Thursday, Dec 27 2012 05:00 PM
Al Roker on Losing 135 Pounds, Eating Healthy, and His Relationship With the Scale
By Parade Magazine
Over the past decade, Today show viewers have watched Al Roker, 58, transform himself. After tipping the scales at 340 pounds, he underwent bariatric surgery in 2002 and within eight months had dropped 100 pounds. But Roker still experienced ups and downs with his weight until he finally ended the yo-yo cycle by revamping his way of life, which he chronicles in his new memoir, Never Goin’ Back: Winning the Weight-Loss Battle for Good, out December 31. Now, he's a trim 205 pounds.
In this Sunday’s issue, the weatherman opens up to PARADE's Meryl Gordon about his astounding weight loss and his favorite tips for staying healthy.
Read highlights from the interview, and see behind-the-scenes video of Roker's cover photo shoot, below. Check out the full interview with Roker in this weekend's issue of PARADE.
Do you still indulge in those comfort foods you used to love?
"On occasion I will. My old modus operandi was … if you’re going to have vanilla wafers, you have the whole box. Now it’s two or three. You learn the secret of most normal-weight people, which is I’m full."
As a successful guy, why the need to binge?
"There were times when I perhaps didn’t feel that I was good enough. If I was having a bad day, eating was like self-medicating. But if you abuse food, you still have to use that substance that you abuse every day. You have to learn to use it responsibly."
Five years ago, some of the weight came back on. How did you lose the weight again?
"About four years ago, I decided to meet with [a friend’s] nutritionist. … For the first time, I realized that I had to change not only the quantity but the quality of food that I was eating. Even more importantly, exercise has finally become a big part of my life."
How do you fight off your old temptations?
"I used to use travel as an excuse to eat poorly. Now I don’t go anywhere without my scale; I literally pack it with me."
So it’s not about being liberated from the scale?
"I look at the number every morning, and it tells me what I’ve achieved. I know I’m more than that number, but I like what the number represents."
See behind-the-scenes video of Roker's cover photo shoot and interview below:
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