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American Morning
Living Lighter
Aired June 13, 2003 - 09:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Lighten things up here a little bit and for some inspiration. Singer Carnie Wilson made headlines in 1999 when she elected to have gastric bypass surgery. Carnie had success in the group Wilson Phillips, but she really but got a lot of attention when she lost the weight. She took off 150 pounds after the surgery, and spoke publicly about her struggles before and after the procedure. She has a new book out entitled "I'm Still Hungry."
Carnie Wilson, looking hot and blond, is our guest here this morning.
Good morning.
CARNIE WILSON, AUTHOR, "I'M STILL HUNGRY": Hi.
KAGAN: And it's a pleasure to meet you here in person.
WILSON: Thank you.
KAGAN: I want to get right to the title of this, "I'm Still Hungry." I think it has a couple of meanings.
WILSON: Right.
KAGAN: First I want to get to the food issue. You write in your books, 150 pounds lighter, looking as great as you do, you're still obsessed with food.
WILSON: Sure.
KAGAN: It's not easy?
WILSON: No, it's not. I'll always love food, and it's a daily issue, or a struggle, not always a negative struggle, but sort of that, oh, I want that, but I'm not going to have it. I'll have a taste maybe not eat four of them, do you know what I mean?
KAGAN: Yes, a lot of people don't want to hear that. They want to, I got an operation, I'm thin, I'm beautiful, end of story.
WILSON: Like it's the fairy tale. Yes, exactly. You wake up and then my fat's gone and all my problems disappeared, like Tabitha. No. That's the reason for the second book. I wanted to really take people through that mental journey.
KAGAN: What has been the biggest surprise about losing the weight, something that has gotten better that you didn't realize, and something, you thought, you know, once I get thin, it's going to be all better and really it doesn't fix it?
WILSON: Honestly, I'm just so grateful for more health. That's the truth. I mean, above everything.
KAGAN: How do you compare how different it feels to have basically half of you gone?
WILSON: I mean, in every way. It's being able to cross my legs when I sit down, getting off a chair, it's walking, it's standing, it's going through has turnstile. it's fitting through in a booth at a restaurant -- it's everything. It's not, you know, fearing if I lay down for too many hours at night, I'm going to choke in my sleep. It's night and day.
KAGAN: On a much, much lighter note, it's something that probably you've never considered. You posed for "Playboy?"
WILSON: Isn't that beyond belief? I know, I did.
KAGAN: So the pictures are done, but they're not out.
WILSON: They're coming out June 27th. It took me about three months to decide to do it, and I just...
KAGAN: That is one people can see.
WILSON: Yes, yes. I just figured, I'm a risk-taker. I love to take risks. And that's what I'm about to do. I think it's how you get things done in your life, when you do things you never thought you could do. And not everyone wants the pose for "Playboy" magazine. But I'm a little bit of an exhibitionist. I have to honest, I think I am.
KAGAN: Was it fun? Was it intimidating, and what was it like to...
WILSON: The best. The best. I felt beautiful and just -- I felt womanly. I felt sensual, and it was just pure, erotica. It was unbelievable. And the pictures are tasteful. They're -- it's like a fairy tale novel, beautiful, romance novel, like a painting almost.
KAGAN: You know more than certainly most people what it feels like not to feel beautiful by standards of this society.
WILSON: Yes.
KAGAN: What would you say to people, come on, you're just contributing to the problem by going over to that side and participating in something like that?
WILSON: I don't know. I mean, obviously, beauty comes from within. And people just like, well, you knowing you're losing all this weight, and you're talking about being thin thinner, whatever. Isn't that a contradiction to what you are saying? But it's not. I mean, I feel better, and I think I do look better, but I've never been ashamed of who I am inside. Who you are -- you are who you are in your heart. But it's just great to be healthy, you know what I mean?
KAGAN: Let's get to the other part of what he has "I'm Still Hungry" means. You're hungry to do a ton of other things. There's certainly a lot of stuff out there besides food to fill you up. We were talking in the commercial break about participating in "Fame," Debbie Allen's new show on NBC, trying to find these great talents.
WILSON: I'm a judge on "Fame" and I'm having a blast. And it's like -- nothing's holding me back right now, and that's some of the messages that I try to get across, that people are more powerful than they think. It's tapping into that power that you don't really know exists, or that you try to suppress. So doors are opening bigtime, you know.
And the thing I'm really excited about is, even though I'm just loving being kind of nice on "Fame" -- I'm not always that nice, but I try to be honest, but really, I'm getting back to see them sing and dance. That's what I'm going to be doing in September. My own album's coming out. So I'm getting prepared to get on the stage again and perform.
KAGAN: We are looking forward to that. The album and the tour. You're everywhere. Carnie Wilson, the new book, "I'm Still Hungry."
Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to come and visit with us.
WILSON: Thanks for having me.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 13, 2003 - 09:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Lighten things up here a little bit and for some inspiration. Singer Carnie Wilson made headlines in 1999 when she elected to have gastric bypass surgery. Carnie had success in the group Wilson Phillips, but she really but got a lot of attention when she lost the weight. She took off 150 pounds after the surgery, and spoke publicly about her struggles before and after the procedure. She has a new book out entitled "I'm Still Hungry."
Carnie Wilson, looking hot and blond, is our guest here this morning.
Good morning.
CARNIE WILSON, AUTHOR, "I'M STILL HUNGRY": Hi.
KAGAN: And it's a pleasure to meet you here in person.
WILSON: Thank you.
KAGAN: I want to get right to the title of this, "I'm Still Hungry." I think it has a couple of meanings.
WILSON: Right.
KAGAN: First I want to get to the food issue. You write in your books, 150 pounds lighter, looking as great as you do, you're still obsessed with food.
WILSON: Sure.
KAGAN: It's not easy?
WILSON: No, it's not. I'll always love food, and it's a daily issue, or a struggle, not always a negative struggle, but sort of that, oh, I want that, but I'm not going to have it. I'll have a taste maybe not eat four of them, do you know what I mean?
KAGAN: Yes, a lot of people don't want to hear that. They want to, I got an operation, I'm thin, I'm beautiful, end of story.
WILSON: Like it's the fairy tale. Yes, exactly. You wake up and then my fat's gone and all my problems disappeared, like Tabitha. No. That's the reason for the second book. I wanted to really take people through that mental journey.
KAGAN: What has been the biggest surprise about losing the weight, something that has gotten better that you didn't realize, and something, you thought, you know, once I get thin, it's going to be all better and really it doesn't fix it?
WILSON: Honestly, I'm just so grateful for more health. That's the truth. I mean, above everything.
KAGAN: How do you compare how different it feels to have basically half of you gone?
WILSON: I mean, in every way. It's being able to cross my legs when I sit down, getting off a chair, it's walking, it's standing, it's going through has turnstile. it's fitting through in a booth at a restaurant -- it's everything. It's not, you know, fearing if I lay down for too many hours at night, I'm going to choke in my sleep. It's night and day.
KAGAN: On a much, much lighter note, it's something that probably you've never considered. You posed for "Playboy?"
WILSON: Isn't that beyond belief? I know, I did.
KAGAN: So the pictures are done, but they're not out.
WILSON: They're coming out June 27th. It took me about three months to decide to do it, and I just...
KAGAN: That is one people can see.
WILSON: Yes, yes. I just figured, I'm a risk-taker. I love to take risks. And that's what I'm about to do. I think it's how you get things done in your life, when you do things you never thought you could do. And not everyone wants the pose for "Playboy" magazine. But I'm a little bit of an exhibitionist. I have to honest, I think I am.
KAGAN: Was it fun? Was it intimidating, and what was it like to...
WILSON: The best. The best. I felt beautiful and just -- I felt womanly. I felt sensual, and it was just pure, erotica. It was unbelievable. And the pictures are tasteful. They're -- it's like a fairy tale novel, beautiful, romance novel, like a painting almost.
KAGAN: You know more than certainly most people what it feels like not to feel beautiful by standards of this society.
WILSON: Yes.
KAGAN: What would you say to people, come on, you're just contributing to the problem by going over to that side and participating in something like that?
WILSON: I don't know. I mean, obviously, beauty comes from within. And people just like, well, you knowing you're losing all this weight, and you're talking about being thin thinner, whatever. Isn't that a contradiction to what you are saying? But it's not. I mean, I feel better, and I think I do look better, but I've never been ashamed of who I am inside. Who you are -- you are who you are in your heart. But it's just great to be healthy, you know what I mean?
KAGAN: Let's get to the other part of what he has "I'm Still Hungry" means. You're hungry to do a ton of other things. There's certainly a lot of stuff out there besides food to fill you up. We were talking in the commercial break about participating in "Fame," Debbie Allen's new show on NBC, trying to find these great talents.
WILSON: I'm a judge on "Fame" and I'm having a blast. And it's like -- nothing's holding me back right now, and that's some of the messages that I try to get across, that people are more powerful than they think. It's tapping into that power that you don't really know exists, or that you try to suppress. So doors are opening bigtime, you know.
And the thing I'm really excited about is, even though I'm just loving being kind of nice on "Fame" -- I'm not always that nice, but I try to be honest, but really, I'm getting back to see them sing and dance. That's what I'm going to be doing in September. My own album's coming out. So I'm getting prepared to get on the stage again and perform.
KAGAN: We are looking forward to that. The album and the tour. You're everywhere. Carnie Wilson, the new book, "I'm Still Hungry."
Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to come and visit with us.
WILSON: Thanks for having me.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
