat go bye-bye. But do I need it?

I've learned that there's a surgery for any and every imperfection, but that does not mean I need each one. My tummy tuck mentor just celebrated her one-year anniversary, and while talking with her nurse, who also had a tummy tuck, they agreed that other body parts began to bother them after the tummy was fixed. The nurse hit the nail on the head when she said it's like washing only one window and then looking at all the rest of the dirty ones. That statement helped me put it in perspective. All of my windows may not be clean and perfect, but they sure are a heckuva lot smaller. And thinking back, wasn't that the goal all along?