Star Jones Reynolds...I thought I'd never discuss her again...

Well, here we are...full circle once again.

I really didn't want to discuss ol' Star. Really, I could have found a million other things to talk about than her.

But this is a topic that interests me.

Shock of shocks...STAR has finally revealed that she indeed had gastric bypass surgery which enabled her to lose the large amount of weight she had on her frame.

Meanwhile, the rest of the public replied, "Uh - YEAH. We already knew about it...it was pretty obvious." (Well, maybe we didn't say it exactly that way, but it was close enough for government work.)

But here's a couple of telling comments:

"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," she writes. "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," she continues. "I was afraid to be vulnerable, and ashamed at not being able to get myself under control without this procedure."

Let's break this down. Star hid all this because:

1) She didn't want people to do what she did without proper and informed medical decision making abilities.

2) She was ashamed of herself for not having more "control" of her weight issues.

Fair enough...makes sense. She's human, and therefore, being human requires that we screw up once in a while, either quietly or with blazing fireworks and a marching band right in front of us.

But this is one of those mistakes that is pretty dramatic...akin to the couple I've blogged about in Missouri where the wife lied about being preggers with SEXTUPLETS. No, Star's tummy didn't have a baby in it...but Star lost a lot of weight in a short period of time. While exercise and diet do a lot for a person, you've gotta admit that her loss was SCREAMING "I had extra help!"

And there's nothing WRONG with extra help. Every person's health background is different.

My sis had gastric bypass surgery after trying EVERYTHING she could think of to lose weight.
The fact of the matter is that Ruthi's metabolism was screwed up thanks to years of steroid use for her asthma.

Oddly enough, she never had that big an appetite. If the two of us went out to eat (for example), I'd pretty much clean my plate and she'd still have 1/3 left. She ran ragged after her kids, and tried to be as active as possible but she finally had to go the bariatric surgery route. And YES, she got plenty of crap about her weight. You'd be amazed how stupid total strangers can be about what they'll say to someone. She was hurt - A LOT. I'm sure she also felt the same way regarding "control" over her body and all that, just like Star.

Ruthi looks WONDERFUL since the surgery happened. Moreover, she has found herself telling her story to other people. She's just a private citizen like you and me, but she opens up about her experiences with the surgery, why she did it, what's happened since, etc. She felt kind of weird about it at first, but now she doesn't.

I guess that's where this paragraph also provokes a thought...

Reynolds opted for surgery after a friend expressed concern about her weight. It was a success, she says, though she found she was "still consumed with the same anger, shame and insecurity as before."

Her husband, banker Al Reynolds, encouraged her to begin psychological therapy in the summer of 2005. She learned, among other things, that she "couldn't control what others thought," she says. She began to heal by talking openly about her weight loss to strangers.

I guess ol' Al is good for something besides being a topic of conversation, huh?

I know my weight has gone up and down over the past couple decades or so...and with it, my self-esteem. I know I'm not alone.

But again - doesn't she think people would notice such a dramatic loss? The generic "medical intervention" explanation can only go so far.

Let's face it - in this day and age, celebrities tell us about every little malady they have whether we want to know or not. The ones who manage to really make a difference beyond the "Poor Me" stage are few and far between. Star Jones Reynolds could very well have made a difference to a lot of people by telling her story on "The View", as opposed to having a big ass wedding on the show and filling every day with "Blah, blah, blah, AL...blah blah blah". She had the PERFECT forum, but the only thing holding her back was...well...HER.

I know my relatives think it's in bad taste for me to talk about my experiences with bipolar disorder in this blog, but you know what? I've also met people who go through the same things I do. People ask me questions, I answer them the best I can. I've tried to help people get a grip on BP so it doesn't hurt them as much. It's worth it.

It's a shame that Star's demons held her back for so long, but maybe it'll do some good now.

Now if she'd just shut up about AL...

PS: Also, is it just me, or does Star look kind of unhealthy right now? Opinions are appreciated.