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Guiding Light Star Weighs In on Weight Loss Story
courtesy Caitlin Van Zandt
There's a lot less of Caitlin Van Zandt these days. The plus-size Guiding Light star recently underwent Lap-Band surgery and has already dropped more than 40 pounds. The GL writers had her character, teenager Ashlee Wolfe, undergo the same weight-loss procedure in a plot that was intended to be inspiring. But all this has some of Van Zandt's fans riled up. We asked her about it. — Michael Logan
TVGuide.com: Lap-band surgery isn't controversial — it's minimally invasive, unlike gastric bypass, and considered safe — yet your choice to have it stirred up controversy! What's up with that?
Caitlin Van Zandt: I don't know why it's such a taboo topic, but it is! I'm always reading articles where celebrities talk about everything from their drug rehab stints to the people they've slept with, yet I've gotten flack on the internet for doing the Lap-Band as if I'm somehow being a bad role model. A lot of the fans relate to me because I'm real looking — which I think is wonderful — but they also had this predisposed notion that I was proud of the way I looked. The truth is, I've been self-conscious about my weight since I was a kid. I haven't worn a bathing suit since I was six — we even used that as a line on the show.
TVGuide.com: To be fair, you kinda did give off a vibe that you were OK with your appearance.
Van Zandt: Don't get me wrong. I was thrilled that young girls could sit home and go, "Hey, she looks like me, and she's on TV in a really great role and her character has a hot, hunky boyfriend — maybe it can happen to me, too!" I'm glad I could make people feel that way, but I want to be able to watch myself on GL and not be frustrated with the way I look. I want to wear normal clothes. I want to feel beautiful. Some of the fans have been very supportive of my decision, others feel that I'm somehow abandoning them.
TVGuide.com: Viewers also gripe that Ashlee hadn't seemed all that bothered by her weight.
Van Zandt: I know! We hadn't seen her try to diet or exercise or deal in any way with the issue so people were wondering why she was suddenly having surgery. But the show wanted to play this out in real time with my own weight loss, so we had to fast-track it.
TVGuide.com: You're OK playing out this very personal story on national TV?
Van Zandt: When I told [GL exec producer] Ellen Wheeler I was having the procedure she couldn't have been happier. There was crying, hugging, love was in the air. Then she said, "How would you feel about doing this on the show?" I said, "I'd really love it if Ashlee lost weight in a heroin-cokehead-bulimia plot. That might get me some attention. But I guess this Lap-Band thing would be OK, too." Four days after the procedure, I was back on the set doing a love scene with John Driscoll (Coop).
TVGuide.com: So how are you feeling?
Van Zandt: Fantastic. I was a size 18 and my goal is size 8. I'm never going to be Hollywood skinny. But already the change is amazing. I no longer run to food because I'm sad or bored, and I'm in therapy letting go of all sorts of emotional weight. Every day I'm feeling more and more like the ideal me. I'm sorry some of the fans are disappointed, but you know what? I'd rather be a role model for people who want to take charge of their health.
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May 28, 2008 11:41 AM
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I applaud your efforts to make yourself look better and feel better. I've dealt with weight issues all my life and know what you have gone through. good luck with it and don't listen to anyone but yourself and believe in yourself. 
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May 28, 2008 12:52 PM
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I'd rather be a role model for people who want to take charge of their health. ~Ashlee
Well said and an excellent arguement for your decision, Ashlee (if you're reading these comments)! Good for you, I'm behind you 1000%. Don't let anyone knock you down for your own personal decisions to improve your own health and well being.
Sometimes, misery loves company and it's those people who are looking for you to stay with them. It's their choice to make decisions to do nothing for themselves just as it is your choice to make decisions to help yourself. I hope everything goes well for you. 
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May 28, 2008 2:13 PM
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I don't have a problem with anyone having weight-loss procedures if they've given 110 percent to weight loss efforts the safe way (exercising and healthy eating).
She says the show wanted to play this out in "real time," but it makes it seem as if this was a rushed decision rather than (several months in advance) "Hey,(insert producer's name) I'm thinking about this surgery. How can we incorporate this in a responsible way that shows the audience that this isn't the only solution to a healthy lifestyle for teens." I bet if this had been played out in the storyline as 1) she's lived a healthy lifestyle without junk food, but still can't lose the weight, and 2) she talked to several doctors about her options, fewer viewers might not have had a problem with this -- especially young teens who might opt for surgery first rather than change their unhealthy eating habits, etc.
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May 28, 2008 4:17 PM
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you go girl, you're beautiful no matter what, inside and out. I'm proud and happy for you!
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May 28, 2008 4:45 PM
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I applaud Caitlin for taking the necessary steps, both to be happy and healthy.
Still, we have seen Ashlee and her weight loss story less than 7 times since the story was introduced. The story has immense possibilities and emotional fall-out, yet the only thing we've seen is a non-chalant young woman who doesn't seem to really care that her life is about to be changed for the better. We also don't get to see the emotions associated with this story. Instead, we see a middle aged woman in Blake Marler chasing after Ashlee's boyfriend; the only controversial part of this storyline so far. Wheeler, the executive producer, doesn't know how to do real life health issues. See menopause, rape, breast cancer and cardiomyopathy as examples of how to royally screw up real life health issues on a soap.
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May 28, 2008 8:59 PM
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Love you Caitlin!
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May 29, 2008 12:50 AM
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If this is what Caitlin wants to do and she wasn't happy with her previous weight, then people should stop criticizing her and let her do what she has to do to be happy. She did need to lose weight. I can't believe she's only 22!
I guess she didn't talk to the producers until she already decided to have the procedure and thus they didn't have a lot of time to incorporate the storyline into the show.
I wish her well. I know it's very hard to lose weight.
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May 29, 2008 11:15 AM
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Yeah, I'm not sure why people harp on women for losing weight. She's going from an unhealthy weight to a healthy one. What? Her so-called fans don't want her to live longer, not be plagued with heart disease by the time she's 42? Or they just don't like the thought of having to face their own health problems by having to see someone else take charge of their health and proclaim that being fat is unhealthy.
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May 29, 2008 7:10 PM
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I also had the lap band. This is minimally invasive, & my Dr will not perform until age 18. The show had an opportunity to inform the public about this surgery, but did not accurately portray the pre-requirements; psych-iatric evaluation, group sessions, recommendation from primary physician, group meetings, and nutrition classes, and for me, insurance approval.(About 6 months for all this)
The post-op scenes were laughable. There is some pain & soreness- stitches are removed at 1 week. You are on soft diet for @ a month, gradually adding back food, focusing on protein.
Best of luck to Caitlin for a healthier
body. I wish I could have done this years ago.
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Jun 2, 2008 8:54 AM
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I don't watch the show or know about the procedure, but it does seem like Caitlin would be a good source for what is accurate. If it took her 6 months to complete the pre requirements, surely she could have told GL. Or if they didn't have enough time, GL could have said that those things happened off-screen and Ashlee did it in secret.
It does seem like a good op to tell an accurate story about this procedure. But, let's face it, soaps are rarely accurate.
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Jun 2, 2008 1:01 PM
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Congratulations! I've loved you and your character from the start. You are a beautiful young lady and your dress size won't change that. I'm glad you're promoting the fact that you are getting therapy for dealing with the issues that have "made you" stay large. I had to do some similar soul searching to figure out what was making me stay big. Once I figured out my issues, I was able to start losing the weight. I'm up to 33 pounds. I'm doing it slowly through eating better and moving so it will stick. Best of luck to you!
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Jun 3, 2008 12:08 PM
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Love you Caitlin and give you such credit for making your mind and going for it because it was something YOU wanted to do. We can't live our lives for others though sometimes we try to, and being a happy, content, HEALTHY person is a wonderful thing. Especially for you where your personality shines thru your eyes. I thought you were beautiful inspite of your weight. Your skin, your coloring, your attitude, the GLOW you have about yourself, AND the fact that you seemed really happy to be YOU. Learning you weren't and did something to change that made me love you even more. Much luck. Keep happy. Keep healthy, but remember it's not the dress size that's important, but it is how you feel and how YOU see yourself.
I, too, wish GL (my one and only soap!) would show the trials and tribulations and how/why you went thru this procedure. Maybe that will make the naysayers stop talking. I hadn't read about your procedure though heard of it somewhere, and was wondering why they were doing it on the show, so I say SHOUT IT OUT - do what's good for you - HOPE that the show will do a better job in writing it into the script, and ASHLEE, KEEP BLAKE AWAY FROM COOP! Go girl. AND let TV Guide, or somebody else, interview you again a couple of months down the line. WE WANT TO KNOW HOW YOU REALLY ARE!!
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Jun 6, 2008 8:03 PM
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Good for you for deciding to take care of yourself. I come from a family where obesity is a problem. So I chose to get gastric bypass and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I can run and play with my children and have more energy than I did two years ago when I was 300 lbs. I think you are very brave for being willing to let the show coincide with your own choice.
Those who feel you are abandoning them, are those who aren't in the same place you are yet and so yes, they see it as being abandoned. Try to focus on the positive ones - it helps a lot.
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Jun 9, 2008 9:33 AM
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OMG! Beth Ehlers is leaving Guiding Light! And she's following the yellow brick road to All My Children where her former co-star Ricki Paull Goldin fled to earlier this year. Looks like GL's new production model isn't very liked by the cast either. We'll miss you, Harley Davidson Cooper!
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Jun 9, 2008 4:58 PM
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