January 30, 2006. That date may not ring any bells for you, however, among the gastric bypass circle, it is commonly known as my re-born date. This was the date of my surgery and certainly the beginning of a new life for me. It really was, in essence, like being born again into a better life.

Nearly four years later, I am wondering if I still have to disclose that I am a gastric bypass patient. In the early days, it was necessary for various reasons. Small portions from expensive restaurants made more than a few dates inquire why I'd eat so little of what most would consider a great meal. At some point, when comfortable, I would tell folks about the surgery and my limitations. For the most part, the reactions were ones that I could live with. However, on more than one occasion, the response was less than flattering.

I also shared the news with friends and family for various reasons. Again, this news was met with an array of responses ranging from, 'you go girl' to 'you took the easy way out'. Some, I told for accountability. Others, I told because, in an instance where I'd be sick, get food stuck or suffer from dumping syndrome, they needed to know how to help. Well, those things are no longer of grave concern.

As the creator of the original version of The Office, not to mention several other hilarious projects, Ricky Gervais has made millions laugh their arses off. But his latest diatribe seems to be attracting more jeers than cheers. Gervais has been speaking out about obesity and gastric bypass surgery, and let's just say his comments are not being received well. Some examples:

• "[I can't understand] why a doctor under a Hippocratic oath takes the risk of something going badly wrong, sometimes with general anaesthetic, because someone can't be bothered to go for a f---ing run. I want to say to them, 'You lazy f---ing fat pig. Just go for a run and stop eating burgers. You might f---ing die."
• "Gay people are born that way. They didn't work at becoming gay. Fat people became fat because they would rather be that way than stop eating so much."
• "I laugh about being fat, but I should be ashamed. I should walk down the street and have people shouting 'Fatty!'. That's what I want, to get me out of it."

Well, at least he acknowledges his own weight issues too. Your thoughts?

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Going abroad for gastric bands or gastric bypass surgery is all the rage these days. But is it safe? British TV personality Anne Diamond recently recounted her experience with gastric band surgery gone wrong, and it's quite the interesting read.

Here's the gist of the story: Anne had trouble losing weight after the births of her kids, and tried every diet -- but all the chronic dieting did for her was pad her waistline even more. She was desparate to shed some weight and signed up for gastric bypass surgery in Belgium without even telling her family or friends, as if she was doing something criminal.

After the surgery, she found that it had no effect on her eating habits -- she could still eat as much as before, and she was still as hungry as she was before. After appearing on a British reality series and being forced to fess up, a reputable UK doctor helped her determine why her gastric band wasn't working -- it was fitted to her esophagus, not her stomach. She's since had it re-done, and it's helped her shed a fair amount of weight.

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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 nearly 40 pounds. I promise to tell you every win and setback along the way every Tuesday and Friday.

I stood on my BFF's porch recently and heard a sound I hadn't heard in nearly two years -- a lawn mower. Even though it was distant, it was easily identifiable. Having lived down South for most of my life, hearing this sound is not unusual. Having returned to my southern home from my current New York home, the nostalgia this sound brings makes me exhale deeply. Not a lot of grass being mowed in Brooklyn but standing there on a porch in Charlotte, NC with the 60-degree sun shining on me, I was glad to be home.

In my last post, I expressed deep concern over reverting back to my old ways once I returned home. I wasn't sure if I would continue my good New York habits. In some ways, I thought I would; in other ways, I did not. After much agonizing over making time to exercise, I decided I would do what I could do. I was intent on enjoying my family for the first time this year, after all. So, I managed my portions well and made good food choices. I did not deprive myself of the local favorites I can't get in NY, such as Chick-Fil-A, but instead of having the whole sandwich, I ate half. I also enjoyed a hot dog from the North Carolina exclusive Cook-Out. Instead of getting the famous foot long, though, I had the regular size dog. This trip was a balance of what's become important to me now and how serious I am about my newfound fitness and my healthy lifestyle. It was also indicative of my connection to food, family and friends.

Randy Jackson calls his diagnosis with Type II diabetes a double-edged sword. It was bad, because diabetes is a disease that never goes away. But it was good, because he had to do something about it. What did he do? He lost weight -- and lots of it -- and changed his entire lifestyle. He dishes up the skinny in his new book Body With Soul: Slash Sugar, Cut Cholesterol, and Get a Jump on Your Best Health Ever.

While Jackson was the recipient of gastric bypass surgery, he says it wasn't meant to be an easy fix. A lot of hard work is still necessary after this expensive and risky procedure (just ask Karla), which certainly is not for everyone. It worked for Jackson, though, since he had a disease and needed to do something quickly.

Post-surgery, Jackson is all about changing habits, and he fully endorses the morsel diet -- just have a bite and then move on. And no seconds either. Hey, we all know what's good and bad for us, says the American Idol judge. Eat healthy food and move. Does it get any easier than that?

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Is Courtney Love's recent weight loss due to gastric bypass surgery? A while back, we told you about reports that claimed this rumor was true, but the grunge diva herself recently shot them down. She spoke out in the January issue of Elle Magazine, and here's what she had to say: "Baby, if I could get a gastric band I would! I've heard it's a lot of vomiting and a pain in the ass, but it's still easier than a diet. "

Add Love, 44, "I did go to see a Hollywood doctor about it. I wasn't desperate, I just knew I had to do something. He said no. I might have been fat, but I wasn't that fat. I tried lipo on my stomach after that. It was horrible and it didn't work."

It's easier than a diet? I don't think that's the right attitude to have towards surgery. Your thoughts?

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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 nearly 40 pounds. I promise to tell you every win and setback along the way every Tuesday and Friday.

After my surgery, I was depressed. At the time, I can't say I was aware of my depression but soon after, I realized. Continual thoughts of having mutilated my body to lose weight and fears that the surgery had failed plagued me daily. I was sad about what I couldn't eat and mad that it FORCED me to make changes I was not ready to make.

Six months after my surgery, my beloved Father passed away. My sister, the therapist, suggested I "see someone." Well, she is a doctor, so I agreed. I was very close to my Dad and his passing was difficult. Even so, I was at peace with it because I did right by him. However, being at peace did not alleviate the pain of losing both my Dad AND my former lover, food. I missed them both. According to the checklist, I was depressed.

I called my company's EAP and got a referral to see a therapist. This benefit offered by most companies allowed me six free sessions. I met this wonderful Jewish woman who astounded me with her guidance. My first instinct was to find an African American, but death and fat have no color. As different as she and I were, her counsel came with no color. I found that these sessions were more about my weight loss than the loss of my Father. He had cancer, so in some way I was prepared. As for the weight loss, I was not prepared.

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 nearly 40 pounds. I promise to tell you every win and setback along the way every Tuesday and Friday.

When I decided that I would get off my butt AND make it tighter in the process, I knew I would not be able to do it alone. Sure, I'd risen from my couch in the past on hundreds, OK, tens, of occasions. Oddly enough, I always found my couch to be far more comfortable than bending and stretching ever was. Imagine that.

When I rose off my couch the last time, I assembled a team of professionals to help keep me off. My nutritionist, Keri Glassman, M.S., R.D., C.D.N., armed me with all I needed to eat wisely. She was skilled enough to incorporate things into the plan that I could not give up. That's right, Keri did not force me to give up Nilla wafers and grits. Instead, she taught me moderation. Anybody who allows me to eat grits is alright in my book. Keri is definitely a top five all-star to me.

My first trainer was the amazing Liz Neporent. I hated her from the start. Seriously, her butt was as tight as a drum. I just didn't think I could trust nor have anything in common with a woman who's butt was that tight! I was wrong. I love Liz, and she loves me. She taught me more about fitness in a few weeks than I'd learned my entire life. I was pro bono work for her, by way of a TV show that flopped. Even when the show went away, she stuck with me. My only competition with Liz was to see if I could be as committed to my fitness as she was. Liz, call me when you get rid of all that celebrity clientele. I need you more!

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 nearly 40 pounds. I promise to tell you every win and setback along the way every Tuesday and Friday.

I miss REAL ice cream. I miss cheese cake. And oh, how I miss chunky peanut butter. What I did NOT miss, however, was the bus with gastric bypass surgery. Sure I may not be able to eat these things now, but it's worth the trade, because I don't miss morbid obesity. I have dodged the bullets of diabetes and hypertension by getting the weight off.

To share this journey in truth, I must admit to having doubts. Prior to my surgery, I found a great gastric bypass website filled with pictures and detailed accounts of others' journeys. I practically became obsessed with before and after photos. I would look at those smiling post-op people who barely resembled their befores. Folks were experiencing a new life and dubbed their surgery dates their re-birthday. The after images were emblazoned into my brain. I longed to be a smiling after picture.

This same amazing web community contained blogs of past, present and hopeful bypass patients who wrote about insurance battles, mixed feelings and both good and bad results. Some of blogs ended with notes from family members announcing the passing of the writer. The blogs sometimes conveyed happiness and/or regret about the surgery. I read. I viewed hundreds of pics. I learned. I prayed. I did it.

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Carnie Wilson has seen extreme ups and down in terms of her weight and other aspects of her life -- earlier this year, Carnie stated that she'd hit "rock bottom" when she weighed in at 208 pounds. Not only was she unhappy with how she looked and felt, but she wanted to try getting pregnant again (she and her husband already have a three-year-old daughter, Lola) and knew it wasn't healthy to do so until she'd lost 40 or 50 pounds.

And now, she has -- this time, through diet and exercise rather than surgery.

Carnie, who is now down to a healthy 160 pounds, shared a few of her best tips and tricks with Momlogic, talking about how she stayed motivated and on track and how she fought cravings. And, she's serving up advice, too, encouraging people not to diet, but rather, to improve eating habits and add some exercise to be healthy.

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All my life I prayed to be free from the prison of obesity -- morbid obesity, that is. I tried pills, shots, shakes, no carbs, no fat, low calorie diets, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, and countless other programs -- all with some results but never long term. With every failed attempt, I prayed even harder because I knew from reading the bible that God wanted me to be in good health. And I was not. Sure there were times along the way when I thought He'd turned a deaf ear but even deeper than that shallow thought was a stronger belief that He did hear me. And He would answer. I did not know when but I knew that He would. When He answered, I had no doubt that I was doing the right thing.

Everything about my gastric bypass experience was divine. I knew when I began my research that I was headed in the right direction, for me. All of my pre-op testing was a breeze when I'd heard of delays and issues. My insurance company approved it right away and I was scheduled within a month. Even greater was the fact that it cost me $165 out of pocket. A friend working at the same company with the same insurance at the same hospital with the same surgeon paid $4,000, the standard 10% co-pay. I called and called and insisted that the bill should be more. They assured me it should not. I paid what was due and have never received another bill.

Let's be honest: Most of us are unhappy about our weight, and Gastric Bypass surgery seems like the perfect quick-but-painful fix for all our weight woes. But such an extreme medical procedure is usually reserved for those who are clinically obese and/or suffering health problems because of their weight -- not for people who simply want to rock their skinny jeans again.

That's why many people are traveling to other countries to have the surgery, an article out of the UK reports. These so-called 'Gastric Bandits' want to get the surgery but are told by their doctor they're not fat enough for it, so they shell out for surgery in another country.

Obviously, this kind of procedure is not without its share of controversy -- would you defy your doctor and head to another country for major weight loss surgery? Myself, I'm firm believer that good old diet and exercise is the way to go but hey -- that's just me.

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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 nearly 40 pounds. I promise to tell you every win and setback along the way every Tuesday and Friday.

This will not fail me. I will not fail it. Gastric bypass surgery has changed everything about me and was my last resort. I was morbidly obese with a family history of high blood pressure and diabetes. After having tried almost everything, gastric bypass was my only hope. What it is NOT is a remedy. It is simply a tool, a tool that can fail if I don't continue to approach the middle and end with the same fervor as the beginning. If I don't, then the question becomes: Who really failed, the surgery or the recipient of it?

I have several personal friends who have "failed" weight loss with the surgery. My girlfriend L had the surgery seven years ago. The first time I ate out with her after my own surgery was at a buffet. Immediately, I watched her break golden rule #1: Wait 15-20 minutes between eating and drinking. She ate, she drank, she ate some more. AT THE SAME TIME! She admitted to having gained back 70 of 120 pounds but was still happy about the 50 pounds she was down. It was clear the golden rules had been tarnished, and she was headed back to where she started. According to my surgeon, Dr. Chan, eating and drinking has the effect of pouring water on leaves, it compresses them. This same compression occurs when eating and drinking at the same time. It allows more food to be consumed, hence the need to wait.

During the past decade or so, rock widow and star in her own right Courtney Love went from heroine chic to healthy size and back down to borderline emaciated. She says it's all due to healthy eating and inspiration from Oprah. But new reports are claiming that the first lady of 90s grunge isn't being quite honest -- because gastric bypass surgery is the real reason behind her dramatic weight loss.

Says a source: "Courtney keeps laughing to her friends and saying, 'Everyone thinks I've had hypnosis but why bother with all that effort? All I did was check myself in and have a fat band fitted' ... Lots of doctors refused to do it as she was nowhere near obese, just a little overweight, but eventually she found one."

Click here to check out photos of her new bod. What do you think? Does she look better ... or worse?

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