MANILA, Philippines - Three months ago today, I lost 60 pounds.

No, I didn?t pay lip service to liposuction, nor did I become a South Beach bitch or a golden gym creature. I wanted something fast, efficient and, as my doctors assured me, safe.

I underwent a three-hour surgery known as the bariatric sleeve procedure, which reduced my stomach size and made my weight loss quite permanent. This procedure should not be confused with the gastric bypass operation which can shrink the size of one?s stomach to 30 cc. My stomach has shrunk to accommodate only 200 cc of food per meal, a drastic reduction from my normal intake of up to two liters of food last November.

I was operated on on a Monday and was home on the following Wednesday. I am told the pain of liposuction is 10 times greater. I just had a yummy lunch of a small cup of Hong Kong fried noodles and I am so full. Filled with happiness and personal satisfaction as well.

I?ve always been heavy. The heaviest I?ve been was 323 pounds. Yet my biggest baggage was psychological. I was afraid to sit on chairs for fear of breaking them and embarrassing myself. Monobloc chairs always gave way. The simple act of bending to tie my shoelaces was so excruciating it had to be relegated to our household help. Wearing shoes became an ordeal. Climbing a flight of stairs was like scaling Mt. Everest. I lived on the ground floor and would go up to my mom?s room in the morning, staying there the whole day to watch movies on DVDs, and texting our cook for inventive food offerings. My body held me hostage.

Watching me binge on food and purge myself after worried my mother, who saw past the gentle giant I had become and feared that I might just drop dead from diabetes and heart complications.

Last year, while spending summer in Sydney, I asked my uncle Dr. Jappy Pineda, a surgeon in Bakerfield, California, for sweet intervention. I told him of reading about a method where a rubber balloon filled with saline solution was lowered into one?s stomach to give it a feeling of fullness. He explained, however, that the stomach would simply grow around that. Instead he suggested lap-band surgery where a rubber band would be strapped around the stomach, dividing it in two.

I was now seriously contemplating the other procedures that could help me reduce my food intake and lead to permanent weight loss. I consulted websites and doctors, my head filled with fantastic visions of a brand new body.

In my dreams, I was always Miss Universe-svelte. But when I looked in the mirror, I found a larger than life stranger staring back at me. I avoided full length mirrors full time.

It was my mother who saw that I was ready for some drastic measures. After two sessions with Dr. Gil Deneros and his fantastic team at St. Luke?s Hospital, I was found to be l00 pounds over my ideal weight of from l80 to 210 pounds, and considered to be a viable candidate for the sleeve procedure, which would cost about half a million pesos, all in.

A gastric bypass, cautioned my sister Dr. Anna Chua, might be too radical for me, and I might suffer from addiction switches. We saw an episode of ?Oprah? where patients were now addicted to liquor or sex. I was allergic to any kind of liquor and more sex than I could handle. Mom made sure I was psychologically ready and that I could handle the fact that I couldn?t turn back once it was done. Yes, I said; I had made a decision to live longer.

After checking into St.Luke?s, I was told to fast for the next 24 hours and to relax with my favorite anesthesia, Demerol. My gall bladder and the rest of my very large stomach were removed thru my belly button.

After the operation, I was told that I could only have liquids for two weeks. That led to rapid weight loss. If I had food in excess of 30 cc, or even a third cup of soft food, I would throw up, I was warned. That became my worst fear?and my incentive?to stick to my liquid diet. I wanted to get back to regular food.

These days, I remain cautious about exceeding my 200 cc food limit per meal. Given a choice between a main dish and dessert, especially in restaurants, I opt for dessert, my just desserts for keeping my appetite in check.

Today, I weigh 240 pounds, and try to trim down some more by joining the Inquirer-sponsored workouts once a week, taking brisk walks, dancing when the spirit moves me, and doing yoga with the VCR. But I?ve become less receptive when groaning buffets beckon to me. I merely smile back and whisper, ?No, thank you.?