Al Roker Ron Adar/M10s/MEGA
Stay positive! Al Roker is measuring his weight loss success with one important benchmark — making sure his clothes fit right.
“I have no idea where I am. All I know is my clothes fit,” the weatherman, 67, exclusively told Us WeeklyThursday, April 14th, at the Broadcasting and Cable Hall Of Fame’s 30th Anniversary Gala in New York City. “That’s kind of the benchmark for me.”
The 3rd hour of Today cohost underwent gastric bypass surgery in March 2002, losing a total of more than 100 pounds. Even 20 years later, Roker insists it’s difficult to maintain a healthy weight.
“Every day is a struggle, every day,” the Emmy-award winner explained toUse. “Anybody who struggles with their weight knows. Some days you’re up, some days you’re down, but if by the end of the week you’re OK or the same, great. As long as you’re working on it, all’s good.”
For Roker, it’s not about the number on the scale, but about making sure he remains strong.
“I don’t know if I have a goal. I just want to make sure I’m healthy,” he continued.
In his 2013 memoir, the TV personality opened up about his eating habits. Never Goin’ Back: Winning the Weight Loss Battle for Good. He explained that he was trying to win his now-wife Deborah Roberts. This helped him to realize how important food was to him.
“My life was centered around food. I could never live with no food in my apartment — not even in New York, where you can get everything delivered in 30 minutes or less,” he said, revealing that Roberts, 61, only had “champagne, a jar of mustard [and] a slab of half-moldy cheese” in her apartment.
The NBC host said he would fill his then-girlfriend’s fridge with all the essentials to make it feel more like “home,” including milk, eggs, butter, coffee, oatmeal and fresh vegetables. “Last but certainly not least, I put in Häagan-Dazs in her freezer,” he wrote.
In the book, Roker revealed that his weight loss became an endless yo-yo cycle after his mother’s death in 2011. After following a strict diet, Roker was only able lose 205 pounds.
“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,” the author told Parade in December 2012. “It gives me permission to have a bad day, or even just a bad moment. In the old days it was, ‘Well, I’ve blown it; I may as well just go hog wild.’ Now it’s [like], ‘OK, I made a mistake, let’s get back on the wagon.’”
The journalist celebrated being 20 years after having gastric bypass surgery by taking to social media.
“Hard to believe it was 20 years ago today, I wore these size 54 Levi jeans to my #gastricbypass at 340 lbs and here I am today,” the journalist wrote via Instagram March 15.
Roker also shared photos of his transformation, including one in which he is wearing the jeans that he wore at his most heaviest.
“It’s still a struggle but I’m never going back,” Roker wrote in the Instagram post. “I have setbacks and struggle every day, but I never forget how far I’ve come.”
Diana Cooper Reporting
