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When it comes to her weight, Carnie Wilson has always been an open book. At 300 lbs. in 1999, she broadcast her gastric bypass surgery on the Internet. After losing more than 150 lbs., having excess skin removed and her breasts lifted, she posed for Playboy in 2003 with "a major feeling of accomplishment." But after giving birth to two daughters-Lola, 6, and Luciana, 2-with musician husband Rob Bonfiglio, 44, Wilson had a string of failed attempts to lose the post-pregnancy pounds. "I couldn't stick with anything," she says. In 2010 she appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, where the host declared that at 5'3" and 218 lbs. she was morbidly obese. But it wasn't until Wilson hit 236 lbs. last year that she knew a real change had to happen-and fast. "I remember being in bed with Rob, and he said, 'I'm scared for you,'" recalls the singer, 43. "I said, 'I'm scared too.' I felt out of control."

So she made a drastic decision: to go under the knife again-this time with lap-band surgery-telling her daughters it was so "Mommy could be healthy." During the Jan. 18 procedure, a silicone ring was placed around a section of her stomach, which, over the years, had begun to process food too quickly (see box). "I wasn't scared about the procedure," says Wilson, whose doctor had told her she was prediabetic. "I was scared about what could happen if I didn't do anything about my weight."

For Wilson, it was an unpleasant sense of deja vu. "After the pregnancies, I lost my focus," she says. "I reverted back to old habits." Those included a weakness for cheese and "mindless eating," she adds. "I'd snack on my kids' food, a scone, half a doughnut, cookies. One day I counted what I'd eaten-it added up to 2,300 calories!"

She also had given up her workouts with a trainer. "After having kids, you focus on being a good mom, and you forget about taking care of yourself," she says. "I lost myself a little."

Since the surgery, she eats five small meals (each containing one cup total of protein and veggies) a day. With the band in place, she feels full faster-and has already dropped 32 lbs. and given away some of her old clothes. "I was a size 20, and now I'm a size 14," says Wilson, who held on to jeans ranging from size 6 to 20 to accommodate her fluctuating figure over the years. "It feels fantastic!"

As Wilson revels in her shrinking waistline, she's determined not to repeat old mistakes. She's overhauled her home, keeping cupboards cookie-free and moving her treadmill into the family room, where she works out at least three times a week.

Along with Dr. Billy's staff of nurses, who keep her accountable with food diaries and weekly weigh-ins, her family cheers her on. "I'll show Lola my belly, and she'll scream, 'Wow, Mama, it looks more flat!'" she says. "My children keep me inspired. I want to be there for them as they grow up."

But Wilson-who teamed up again with Wilson Phillips on a new album, Dedicated, and a TV Guide Network show, Wilson Phillips: Still Holding On, both debuting this month-knows firsthand there are no guarantees. "Ultimately, it's up to me," she says. "This time I'm not looking at this as, 'I have to lose weight fast!' I'm not a fortune teller; I can't say this is forever for sure. But I'm very, very hopeful."

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Wilson talks about getting healthy

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Carnie Through the Years
1999 "My mom was a wonderful mom, but she didn't have good eating habits," says Wilson, who weighed 300 lbs. at her heaviest. "I'm raising my daughters very differently."

2001 After her gastric bypass, Wilson dropped down to 148 lbs.

2011 "I dreaded getting dressed every day," says Wilson (at about 230 lbs.).

Is a Second Gastric Surgery Safe?
As drastic as it sounds, having a procedure to address weight gain after an initial gastric surgery is "becoming more common," says Dr. Helmuth T. Billy, who performed Wilson's LAP-BAND AP System procedure and says poor eating habits—and not an actual "stretching" of the stomach—are often to blame for the added pounds. Dr. Robin Blackstone, president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, says any "revised procedure"—including adding a lap-band to a previous bypass—puts the patient "at more risk." But the lap-band is "extremely low risk" compared to gastric bypass, says Billy, because it involves no cutting or stapling.