Years ago when I met my husband I was 70pds. Then after we were married I worked hard to gain some pds. I finally reached 90pds. Then I got sick and I went down to 60pds. Then they put a feeding tube in me and now I am 135pds. I do not like how I look and I can not exercise because of the pain. So I eat in moderation , and for a snack I will eat those 100 calorie cookies. But because of my digestive problems I can not eat real fruit nor vegies. So I guess no I have not done anything like tummy tucks, botox. The only surgeries I have had was for my health .

I WAS ALWAYS THIN, UNTIL I WENT THROUGH MY CHANGES WHICH ENDED WHEN I WAS 44. I GAINED 30 POUNDS. I NEVER WOULD DO SURGERY OR BOTOX, ETC. I JUST TRY TO EAT HEALTHY AND WATCH MY PORTIONS. IM COMFORTABLE IN MY OWN SKIN. IF I NO LONGER RESEMBLE THE MERMAID ON THE ROCK, ITS OKAY WITH ME.

Yes, thanks to my father who put me on speed shots when I was 16 for over a year! Thankfully I didn’t get addicted, unlike the “thin” gals who were at the doctors office every morning for injections. I no longer do diets..it’s a life change for me, but I don’t deprive myself. The Suzanne Somers book are excellent..she knows what she’s talking about :)

I am too undisciplined to go on dramatic diets, and have never been able to afford plastic surgery. Probably the most dangerous thing I have done for beauty is the have many home perms when I was young. The chemicals made my eyes red and watery and it completely parched my scalp. Once when I was about 10, my mother took me to a beauty school, for a perm, and they used one of those Frankenstein electric contraptions that which had hot clamps for each hair roller. My hair was left like a Brillo pad and broke off near the roots. Yipes!!!

No not really, not for beauty that is. Diets? I could use a really good, quick one. I’m impatient by nature. However I have put my health at risk, not only once but twice. First time about 11 years ago. For some reason I lost 49 pounds (during about 9 months) without doing anything - I was thrilled! But, there’s a downside to everything. I got these “lovely” symptoms… Hungry 1-2 hours after I’d eaten, heart racing, shaky hands, frequently upset stomach, bad hair days way too often, unusually warm body, eye problems, aches in the joints (which still hasn’t gone away. Ouch.) Everyone kept telling me to go see a doctor. It wasn’t until I got tonsillitis that I finally got to it. I told my symptoms, a blood test was taken and 2 weeks later I had an appointment with the endocrinology clinic at the hospital. Turned at that my thyroid gland was acting up at a dangerous pace. The doctor found it best to give me something to shut down the gland completely, so now I’m on medication for life and I hate it. Why? The weight came back. Other people may lose weight with the same medication, but not me, oh no. Life’s a bitch. That…. (I almost cursed)… thyroid gland controls a whole lot in your body, it’s not until it starts acting up that you realize just how much it does control. It’s dangerous messing with it; if it hadn’t been for the tonsillitis I just might not be around now. (which means I’d missed out on my two favourite TV shows. Sorry, had to say it!) Ladies, don’t do as I did. If you get any of these symptoms…. Go see a doctor, a blood test is all that it takes. Second stupid thing I did, was only 18 months ago. I was rushing to an appoitment when it suddenly (and very unexpectedly) felt as if someone had put a strong rubber band around me and pulled back to prevent me from going forward. At the same time it also felt as the body temperature dropped in my chest and both my arms, plus it felt like I’d run a marathon. It felt very weird, I can tell you that. I kept my appointment and went on with my life. That having run a marathon-feeling stayed on though, and I can still feel it on some days. Three months later I had an appointment with my endocinologist - he practially scolded me when I told about my new symptoms. A week later I was at the cardiology clinic. For two months it was one test after the other - at the end I felt like a pincushion. Luckily for them, they didn’t keep me at the hospital the tests - someone would probably had gotten hurt or I’d just left. Either one is possible. Endresult is, somewhat clogged arteries…. and I’m too young for that. Ha, only time one’s too young for something. Plastic surgery? No way, I’d never go down that path. Well, I’d might if I’d been in an accident but that’s the only reason. I mean, just look at Hollywood… The newer people almost all look the same, it’s ridiculous. Have the doctors only learnt one “style”? Sometime it feels like the town should really be re-named Fakewood or Plasticwood. It’s not just Hollywood, the music industry is gaining. You can barely recognize some singers anymore. Luckily, they can’t change the voices by plastic surgery yet. Or can they? Still, it’s sad to see.

I don’t know a friend of mine who hasn’t! I think the most ridiculous thing I remember was when I was in that early 20’s phase and those skin-tight Azzedine Alaia dresses were on everyone’s curves. Not that I could afford them—but there were plenty of knock-off’s too. So a friend of mine suggested we start taking diuretic pills—as of course that would keep any “puffiness” down. Needless to say it became the thing to do. Years later upon knowing the dangers and risks of taking diuretics unnecessarily I think back to how stupid we were!

I’ve done the diet thing but even after losing alot of weight, I looked awful and didn’t feel a whole lot better. I just eat kinda healthy now and feel happy about it. I may be overweight but I feel better that way. As far as plastic surgery and stuff like that-I say NO WAY! I earned every wrinkle in this face. This world is so obsessed with looks that we’ve forgotten to see the inside beauty of a person. That’s true beauty. That’s REAL beauty. I just don’t understand why we have to starve ourselves and get surgery and things like that. It’s not healthy. We need to stop trying to be a size 2 and look like we are in our teens and start improving out inside beauty.

As a squab, I was consistently told by my mother that I was too fat. I later realized that I was not but the damage was done. When I was 19, I went to the city’s best “diet doctor” and was given a prescription for what I now know to be black beauties. Three months later I had mononucleosis and was out of commission for two months. I was naive but blessed with some common sense so I went to a nutrition clinic and learned about healthy eating. Extra weight that has taken several months or years to gain is not going to magically come off with an unhealthy fad diet! During an unhappy marriage, I gained what was for me, an enormous amount of weight. After seeing a photograph of me that was taken at my son’s high school graduation, (and not recognizing THAT woman in the picture!), I put myself on a diet. I just cut all sugar, salt, and fat from my diet and walked three miles a day. The weight came off, my self esteem returned, (it seems that I had married my “mother”), I divorced the SOB and have never looked back. I have never really eaten a lot of fried foods or packaged and processed foods, preferring fresh and/or broiled because I like to taste the vegetables or meat. Unless the FDA labels dark chocolate a drug, I don’t just say no. I’m high on life, girls! As for cosmetic procedures, NOT! I remember a quote from a French woman who said that when a woman has reached the age of forty, she has the face that she has earned. I was blessed with good genes on both sides of my family in that respect. Good skin and virtually wrinkle-free. I believe it was Zsa Zsa Gabor who said that at 40, a woman can sacrifice her fanny or her face to look young. Not an exact quote but you get the idea. (I guess Zsa Zsa sacrificed her fanny but someone should have told her never to wear jodhpurs with her blouse tucked in after the sacrifice!) I think that all women are beautiful, no matter their age, and a little experience on the face and body only adds to their beauty and mystique. Our society is plastic enough.

I used birth control pills in my twenties for the sole purpose of increasing the size of my tits. The pills marked the beginning of a lifelong struggle with yeast infections. I finally had to stop taking them because eventually they caused depression, too. My bosom deflated overnight but I was cheerful again. I remain cheerful about my tits to the present.

I was born in Belgium, land of French (?)fries and good food. I NEED french fries like a smoker needs a cigarette. Last ten years I have stayed the same weight , overweight? yup. But still the same. So I do not care to do another diet. I can’t drink alcohol it makes my psoriasis worse, so what is there left but the fries. My best friend, is a vegetarian, does not even take an aspirin , she is so pure, then she goes to have a face lift. Plus Botox when she sees a wrinkle, to each his own. At 76 i am happy to be still walking and being able to think.

Quite the opposite. I put my beauty AND health at risk by not taking care of myself. Too much caffeine and bad food. Not enough exercise. Every once in a while I’ll make an effort but dedication always wans. I can’t seem to get SERIOUSLY commeted.

Funny you should ask today….Just yesterday I had my first appointment with a bariatric doctor to help me lose 30 lbs. I just took (10:00am) my first pill & I’m hoping it’ll take about 3-4 months to reach my goal. The nurse said some of the side affects would be irritability, & insomnia. I’ll soon be a sleepy, skinny bitch! I’m excited, my family & friends, however, aren’t as excited!

I never needed to do anything until I turned 40. I had always been as thin as a rail. A seamstress once told me I could stand behind a telephone pole and no one would see me. Now, several years later and after enduring a surgically induced menopause, I have put on an extra 30 pounds. I have tried several diets — Suzanne Somers diet, Nutri-System and so on. I actually lost 15 pounds on Nutri-system, but it is so hard to stick with it — I got burned out on the foods they offer. I once worked as a beauty consultant for Este Lauder, so I became a skincare junkie. For several years now I have spent a fortune on skincare products — I am now spending a 1 ounce bar of gold on Perricone products. I once went to a plastic surgeon and had a Thermage treatment. The nurse forgot to give me the pill to make you relax, so I laid there and clinched my fists as this person burned my face for an hour. I honestly did not see a difference in my face after the treatment — $2500 for allowing someone to torture me and nothing to show for it. I have to admit, at 52, I’m holding up — excuse the pun. Still waiting for the miracle fountain of youth.