Photo: mason bryant/Flickr

I promised myself that there are some numbers on the scale I will see never again. When I got down to 300 pounds, I said bye-bye forever. Again at 200 pounds, I vowed the needle would never reach two anything -- ever again. Having consistently teetered between 183 and 191, my two-hundred-phobia has resolved. However, still looming in the back of my mind is the fact that by medical standards, I am still considered 'overweight.'

My 'normal' weight range is between 125 and 150 pounds. Did anybody else laugh reading that? Because I sure did. Those numbers are a little too low for someone stricken with bigbuttitis. In my usual fashion, I have taken the initiative to set a goal of 170 pounds. That is still 10 pounds above the recommendation of my doctor and trainer Jake, but any lower and I may have to turn in my big-butt club membership. I'm not quite ready to do that. It does have its privileges.

This goal lead me to my first Weight Watchers meeting at a local synagogue. I jumped on the scale and went through the routine hesitantly but proud of myself for making the steps and not stopping where I am because I "feel" good. Losing these 20 pounds, I expect to feel better.

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've got good news! Nope, I didn't save a ton of money on my car insurance, but I did make a discovery -- I am completely normal. And that feels a whole lot better than saving a few bucks on insurance.

I just had the most special vacation I've ever had. I've been to other countries, tropical islands, whale watching, deep sea fishing and a host of other exotic locales, but this vacation tops them all. I went to Las Vegas -- as a normal person. I did not need any special accommodations, I sat in a normal plane seat, walked through normal turnstiles and sat by the pool in my swimsuit like a normal person. I took this trip to Las Vegas with a group of my girlfriends and had an absolute blast! For the first time in my adult life, I was just one of the girls on vacation, with my girls. I am no longer the fat girl of the girls, I'm simply 'one' of the girls. If I may say so myself, one of the better looking girls too.

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 can eat. Let me say that again. I can eat! Nearly four years after gastric bypass surgery -- and a thimbleful of food turned into a small plateful, which turned into a few extra pounds around my hips -- there's no doubt that I consider this surgery one of the best things I've ever done for myself. But I am only as successful as what I eat.

Granted, I am not able to eat anywhere near my former portions, but certainly more than I could when I first had the surgery. As the honeymoon period ended and the fat stopped melting away, the thrill was gone. I started falling back into old habits and making the rules as I go. After gaining my first four pounds, I realized I had a choice. Actually I had a lot of choices. I could do what it takes to go all the way to my goal, or I could falter and return to fat. I'm choosing to go all the way.

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.

OK, people. Here I go. My first Weight Watchers meeting is Thursday night. And I am nervous as hell. I can't say exactly why since I've successfully done Weight Watchers before. But I am. I have stepped on enough scales in my lifetime with many different emotions, but nothing beats the excitement I've felt weighing in at a meeting after a good week and seeing the minus sign in the total-loss column. I also haven't forgotten the frustration I would feel on weeks when the weight held a plus sign, meaning I'd gained. Even that was not a bad experience. It always motivated me to stay on the wagon and do all I could to see that precious minus sign again.

I'd love to say that I just took off running with it, but Weight Watchers was not unlike most projects that I start and don't finish. I start all things gung-ho because of the organization process. That is my favorite part. I begin with charts, graphs, analyses and labeled index cards in prep for the exercise itself. Putting things together excites me. But once I have completed that phase, boredom sets in. That zest for the project itself goes right out the window. I'm organized and ready now! Oh, you mean I actually have to do the project? What a novel idea.

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.


As a single person, being accountable to myself can be tricky. I can always give me an excuse to get what I want. Would I disagree with me? When it comes to accountability, it's just me and God. Since He's not going to descend from the throne and smack a slice of red velvet cake from my hands, I have to depend on me to keep things in check with my eating. Self policing doesn't always work, since my desire for something has a way of drowning out that still small voice, also known as my conscience. Who needs a conscience when you've got cake! I do.

An evening out in New York City with my friends can easily end with breakfast at our favorite 24-hour spot in Chelsea. When we go out, we go hard. Because none of them are familiar with the concept of being overweight, they have the luxury of eating whatever and whenever they like. I do not. Having shared my weight loss struggle with them, they have all been deputized to police me when we are out. They help keep me in check and I humbly allow them to.

Here are a few tips I have picked up along the way to keep eating and drinking to a minimum.

• I get a take-out box and separate half of my food before eating. That way there's less on my plate, and I don't feel wasteful because there's nothing visibly left on the plate.
• All meals start with a salad. After eating a salad, I eat less of the entree, and I don't miss the half I've already boxed.
• I have a glass of water between each drink. This is not only a good way to avoid intoxication, but it's also a great money saver.
• I skip the gravies and sauces. Ketchup, mayo and other condiments may not have many calories but at 2 a.m., everything counts. I opt for mustard where possible.
• I avoid ordering anything that says fried, au gratin, crispy or stuffed. As much as these words are music to my ears, these things tend to be high in fat and calories.

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 could dress it up in fancy words, but that's not my style. In a nutshell, my eating stinks. Dr. Jonny Bowden was glad to hear about my new fitness habits, but he did not delay in telling me that I could not out-train a bad diet. He stressed the importance of balanced eating and gave me great tips to help break some of the bad habits that have created this pseudo-plateau. It is actually not a plateau. I have somehow managed to balance out enough exercise to keep me from gaining. The downside is, I'm no longer losing. The drastic work is done. That was losing the hundreds of pounds. But I'm not done. I've still got another 10 or so I'd like to get rid of. Somehow these 10 seem much harder than the first 200, but I know I can do it.

I'm not too proud to say it. When it comes to my eating, I need help. Having tried every diet on the market, the only success I've ever experienced was with Weight Watchers. Back in the 80s, my brother and I even tried a pill called Dream Away. The infomercial was incredible! We watched all the before and after testimonials, and all we needed to do was "dream the fat away." Well, we jumped on this deal with both feet. Let me get this straight: We can eat what we want and just take a pill and the fat will melt away, while we sleep? Talk about a no-brainer, we were all over it. We pooled our allowances and his lawn mowing money and ordered our bottles of Dream Away. What this infomercial did not tell us was that it was really speed, and you never slept. Hence, if it failed it had to be because you weren't sleeping. Duh! Weight Watchers held no gimmicks and if I worked the system, it worked. I lost nearly 70 pounds and got too cute to keep up the good work. I'm still cute, but my thighs are still huge -- so I am considering a Weight Watchers rejoin.

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.

Movers, Shakers and Squatters. Which one are you? In my current state, certainly I am a bonafide mover and shaker. Although, I have squatted just as well. So why start moving and shaking now? I'm glad you asked. Just because I can. Losing weight opened more doors than to just better shopping. It gave me something even greater -- energy.

Energy is defined as the capacity for vigorous activity; available power. I have so much of it now, I got my NY State issued real estate license! Sure people have asked, "Why real estate in this market?" To which I intelligently reply, "Shut up stupid." What they don't know is that to have enough get up and go to graduate from clown college would've been more than I've done in the last 20 years.

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.

A few weeks ago I woke up in the quiet of my home and suddenly realized that in that moment, I was perfectly content. I awoke with no aches or pains, a little cash in the bank and my bills paid. Everything I need, I have. I lay in bed a few minutes longer simply to relish the sound of quiet and the realization that my life is more than alright, it's darn near great.

Of course, I couldn't lay long. This is New York, and there's always work to be done. As I got up to prepare for a quick pre-work jog, another realization set in. For the first time in my life, I like me, physically. When I set out on the path to lose weight, getting to a magic number was never my aim. I had established milestones that mattered to me, but surprisingly, no magic number. My doctor had another idea. He did have a magic number -- 160 pounds.

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.

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.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste -- especially on thoughts that don't promote or propel you. At times, my thoughts about my body image are downright destructive. Image is defined as a mental representation, idea, conception. If that's the definition, then somehow, my mental representation, idea or concept of how I look has become jaded.

Three surgeries in three years have given me greater issues about my look. I've swapped scars for excess skin removal, I've swapped morbid obesity for normalcy and through it all, my perception has not changed very much. There are times when I still see the same fat girl.

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.

Fitness is an investment. But who says you have to break the bank to get in shape? You don't.

The most expensive item in my exercise collection is Jake, my personal trainer. He's worth far more than I could ever afford, so when he speaks, I listen. He is my own personal E. F. Hutton of fitness. When we started working out eight months ago, he gave me a list of must-have equipment. I perused the list with disdain because surely he didn't think I could afford him and a ton of equipment. Every time he would come for a session, he would ask if I had bought the equipment. Eventually tiring from my not-yets, he offered to get it for me. This put me on front street to be accountable, and I did not like it. Of course my first question was: "How much is this going to cost?" The list had at least six items on it, and by my calculations, it was more than I wanted to invest until I was sure I was going to stick with it.

My sister calls me cheap, I prefer the word thrifty. OK, so really I am cheap -- too cheap to be one of those people who buys equipment and lets it collect dust. If I spend my hard-earned money, I'm using it. Jake said give me $80. I said, "only $80 for this semi-home gym?" He said, "Yes, $80." So, I gave it to him. I figured if he could buy everything on the list for such a small amount, then he's a better shopper than me, and I'm good. In spite of the nominal amount, I still had my doubts, and I wondered if this would be a total bust because I had no desire to exercise at home. I figured my workouts with him were enough.

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 don't know a darn thing about it. I know so little, in fact, that I have experienced my first major setback -- I have gained. Simply typing those words is painful, but in no way does that diminish the truth of them. Just when I thought I had this thing beat, here comes a big fat reality check. Some may think a few pounds is not that much, and I could very easily agree. I could also add that I had down-time from exercising due to my surgery, but not even that softens the blow. When I'm honest with myself, I have to admit that I am still teetering on the thin line between overeating and addiction. Anything I have gained was caused by something I put in my mouth.

Prior to writing this post, I knew that I was failing miserably in my eating, so I reached out for help from one of the pros, Dr. Jonny Bowden. Having had the pleasure of consulting with him before, I knew he'd give it to me straight. At the time, I had no idea that I had gained any weight. I was simply smart enough to realize that I was heading down a dangerous path and that without help, I could very easily fall back into my old ways. If telling it straight was what I wanted from Dr. Jonny, straight was what I got.

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.

Exercise is my drug. Not. I'm just playing. I wish I were strung out on it, but I'm not. I know, I need it, and it's good for me. However, a junkie for it? Not so much. I consider myself relatively smart, so making it an integral part of my lifestyle only makes sense. But I don't love it. I'm just smart enough to do it because I need it. Who knows? I may grow to love it, however, that has not happened -- yet.

My first stab at fitness didn't turn out so well. My older sister had lost a significant amount of weight by abolishing whites (starch, bread, sugar, etc.) from her diet and incorporating regular exercise. Having watched her success, I decided to accept her invitation -- to Boot Camp. To this day, I still don't know why the words "Boot" and "Camp" together didn't make my Spidey senses tingle, but there I stood, with 350+ pre-gastric-bypass pounds, in Boot Camp. To my left stood Adonis, and to my right was a beautiful man who had to be the nephew of Zeus or some other Greek god. How did I end up sandwiched between two beautiful men with my sister in front, and of course, directly in front of her stood a 5'6" jet black version of the Terminator, in camouflage with a whistle and a stack of bright orange cones.

Ohhhhh, Boot Camp. The words together finally started to make sense. My sister turned to smile and wish me luck. The lump of fear in my throat prevented me from making my mental plea for help audible, so I just dumbly smiled back. I was scared witless! I just knew that somehow I would embarrass my big ol' self. My worst nightmare was that I'd pass out, crush gorgeous Adonis on the way down, only to wake up being CPR'd by the very handsome nephew of Zeus, who happens to be life partner to Adonis, the guy I crushed on my way down.

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.

If what a difference a day makes, then two weeks can make a heckuva difference. I finally feel like me again! Eight weeks post-arm-lift surgery and I am finally in my "after." Except for some minor nerve pain, the pain has all but disappeared. I am on my way to the first sleeveless summer in my life, and I am more excited as summer approaches. I mean, I'm pretty sure I wore sleeveless onesies as a baby, but I was too little to remember. Aside from that, I've worn three-quarter and even half-sleeves, but sleeveless, I've never known.

Let's talk scars -- my scars look great! I am thrilled with both the look and feel of them. These scars were different than the ones from my abdominoplasty as they took longer to heal and were a bit more raised. I have used an array of scar reduction products to maximize the benefits of the procedure, and here is my consumer two cents on how they fared.