Al Roker tells his father the final promise that led to his gastric bypass

More than 20 years have passed since then Al Roker underwent gastric bypass surgery, but still remembers what his father told him that inspired his weight loss journey.

“To be honest, I’ve struggled with my weight most of my adult life,” said Roker, 70. People in an interview published on Monday, January 6. “And my dad got very sick and at one point near the end he made me promise to get in shape.”

His father’s promise and blunt words changed that Today show the life of the correspondent forever.

“He said point blank, ‘Look, we both know I’m not going to be here to help you raise your kids.’ You have to be there for your kids,’” Roker recalled his father’s final warning. “And that really stuck with me, and that led me to get a gastric bypass.

Roker underwent gastric bypass surgery in March 2002, at the time weighs 340 lbs. By the end of that year, he had lost 100 pounds.

Beloved Today cohost revealed in his 2013 memoir, Never Goin’ Back: Winning the Fight to Lose Weight Foreverthat he gained 40 pounds after his mother’s death in 2011. lose weight to 205 pounds until 2012.

“I used travel as an excuse to eat poorly. Now I don’t go anywhere without a scale; I literally pack it with me,” Roker said Procession 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 screwed up; I can just go crazy, too.” Now it’s (like), ‘OK, I made a mistake, let’s get back in the car.’

Twenty years after her surgery, Roker is still celebrating her journey to health. He shared a photo of his size 54 Levi jeans that he was wearing when he arrived at the hospital, writing via Instagram in March 2022, “It’s still a struggle, but I’m never going back.”

The meteorologist, who says he is now trying to stay around the 190lb mark, revealed: “I have setbacks and I struggle every day, but I will never forget how far I have come.”

Roker’s fitness journey was too sometimes thwarted due to other health problems. In September 2020, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. After undergoing surgery to remove his prostate, lymph nodes and some surrounding tissue, Roker was deemed cancer-free. His prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels dropped below 1 as a result of the surgery, meaning he is technically undetectable.

Two years later, Roker had another health scare that caused him to miss three weeks of work Today show. In November 2022, he explained that he did admitted to hospital for a blood clot in the leg. According to a social media post shared by Roker at the time, he had “some clots” in his lungs.

Roker eventually needed surgery to remove the blood clots and was readmitted to the hospital a few days later due to complications. He later shared that surgeons found two bleeding ulcers and removed his gallbladder.

He remained at home recuperating until late 2022. Roker returned to the NBC broadcasts in January 2023.

“Al’s recent hospitalization was very scary. (He) considers himself so lucky to have received quick treatment and knows that he is ultimately lucky to be alive,” a source exclusively said My Weekly at that time. “He was so brave the whole time, never complaining or feeling too sorry, always wanting to know how others were doing even when he was down.” He’s following all the doctors’ advice right now.”

Since his latest health scare, Roker has refocused on his wellness journey. This month, he became the company’s chief motivational officer Start a fitness app todayproduced Today show.

The app gives followers a one-stop shop for meal plans, daily motivation tips, fitness challenges and other wellness help.