By Peggy O'Farrell
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Looking at old pictures of herself is still a shock, says Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.

"I never realized how big I was" until seeing the photographic proof, Ferguson says. Now the spokeswoman for Weight Watchers International, she talked to members Monday at the Sharonville Convention Center about what strategies work for her.

Sarah Ferguson spoke to Weight Watchers in Sharonville. (Craig Ruttle photo)

Introduced to the world as Fergie, the pleasantly plump young wife of Britain's Prince Andrew, she joined Weight Watchers in 1997. Now 44 and enviably slim, she's open about her struggles with emotional eating and maintaining the weight loss she achieved.

Question: What's the biggest benefit you've seen from losing the weight?

Answer: I still think of myself as fat, which is not very good, obviously. I'm still struggling with the battles between Sarah and Sarah. There's lots of demons to look at. Probably the most enjoyable thing is walking into a room and hearing people say you look great, or realizing you can fit into an Italian suit. That's a good feeling.

Q: What's the biggest challenge you face maintaining your weight loss? Is it all the traveling you do?

A: It's easy traveling, because people know you're with Weight Watchers, and they give you broccoli and fish. When you are tired, you find it's the most difficult to have the energy you need. You tend to try to look at food as your friend, and, of course, that isn't going to work.

Q: You started overeating when you were a teenager, and you've said it helped you cope with your parents' divorce. How do you avoid emotional eating now?

A: Knowledge. When you're a teenager, what do you have to attach your fear to? That's what's different now. As a 44-year-old, I can understand what I'm feeling and what I'm afraid of, and recognize those emotions. I couldn't when I was a teenager.

Q: What's your take on the low-carb diet craze?

A: I totally understand why people have hooked onto it. You will definitely lose weight, and after a couple of months, you will come back to Weight Watchers. Weight Watchers is consistent, strong and steadfast. With these quick weight-loss plans, you're going to go and follow it, lose the weight and be back off it. I've done it myself. I'd be on a crash diet for three weeks and then back in real life, and the weight would come back and I'd be on another one for three weeks, and that was the way I lived my life.

Q: What's your secret for keeping the weight off?

A: Exercise. I like running, Pilates, yoga, weight-training. Acupuncture to keep my metabolism steady. I don't look at it as something I do at the end of the week. It's a lifestyle thing.