A Look Back at Star Jones’ Public Weight Loss Battle

"I wasn’t plus-size. I was morbidly obese," Star Jones went on to say in public. 

The realization had come to Jones long before she admitted it in the public sphere. After all, the statement is in the past tense. 

She said those words only after her weight loss battle was done and dusted. 

Star Jones Lost 160 Lbs

As per Oprah, the TV personality had garnered attention in the public sphere for her quick wit, take-charge attitude, and her rapidly growing weight problem. 

In 2003, she weighed 307 pounds and was diagnosed morbidly obese. 

Later that same year, she decided to seek medical assistance for weight loss and opted for gastric bypass surgery. 

Over the next few years, Jones would go on to lose over half of her body weight, 160 pounds, whilst still making frequent appearances on TV. 

Star Jones from before her transformation (Source: Twitter)

As all this was going on, Jones didn't make a single mention of her ongoing weight loss battle. The outlet cited this as the reason for her loss of popularity. 

By 2006, she had lost her spot on The View.

Star Jones Understood the Audience's Reaction

Almost a decade later, in 2012, Jones spoke to Today about her weight loss journey. 

Jones understood that her taking a stance of privacy during her transformation might have ticked off some of her fans.

It was more so because Jones was so upfront and candid about most other aspects of her life. 

"I think the audience felt betrayed in some way. And I completely understand that," she confessed. 

That being said, Jones didn't regret maintaining her privacy because, in the end, it all worked out. 

"It allowed me to get emotionally safe and secure," she added. 

Why Star Jones Kept the Weight Loss Process Private

Initially, Jones decided to undergo the weight loss procedure in private because she was not sure she would succeed. She thought that she would just gain the weight back. 

"I had never been successful at losing weight before," Jones shared. "I needed to forgive myself for being such a smart girl and so stupid when it came to something like my health."

So why go public with it a decade later? 

Jones decided to finally talk about her weight loss in public because she wanted women to understand the toll that the extra pounds could have on one's heart. 

"I couldn’t walk the stairs,” she said.

"I couldn’t walk the airport length without having to stop and catch my breath. My greatest fear was that I would die in my apartment alone from a stroke or a heart attack – too big to get to the phone."

That was when she decided that it was too much. Although she was scared that she might not survive the surgery, she opted to go ahead with it anyways. 

"Emotionally, I made the decision not to discuss it publicly," she said. "I was depressed and confused and not really ready. And I don’t apologize for it."