Last week, the former The View co-host, Star Jones talked with Oprah Winfrey about her gastric-bypass surgery and the ups and downs that came along with it.  The 47-year-old said,

“I’m still 300 lbs. in my head some days.”

She admitted that even the morning of the show, she was concerned about the  topic of surgery during the interview.  She said,

“I was a little late getting up [today], and I’m always up at 6:00 a.m. But I realized that we were gonna talk about this and it scared me a bit.”

When Oprah asked why she was so scared, she said,

“Disappointing people. I was ashamed … That’s the word that is actually the real word. I was ashamed that I couldn’t control my weight, that I was an addict for all practical purposes, that I had never stuck to a real diet, that I’d never stuck to a real exercise program.”

As for why she chose gastric-bypass surgery she explained what her doctor had told her a few years ago,

“If you don’t make changes, you will die.” Her reaction? “I had no choice,” she admits. “When you hear people say, ‘Oh, you took the easy way out,’ I would have longed for an easy way. It was not an easy way.”

Star Jones also explained that she feels her weight loss indirectly contributed to losing her seat on The View,

“I was hurt and upset initially.  I’m so sorry that I placed a burden on my colleagues. I never asked them to lie and don’t know where the Pilates and portion control came from” – an explanation that the media circulated at the time – “I think a tabloid actually wrote that.”

Source

It’s official. Star Jones had gastric bypass. It comes as a surprise to no one, least of all Rosie O’Donnell who said “and to leave out gastric bypass … it’s just like selling bullsh-t to the point that it’s sickening.” Star Jones remained “intentionally evasive” explaining her dramatic 175+ weight loss on “portion control and exercise” and “medical intervention.”

In her “confessional” to be published in the September issue of Glamour, Star tells all:

On her weight gain
“I was so angry: How had I allowed myself to get to 307 pounds? I could clearly remember the days when I’d considered myself fly and curvaceous. Funny—or sad—how we “thick” girls can justify being excessively overweight. It was something I’d been doing all my life.”

On how she really felt about her weight
“Even though I claimed to be just fine with my weight, I saw how other women were treated like the girlfriend, while I was treated like the good friend. To compensate for my insecurities, I spoke louder and ate more: Whenever I felt lonely, a Double Whopper with cheese became my friend. If I felt sad, six strips of bacon made me feel better.”

On how she really felt about “complements.”
“I also pretended not to see the side looks and smirks from friends and strangers, or to comprehend the backhanded compliments I often received, such as, “You have such a pretty face.” (I knew they really wanted to add, “for a woman of your size.”) Each mean-spirited comment hurt, but I reacted as I was trained to do as a prosecutor standing before a hostile judge: “Square your shoulders, Star; speak louder, Star; show them they can’t hurt you.”

On why she kept her gastric bypass a secret
“First, I didn’t know if the surgery would work. I had never stuck to a diet or committed to exercise for more than a month, and I had spent my entire adult life telling everyone that I was fine with the way I looked. I also never thought I’d have to explain it. I actually thought that I could say, “None of your business,” and people would say, “OK, she wants to remain private.” If that isn’t evidence of someone not living in truth, I don’t know what is. Everything about me was already so public (mostly my own doing—talk about dumb!), so of course everyone wanted to know what I had done. I was also terrified someone would have a tragic result after emulating me without making an informed decision with her doctor. But the complete truth is, I was scared of what people might think of me. I was afraid to be vulnerable, and ashamed at not being able to get myself under control without this procedure.”

Celebrity Diet Doctor Weigh in…
For Star, who was a very public figure on the View, to explain her dramatic 175 lb weight loss on “portion control and exercise” is more than “evasive.” It’s a lie. While it’s great to see that Star Jones has had such success with her gastric bypass, her belated “confessional” after what has long since become patently obvious to everyone now rings a little disingenuous.

Star Jones dramatic weight loss has been the source of much speculation. In an interview with the New Yorker, Rosie O’Donnell shares her less than complementary thoughts on Star Jones and her weight loss:

“Here’s what annoys me about Star Jones. As a former fatty, she has an obligation to her tribe. And to write a book about how to be the perfect woman that she now is, and to leave out gastric bypass … it’s just like selling bullsh-t to the point that it’s sickening.” She shakes her head.
“She pretends that she was never one of us. And she pushed away a plate of Oreos with Joy [Behar, cohost of The View]. They had new Double Stuf Oreos they had to eat obviously because they had a Nabisco deal at ABC, and Star goes, ‘I’ll just have one, because I have self-control.’ And I thought, Joy’s gonna say it. She’s gonna say, ‘You lying sack of sh-t, you can only eat one because you poop soup!’”

Star Jones remains coy on the subject, giving various explanations for her 175+ lb weight loss, including “portion control and exercise” and “medical intervention.”