NBC’s Al Roker discussed his weight loss on the Today Show. The interview video from Mon. June 7, 2010 is below.

The veteran TV weatherman’s inspiring 100+ pound weight loss — via gastric bypass surgery, diet, exercise and lifestyle changes — was profiled. During the interview he said that his father’s words to him, weeks before his death became his impetus to lose the weight. Noting that it is an ongoing struggle, he said: “No matter how much weight you lose, there’s still that fat guy lurking,” he said. He also got on the scale and weighed in during the segment; his current weight was 204 pounds.

The video is below.

Link

Al Roker Weight Loss Today Show Interview Video

Although we may associate diet, exercise and weight loss success stories with women, this year’s “The Biggest Loser” winner, Ali Vincent, is the first woman ever to win the competition.

Ali bested the boys — and conventional wisdom — to become the very first female to proudly call herself “The Biggest Loser.”

Fans had a big say in the outcome of tonight’s live finale on NBC: They voted online to decide whether Mark or Roger should be the third finalist to compete for the prize along with Ali and Kelly. The thinking going into the evening was that a victory for Roger — the former football player who started the game at 363 lbs. — would mean defeat for Ali because Roger still had so much weight to lose.

But conventional wisdom was dead wrong.

Roger reached the finals, but conceded that he’d hit a plateau when he and the other contestants left “The Biggest Loser” ranch and continued to work on their own at home in advance of tonight’s final weigh-in. In all, he lost 164 lbs., or 45.18% of his body weight.

Ali, too, conceded some challenges — including late-night visits to the freezer for a frozen yogurt fix.

But in the end, her “warrior mentality” — dating back to her days as a championship synchronized swimmer — served her well. Ali entered the game at 234 lbs. Looking trim, toned and plenty confident, she needed to lose only 105 lbs. to upset Roger — and she handily passed that benchmark as she weighed in at 122 lbs. In all, she lost 112 lbs., or 47.86% of her body weight.

And there’s another number staring back at Ali: She takes home $250,000 for her troubles. (More.)

Tim Welch’s story is especially inspiring as he discusses how he was able to rouse himself from the complacency that had accompanied his weight gain, and to find the motivation and drive to make positive changes.

“I was thin and fit my whole life,” Welch remembers. “I was always active in sports such as running cross-country in high school and swimming on the swim team in college.”

Things started to change in 1995 after he graduated from college. Welch got a job, moved out of his parents’ house and began indulging in late-night meals with his friends.

“I remember specifically in 1995, my waist size went from a 34 [inches] to a 38 in a matter of months,” Welch said. “I got a size 36 pants to accommodate my waist size and I had to ask for a bigger size for Christmas because they were too tight.”

Welch was in total disbelief when he stepped on the scale and realized he was carrying 200 pounds on his 5-foot-10-inch frame.

Despite the initial shock, he continued to gain weight.

Even though he fit the medical definition of obese, Welch stayed physically active. He joined a master’s swim team, hiked and walked regularly. Because he was physically active, Welch thought he could keep eating whatever he wanted.

As his weight crept up, his desire to exercise waned.

Keep reading to discover how he was motivated to make changes.

The latest profile from the CNN Fit Nation series is of Kelly Pless who lost 95 pounds and has kept it off for a year and a half:

“I changed how I felt about food and what it meant to me,” said Pless, who occasionally indulges in a bite of birthday cake or a piece of chocolate.

“One of the first things I cut out was cakes and cookies. That was my weak spot. After a few months of cutting those things out, I focused more on portion control,” said Pless. “I pretty much eat when I’m hungry and don’t eat when I’m not and really try to pay attention to when those times are. Make sure I’m not eating out of boredom or [at] social events, I try to make sure I’m not overeating, just because everyone else is.”

Pless pays close attention to societal pressure, which she believes is the reason many people overeat. Restaurant servings are about three times bigger than a normal portion size, she says. She makes sure she doesn’t overeat when dining out simply because the food is there.

“What’s hard is to change how you feel about foods that you love or that aren’t necessarily good for you, or actually change how you look at food. That was the hardest part for me.”

Instead of giving in to the temptation or convenience of calorie-laden or fatty foods such as cheeseburgers from the drive-through, Pless asks herself, “What do I really want to eat? Or, what does my body really want right now?”

All of the hard work and determination paid off. Pless has lost 95 pounds and kept it off for 1½ years. As a result, she says, she’s healthier and more confident.

Read the rest of the article for more of the healthy habits and practices she describes which have worked successfully for her.

Today Show nutritionist, Joy Bauer, has established The Joy’s Fit Club, celebrating the weight loss victories of people who have lost 100 pounds or more. The latest member, Carolyn Leonard, shares her story.

First, I gave up fried foods. I started to feel better. Next, desserts. It was tough giving up my peanut butter and chocolate ice cream. But when I read the label, the fat content was frightening. Next, the prime time eating had to change. So I stopped buying the foods that were packing on the pounds. If it’s not in the house, you’re not going to eat it. I had a friend tell me that it was easy for me since I live alone. But I reminded her that if it’s bad for her, it’s bad for her family. So why buy it. Going to the corner convenience store at 9 pm in your pajamas for that bag of potato chips or pint of ice cream won’t happen. Trust me. My prime time snacking now consists of single servings of low fat popcorn, single serving of pretzels or my chocolate fix – two dark chocolate miniatures. I still need my chocolate but I limit it to two pieces, not a bag and not every night.

Read the entire inspiring story here.

From the New York Times comes an inspiring story of a 51 year old woman, Eva Birath, who is now major contender to win the national bodybuilding championships in Sweden, having finished in fourth place last yaer.

Four and a half years ago, at 47, she was a harried marketing executive who had been through two divorces. She made 45,000 krona (about $6,700) a month, often flew to Stockholm on business trips, chatted constantly on her cellphone and lived with her two children in a large house in Goteborg. It was, she says, a very normal high-pressure corporate existence.

And then, in December 2002, she was laid off.

Birath sold her house and moved into an apartment. She sold her car. She had no idea what to do next. She began going to a nearby gym, where one of the regulars told her she had a good physique for bodybuilding. She found out about a tournament to be held the following December and she signed up, despite knowing virtually nothing about the sport — how to diet, how to train, how to pose.

“It was very unusual for someone to begin bodybuilding at my age, but I thought my age was one bit of the challenge,” said Birath, who is now 51. “I think all people have preconceptions, like that bodybuilders are all stupid. I think I probably thought bodybuilders were a bit stupid, too.”

Striking in appearance, both as a model, years ago and now, as inspiration to us all.

More photos accompany the article.

Matthew Vander Plow began a weight loss journey three years ago. After a lifetime of obesity, he topped the scales at approximately 510 pounds. He decided one day that he had to make a change. Three years later, he has lost more than 250 pounds. He has been sharing his inspiring story in a series of videos, “The Fattening of America,” available on both his website and YouTube. He explains the reason for choosing IWeighedMoreThenJared.com as his domain name:

In the United States & Canada there is a submarine sandwich chain restaurant that has a spokesperson who lost a significant amount of weight by utilizing a diet consisting of their sandwiches. His starting weight was 425lbs, my “unofficial” starting weight was 510lbs.

Here is one of his videos, “The See Food Diet,” his address to a group of high school students, an amusing, revealing and poignant primer on how to gain weight.