Carnie Wilson and gastric bypass surgery
For us, the words Carnie Wilson and gastric bypass surgery go hand in hand. A singer, songwriter, author, and much more, Carnie was our gastric bypass guru. We remember when she announced that she was going to have obesity surgery, and that she planned to undergo the procedure live on webcast! Well, we didn't see the live webcast, but we have followed her progress, triumphs and struggles over the years.
Our first consciousness of Carnie Wilson came long before she had gastric bypass surgery. When the singing trio "Wilson-Phillips" came on the scene in 1990, we were hooked on the the fabulous harmonies that were the hallmark of this group. The songs "Hold On" and "You're In Love" still give us goosebumps every time we hear them!
One of the things that impressed us was that the recored company was apparently willing to fly in the face of usual music industry crap-ola and actively promote a group that included a decidedly plus-sized woman. In Carnie's book, Gut Feelings: From Fear and Despair to Health and Hope, she talks about how the music video directors were always trying to hide her in the back of the scenes, or change the lighting and makeup to try to "slim" her. Surely many of us can relate to the humiliation of having our obesity discussed as though it were a handbag that needed better trim.
In the mid 1990's Carnie hosted a Ricki Lake-style talk show, and we were faithful viewers! Since we were already big fans, we were quite curious about her surgery announcement and followed her weight loss surgery story closely. She reached a BMI of over 50 when she was at her highest weight. Anyone at that level of obesity knows what a struggle every-day life can become. We were thrilled to watch her weight loss progress, and we snatched up her Gut Feelings book when it came out in 2001.
That, friends, marked a turning point in the Guru's life. We laughed, we wept, we became excited and frightened at the same time about the possibility of a real change in our body and our life. Although The Guru didn't have surgery until several years later, that book, and the almost personal connection we felt with the author, helped push us forward.
For Carnie Wilson, gastric bypass surgery was a way to help shed a lifetime of pain, insecurity, and a literal weight on her shoulders. She has struggled - as all of us do, and as you will too - but we love her for always being open, honest and real about her experiences. Recently, (November and December 2007) she's been in the news promoting her Christmas album, "Christmas With Carnie", and she talks openly about the struggle she still has with food. She also talked about her skirmishes with drug and alcohol addiction. It's something many surgery patients - and doctors - don't like to talk about: Transfer addiction. "It will always be a battle," she said on The Today Show of her struggle with the scale.
Wondering who else has had gastric bypass surgery? Check out our celebrity page to get the scoop!
Here are some other pages you may find interesting:
Type of Obesity Surgery
Restaurant Card for Bariatric Surgery
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