• How tall are you? What do you weigh now? What was your highest weight?
• How much weight did you lose due to your WLS? Did you regain any of that weight?
• Does your WLS still effect your body today, and if so how?
• How did you lose down to your goal weight of 115 lbs?
• Is it very difficult for you to maintain your current weight?
• How often do you weigh yourself?
• What do you think is the best Diet?
• What has been your most helpful weight-loss tool?
• Where can I see your "Before" picture?
• Why do you use the title Dr. here, when you are not a medical doctor or a psychologist?
• Do you realize that some of the opinions you express here, may appear to be pro-ana and/or pro-mia and be considered, by some, to promote eating disorders?
• Why do people who comment here have to be age 13 or older?

How tall are you? What do you weigh now? What was your highest weight?

I am 5 ft 0 inches tall. I work to keep my weight between 115 & 125 lbs. My lifetime highest weight was 24 years ago, just before my WLS, when I weighed 271 lbs.

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How much weight did you lose due to your WLS? Did you regain any of that weight?

I lost 111 lbs in the first year after WLS, down to a weight of 160 lbs. After about 3 years, I began regaining. I wound weighing in the 190s, where I remained for a number of years, while frequently dieting to keep from regaining more.

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Does your WLS still effect your body today, and if so how?

My WLS was a RNY gastric bypass, with NO removal of any intestine,
which means that every calorie I eat is still digested, and still counts.
The advantages I continue to receive from my surgery is that I still get dumping syndrome if I have a high-carbohydrate intake within a short-time period..(this means I feel very ill); and my body won't physically tolerate more than 3000 to 3500 in one 24 hour period, which limits any binge behavior to that amount.

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How did you lose down to your goal weight of 115 lbs?

12 years after my WLS, I began using a computer food journal to track my food daily while restricting calories, and lost another 75 lbs, down to 115 lbs. I've maintained about a 150 lb weight-loss for more than 10 years. This means I"ve lost 58% of my total body weight, and am now working to maintain that loss.

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Is it very difficult for you to maintain your current weight?

Yes. I've found maintaining my weight-loss is just as hard, or harder, than losing the weight originally, even after maintaining it for 10+ years.

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How often do you weigh yourself?

I weigh myself every morning after using the restroom, but before dressing.

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What do you think is the best Diet?

The best Diet is the one you can live with.

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What has been your most helpful weight-loss tool?

My most helpful weight-loss tool is my computer software food journal.
I find consistently tracking my food, my weight, and my nutritional information necessary for my own personal weight-loss and weight maintenance success.

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Where can I see your "Before" picture?

If I wanted people to see me fat, I would have stayed fat, so I don't share Before pictures. A music video of California Dreamin', with Mama Cass, is at the bottom of my ABOUT ME section, and in the DietHobby Videos section which is located under RESOURCES. Visualize a fat version of my face on Mama Cass's body and you'll come close to how I looked "before". If you are Overweight or Obese, and think a "Before" image would inspire you.... then take off your clothes and look into a full length mirror. At some point in my life, I was as fat or fatter than that. Therefore, YOU look like one of my BEFORE pictures. As an alternative, I suggest you access the Biggest Loser or a similar television show, where you'll see what a female who needs to lose approximately 58% of her body fat looks like.

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Why do you use the title Dr. here, when you are not a medical doctor or a psychologist?

The title "Doctor" is traditionally used by educators, economists, social scientists and others, to denote a level of advanced education, and not to imply formal medical training. Sometimes people choose to use the title "Doctor", to indicate that they hold a degree which symbolizes the substantial time, discipline and effort put into their formal education. I've earned the title, and I like using it here in my Hobby.

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Do you realize that some of the opinions you express here, may appear to be pro-ana and/or pro-mia and be considered, by some, to promote eating disorders?

That issue is covered in my Terms and Conditions section. Please re-read it.

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Why do people who comment here have to be age 13 or older?

Because this DietHobby website was primarily designed for adult participation, and those who comment are expected to demonstrate an adult level of intelligence and maturity.

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