Will Weight Loss Surgery Stick for Mama June? A Status Update on the Stars Who Went Under the Knife Before Her

"I can promise you I'm never going back to that size," she told People

By Samantha Schnurr Apr 06, 2017 7:08 PMTags

Mama June can take a few notes from these fellow stars. 

As the reality mom returns to life as a newly formed size 4, she aims to never get back to her former 460-pound frame.  "I can promise you I'm never going back to that size," she told People. "I'm happy where I'm at."

However, as was depicted on her series, Mama June: From Not to Hot, shedding those hundreds of pounds was not a simple feat, mentally or physically. Instead, coupled with diet and exercise, the 37-year-old underwent a sleeve gastrectomy, more commonly known as "gastric sleeve" surgery. The procedure involves cutting the stomach to reduce its size, and therefore, promote weight loss. 

She is certainly not the first famous person to undergo a form of weight loss surgery and see success. Instead, she joins a group of stars who've not only changed their lives through such procedures, but for many, also faced a few setbacks. Here's a progress report on them and the advice they live by today:

photos
Before and After: Celebs Who Have Admitted to Weight Loss Surgery
Henry McGee/Globe Photos/ZUMA; Tasos Katopodis/WireImage for XSport Fitness

Al Roker

After undergoing gastric bypass surgery in 2002, the Today weatherman shed nearly 200 pounds and has maintained the weight loss ever since. While he recently had to go under the knife for knee replacement surgery after years of carrying the weight and a bad car accident damaged his original knee. 

Fortunately, the surgery went off without a hitch and Roker was back on television in a matter of weeks. Despite one 40-pound relapse and an unfortunate pooping incident at the White House, the gastric bypass significantly helped the star make strides in his weight loss journey. However, Mama June, be cautious—diet and exercise should never stop. 

"You can defeat the bypass, just as you can defeat any diet you're on," he once said. "You have to be constantly vigilant."

Dave Hogan/Harold Cunningham/WireImage

Sharon Osbourne

While the television personality shed weight after having adjustable gastric band, more commonly known as a lap-band, done in 1999, she admitted that she found ways to manipulate her restricted stomach to eat more. 

"The band was not the solution to my weight struggles, as I had hoped it would be. It was just like everything else, you find a way around it," she wrote on her diet blog at the time. "And I found out that if I had a glass of wine, it loosened it up and I could eat whatever I wanted, so it became redundant."

After complaints of constant vomiting and feeling like a "cheat," she had the band removed in 2006 and relied on losing weight with diet and exercise alone. 

read
Mama June's Not Alone: Revisiting Reality TV's Biggest Body Transformations
Robin Marchant/Duffy-Marie Arnoult/WireImage

Lauren Manzo

The fellow former reality star, who appeared on Real Housewives of New Jersey and Manzo'd With Children, went in for a lap-band five years ago and never looked back. 

"It wasn't anything to do with television. I just hated me," Manzo candidly told Bethenny Frankel on her former talk show. "I have done every diet. I have struggled my entire life. I started to go into a depression and now I'm happy and I've never been happier. It's the best thing I've ever done."

Jordan Strauss, Gregg DeGuire/WireImage.com

Randy Jackson

The former American Idol judge elected to have gastric bypass surgery in 2003 and lost more than 100 pounds. He later revealed that he had been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. 

"To me, it's a last-resort option," he told Wendy Williams of the surgery. "It's a jump-start, but you still have to do everything you can to keep it off."

As for advice, he's a cheerleader for portion size. 

"You gotta have control over the amounts that you eat," he suggested. Sure, you can have a cookie, "but don't eat the whole bag."

Latest News