JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD, Wash. - There may be no experience more emotionally painful than being excessively overweight as a child. However, it is this common scenario which provides the personal back-story for the triumphant and healthy lifestyle of Army 1st Lt. Paula D. Beer.

As a staff dietitian in the nutrition care division of the Madigan Healthcare System, it may surprise some that Beer's passion for her job today, is driven by the terrible pain and suffering she endured in distant childhood yesterdays.

"At 16 years old, I was 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 210 pounds ... I was extremely overweight and miserable," said Beer. "I never really fit in with the other kids and I was depressed most of the time."

"As an introvert, I was tired of being a wallflower," said Beer. When an opportunity would present itself to go clothes shopping with other kids, Beer said she normally wouldn't go because most of the stores didn't carry her size.

"And if that wasn't bad enough, at 16 I didn't have a boyfriend yet and hadn't even had my first kiss," Beer said. "I had liked a certain boy, but because I was so overweight, he wouldn't even look at me." Poor nutrition took its toll on Beer's young mind, body and spirit.

Now 24, Beer said it took a lot of willpower for her to overcome the bad food habits she possessed in her younger years. Often home alone as a child, she generally ate whatever she wanted. It was her sadness and her longing to be accepted that drove her to look for that silver bullet answer that would deliver her from a life that she found less appealing by the minute.

Being young and with limited knowledge of proper nutrition, Beer said she would try anything and everything that others would suggest to rid herself of the excess weight that was robbing her of peace and joy.

"I remember wishing that I could get mono, because my friends had told me that I'd lose weight if I had it," said Beer. "I couldn't get sick even though I tried.

"Some people told me that I'd lose weight if I had my wisdom teeth pulled - that didn't work either," she said.

When nothing seemed to work, Beer said that depression would take over, and when that happened she'd eat more and make one bad decision after the next. "I fell into the wrong crowd and I knew that if I didn't shed those deadbeats I'd end up somewhere much worse," she said. "There was a spark of life inside of me - and nobody could see it but me."

Beer said things started to change for her when she started buying magazines that promoted proper nutrition and healthy eating habits. "I bought every health magazine I could find," said Beer. "I just kept trying things. I figured if I aimed for the stars I'd at least hit the moon."

"I was excited when I bought a gym membership - but I never used it," said Beer. She switched from drinking her routine six-pack of sugar-soaked soda each day, to diet soda. "I switched from eating fried chicken to eating grilled chicken. I even tried fish - I still hate fish," she said.

Through the knowledge she was gaining, Beer was able to lose 90 pounds in just 18 months, most of which she lost the summer after her junior year. Beer said that when she showed up to her homeroom class on the first day of her senior year, some people didn't even know who she was. One girl asked her if she was the transfer student from England. "No," Beer said. "I've been in your homeroom class now for four years."

With high school behind her, Beer, who had once dreamed of becoming a librarian, left her home in Auburn, N.H., to study health and nutrition at the University of Connecticut. Upon graduation from college, Beer joined the Army as a registered dietitian so she could attend the Military-Baylor Graduate Program of Nutrition at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

As a registered dietitian, Beer is a nutrition expert. "I love nutrition; it's my passion," said Beer. "Everyone identifies with food. I share with people that healthy eating is a fair balance of both quality and quantity of their food choices."

"I had wanted to join the Army as a healthcare provider ... so I could serve people in the military that had also made the decision to serve others," Beer said. "My favorite thing is to talk with people to find out what's going on inside of them; sometimes you need to know what's happening with them on the inside to better understand what's happening on the outside," said Beer.

Beer currently works in the outpatient clinic where, amongst many other things, she teaches soldiers about healthier living, in a three-pronged approach to weight reduction. These classes cover such topics as nutrition, physical activity and most important, behavioral change, she said.

Through personal action, anecdotes and evidence, as well as professional direction, Beer motivates clients and staff alike. Those who come to know Beer, in any capacity, are often inspired to take a deeper look inside themselves, to raise their nutrition standards to be the very best they can be.

Having supervised Beer for over a year, Army Capt. Angela Tague, also a staff dietician, gives a warm tribute to her subordinate: "Lt. Beer continuously motivates us here at the clinic with her personal commitment to her own health as well as to everybody else's. She's always sharing exciting stories about running - usually it's about a marathon she has just run or else one that she's training for ... a true joy to have around."

It was Beer's own can-do attitude and refusal to give up on herself, which made a heap of difference in the end, she said.

As for the first kiss, Beer finally got that when she was 17. However, "It was over-rated," said Beer. "It was from a persistent loser, and I quickly realized that I didn't need that first kiss to help establish my identity after all ... I should have held out longer."

Today, Beer is very happily engaged and plans to wed in September.

"I took responsibility for myself and for my life," said Beer. "Good health isn't just about eating the right foods, she said, but also about having the right attitude and somehow learning to deal effectively with those things that can eat a person up inside."

Beer said she finds peace in hiking. She is also an avid runner; she has run several half-marathons and is currently training for the Eugene, Ore., marathon in April.

"Maybe when I retire, I'll be a lunch lady at a school somewhere - that's my dream job," said Beer. "I'll bribe the kids with dessert if they eat their vegetables."

Courtesy Photo: Army 1st Lt. Paula D. Beer, staff dietitian in the nutrition care division of the Madigan Healthcare System, participates in aerobic and strength testing. Beer has been a dietitian at Madigan for two years.