Woman documents weight loss with creative before and after photos

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Monday, May 11, 2015
VIDEO: Woman documents weight loss with creative photos
One woman's funny and dramatic before and after weight-loss photos are sweeping the globe.

One woman's funny and dramatic before and after weight-loss photos are sweeping the globe.

From the man on the moon to the Sound of Music, at first glance these playful portraits seem to show two different woman recreating iconic moments in elaborate costumes.

But take a closer look - they're actually the same person!

Beth Beard created these photos to document her 155 pound weight loss journey.

"This has the potential of really being drastically life interesting before and after shots in kind of a different way," says Beth.

She enlisted photographer and friend Blake Morrow to help document her dramatic slim down.

Morrow came up with the concept and before they knew it, "The Beth Project" was going viral.

"What was going to be a few portraits of Beth, I ended up blowing it up into this photo essay showing different sides of her," said Morrow.

Beth says her incredible transformation began 3 years ago when she had gastric bypass surgery, but that gastric bypass alone is not a magic cure.

Gastric bypass is not for the faint of heart. Sometimes when people are so morbidly obese, they have a very fraught relationship with food and they have to be ready to confront that," said Maya Feller, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist.

Beth says she's done just that - tailoring a diet to her specific needs.

She also found a way to make exercise fun. Her tip? Think outside the gym.

"I started to roller skate. That just progressed with starting to play roller derby," say Beth.

And if gastric bypass is something you are considering, Beth and experts say educating yourself is a must.

"Nobody should do it without fully understanding what it means and having both eyes open,"says Beth.

And nutritionist Maya Fuller adds: "You really have to confront yourself and say, ok how did I end up this way? And what are the steps that I'm gonna take to actually change this physical self and love me."