A slimmer Lisa Richmond, out and about again in Vancouver

When she was 31, Lisa Richmond’s doctor advised her to undergo gastric bypass surgery. She weighed about 320 pounds. Now she’s nine weeks away from completing a 67-week L A Weight Loss program.

Before she began the program, Lisa hated to go out. Once, she was in a restaurant in her town of Vancouver, Washington, and overheard people talking about really fat women. One of them said, “Here comes one now. And you better get used to it -- they’re everywhere.”

That did it. She had tried Weight Watchers, but preferred the privacy of the one-on-one counseling sessions she heard that L A Weight Loss offered. When she began the program, she cleaned everything that was not on the plan out of her house. She did not want to be tempted.

Lisa and her husband used to eat lots of fried foods. But no more. Now it’s fresh vegetables, salads, lean proteins, fish, and Boca Burgers. Lisa thinks that’s pretty cool for a former 'Junk Food Junkie'.

Today, at 203 pounds, she doesn’t feel like she’s stuck in a body that isn’t her friend. She doesn’t hate herself anymore. And now, she told me, she goes out. A lot.

Here she is before, out and about at 320 pounds:

And enjoying the outdoors in her new 203-pound body: