Hi, and thank you for joining us as together we become a guiding light to EmpowHer women all over the world. I am sure by now you’ve heard that Guiding Light, the longest running story in the history of daytime television, will come to an end on September 18 unless another network picks it up.
But let’s roll the tape back one year ago when 22-year-old Guiding Light actress Caitlin Van Zandt, who plays Ashlee Wolfe, underwent a LAP-BAND procedure, and now she is here on EmpowHer to share with you her progress. Hi, Caitlin!
Caitlin Van Zandt:
Hello, how are you?
Todd:
I am doing great. Now let’s see, one year ago, you’re now 23, how was the LAP-BAND procedure, and how did it help you lose weight?
Caitlin Van Zandt:
Well, I had tried endlessly with different diet and exercise programs to very little prevail. I would gain back any weight that I had lost, usually plus some, which seems to be the tendency for people that need to lose a 100 pounds or more. So after long discussions with my primary care physician, after also finding some very disturbingly high cholesterol numbers from my annual checkup, we decided that the LAP-BAND AP system would be a great tool for me to lose weight.
So on February 29, I had a LAP-BAND procedure, and since then I have lost 92 pounds which is a soap star in itself usually, and I couldn’t be happier. I just want to talk to people about, particularly women actually, about the risks they have for heart disease and how obesity can certainly affect these risks.
Todd:
Well, let’s talk about heart disease and the risk of obesity in just a second. A moment ago, you mentioned something that I thought was really interesting. You said you and your doctor worked together, but I notice that most of the time with LAP-BAND procedures, women have to advocate for themselves and kind of push their doctor in that direction. Did you have to do that with yours?
Caitlin Van Zandt:
I didn’t. I thankfully had a very liberal, well-read doctor who knew all about it and actually had many very successful stories of other patients that had had LAP-BAND, but unfortunately, there’s a bit of a stigma around weight loss surgery and also confusion between having a gastric band and having the gastric bypass.
So unfortunately, a lot of the symptoms of obesity are treated, like diabetes or hypertension, high cholesterol, all of those side effects are treated often, but usually the cause which is the actual extra weight, being overweight and obese is not treated as much, and that is a really good point.
Todd:
Look, I have a heart condition. I was born with it and didn’t know it until one day when I was doing an EmpowHer interview that I discovered that I had a problem, and overweight people are at a much higher risk for heart conditions. What type of risks did you have and how is your heart now?
Caitlin Van Zandt:
Well, there are many factors in terms of risk assessment, of having heart disease. I had exceedingly high cholesterol, and I was overweight, which is supposedly the most influential risk on actually having issues with your heart. And thankfully I do not have high blood pressure, but I mean, no one is straight across the board.
Then again, there are other risk factors like smoking, I didn’t smoke, your age, which for women is over 55, but I did have…
Todd:
And you’re so lucky, you’re so lucky to get this done with at 22 years old so you didn’t carry on and develop long-term risks.
Caitlin Van Zandt:
Right, exactly. I mean, that’s I wanted to nip it in the bud, and not only did I want to feel better about myself in the skin that I was occupying, but I also really wanted to not worry and be able to be a healthy mom and a healthy adult and healthy and live really well without fearing heart disease or diabetes.
One huge risk factor for heart disease is family history, your genetics, and my mom was predisposed to have high cholesterol also. And she was obese, and we both carried our weight in a pre-diabetic fashion, which is around your middle. And there are several reasons why belly fat is so dangerous, including the fact that I always figured that your fat grew outwards as if there were some sort of layer between your organs and your fat, but it’s not true at all. The fat grows in between your organs and can really make you very ill with many different health issues.
So I wanted, exactly, I wanted to nip everything in the bud before it got too serious and I was still young enough to change my habits.
Todd:
Caitlin, your mom Barbara also had a LAP-BAND procedure I think about 10 days after you, and how is your mom doing today? I mean, you’ve had amazing success. How about your mom?
Caitlin Van Zandt:
My mom is doing really wonderfully. Another risk factor that my mom had which I didn’t or which I was lucky enough to not have yet was age. She was over 55, and so that will definitely influence the rate at which you lose weight. She is still doing wonderfully for her age, and she has lost 72 pounds. And just like me, her cholesterol is within a very safe zone and our good cholesterol is way up and our bad cholesterol is way down. So we’re kind of model students for being aware of your risks and helping to prevent heart disease in yourself and in the loved ones.
One of my many reasons why I am so lucky to be able to speak out as, I wouldn’t say a celebrity, but at least someone in the public eye, about my journey is that I am able to raise awareness and with help of WomenHeart, which is the leading not-for-profit organization in America for women’s heart health. They do lots of awareness programs, and they form a community of women who have had heart disease or are at risk for heart disease or have had heart attacks.
We have created its website called heartfeltmoments.org, and it’s a dual emergent sort of website that half of it has to do with tools to assess your risks in terms of being a woman or as a human, but the human in general, how you can determine how much you are at risk for heart disease and the steps you can take to prevent that. And the other half of the website is being able to talk to a loved one that you might be worried about, either from a standpoint of them being obese or being unhealthy, having these risk factors that I was talking about.
I know that my mom is near and dear to me, and I am very happy that we took steps, particularly together to become healthier.
Todd:
Yeah, it’s probably the best thing the two of you will ever do together. Your mom lost over 70 pounds, you are at 92 pounds, and don’t the two of you feel like new girls, like you’re going out shopping together or anything?
Caitlin Van Zandt:
Well we definitely are. We are at the beach more together. She is getting excited to travel Europe. She has suffered a great back pain which has dissipated quite a lot, and we definitely shop together and now that we have kind of new bodies, we can shop at new stores. It’s fun exploring together, and it’s also interesting because we’re such a food-based society, so now that the food is one of our after-thoughts, we eat to live, not live to eat.
So another food, the after-thought, it’s interesting finding things to do that don’t necessarily revolve around food. We’ve become very close, and it was such a great support to be able to go through this with her.
Todd:
It just sounds so exciting, and when I had my procedure for my heart, I almost got like a new lease, a new opportunity to do things right. Can you share with women, you know, I’ve got three friends that have had LAP-BAND procedures, and but for those who don’t, what’s the procedure like?
Caitlin Van Zandt:
Well, I mean, it can be looked at as slightly strange. For me, I was really excited. I mean, I was chomping at the bit to get started, and I had a two-week pre-op diet which is a low calorie diet to help clean out the fat in your liver. And so, I mean, that definitely got me ready to go, and then the procedure itself, I think I was only in the hospital for six hours, seven hours total, and I rolled in early in the morning and got all set up and went in, woke up 35 minutes later, and hung out. And, well, I had a long weekend recovery period, and then I went back to work at Guiding Light three days later.
And since then, it’s just about being adjusted to the right place, and listening to your body, and realizing when you’re thirsty, and when you’re hungry, and when you’re bored. And you don’t eat for emotional reasons anymore; you eat to be fueled. You eat to survive, and you can also listen to your body and realize that even if you are eating much smaller portions and you are not eating a lot, there’s still foods that do not sit well with people. I have learned that even if you’re only having a couple of French fries, fried food does not make me feel very good.
Todd:
I have heard that, I hear that a lot.
Caitlin Van Zandt:
But I’ve also learned to listen to my body a whole lot more, and I am making much better choices.
Todd:
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that from women who have had LAP-BAND procedures--that fried food just doesn’t work for them anymore. That’s so interesting.
Caitlin Van Zandt:
And it has nothing, honestly it has nothing to do with any sort of discomfort or nausea you might get. It really has to do with like, this food makes me feel icky, and I think when I am eating, pre-band I would eat maybe three, almost four slices of pizza and not even really taste it. I just like shoved it in my mouth and I never really noticed when I was dehydrated or when I was, you know, I just have a sweet tooth and I eat a lot, couple of huge slices of cake, and I never listened to my body and saying, “Oh, that three bites of cake was enough.”
People don’t pay attention, and the portion sizes in this country are just astronomically unbalanced.
Todd:
They’re just huge.
Caitlin Van Zandt:
And it’s hard, it’s very difficult.
Todd:
Caitlin, when I noticed that when I am working out, I am much more disciplined about what I put in my mouth, and I feel much cleaner. My diet cleans up and my eating habits improve, my sleep, the whole process. So it sounds very similar to what you are going through where you don’t want to take steps back by eating things that no longer fit what your new lifestyle is like. So eating habits--have your portion size changed because you’re now more aware, or because the LAP-BAND procedure makes you feel less hungry? Describe how the change has been.
Caitlin Van Zandt:
Well, I think it first begins with when you get your first adjustment, and you’ve recovered from your procedure. It begins with how much will the band let me eat. There is an adjustment period, and then eventually you realize that half a slice of pizza is more than enough food, not that I am condoning people eating pizza all day long, even if it is just half a slice, but you learn to live your life as you normally do with your friends, and you look at them and go, “Do you really need that fourth piece of chicken? Like, your body actually needs that?”
So you start to realize that everything is grossly out of proportion, and there are certain things that they warn you not to do, like eat chocolate and ice cream all day because the band, the LAP-BAND AP system, doesn’t do much for liquids and things that melt in your esophagus like that mocha, mocha java, you know, swirl at the coffee shop. That 1100 calories will not help you lose weight even if you have gone through this and have chosen to have a LAP-BAND.
So there are steps that you take, and you are much more aware of what calorically you’re putting in your body, and that’s more helpful to me. I am motivated because I have made this choice where before I would consider being on a diet. So “I can’t have that mocha swirl because I am on a diet,” and then the diet would end and here would come the mocha swirl twice a day.
Now I am going, “This is my life, and I don’t need that mocha swirl.” I am feeling good with a Hershey’s kiss, one, two maybe, and I go, “You know, that tasted really good, awesome.” I live my life like a skinny girl with a tiny little tummy would, a tiny little stomach. Well, tummy also, but I meant stomach.
Todd:
You mean like a 95 pounds . . .
Caitlin Van Zandt:
Who can only fit so much in their tiny little body.
Todd:
Like a 95-pound soap opera star?
Caitlin Van Zandt:
Exactly, and I know several of those, and they all eat like birds. And you are angry at them, and then you go, “Oh wait, with my LAP-BAND AP system, I eat like a bird also.”
Todd:
Okay, so what advice do you give a woman who is in your shoes a year ago that is now considering a LAP-BAND procedure but maybe she is dealing with the same stigma issues that you mentioned earlier? What advice do you have for her?
Caitlin Van Zandt:
Well, I have actually spoken on a personal level with several fans who are in the same sort of boat where they were 100 pounds overweight, and they had tried everything under the sun to lose weight and were feeling like it will never, this will never work for them because nothing’s worked for them.
I have met so many people like that, and in a lot of ways, that’s how I felt too. My advice to them and continues to be as I meet everyone, one at a time, is that if you are 100 pounds overweight and no matter what your age is or how “bad” you think you are, and how you feel like you will never change, this does work. It is a tool; the LAP-BAND AP system is a tool, but it’s only, you’ll only get out of it what you put in.
If you are not adjusted properly and you eat chocolate and ice cream all day, you’re not going to lose weight. However, it will help you if you find the right surgeon. I mean, my surgeon said to me, “If you listen to me, you will not fail,” and I broke down and I cried because you try so much. You believe you’ll never, ever be healthy and you’ll never, ever feel normal, and you will.
So check it out. Now we have this great website heartfeltmoments.org that talks about your risk factors for heart disease, mostly obesity-related, and lapband.com is a great resource. That’s what I used personally, one of many, and just learn about it. See if it’s right for you, and definitely talk with your physician and your family. Make sure you’re in the right place in your life to be committed enough to yourself. And something that is really difficult to say but is absolutely true is that every person deserves it. Every person deserves to be happy with themselves, and whether it’s going to the gym every day, which didn’t work for me in my lifestyle, or if it’s getting a LAP-BAND AP system, you need to check out your options because you are worth it.
Todd:
Gosh, so well said. Thank you so much for joining us. She is Caitlin Van Zandt. She is a 23-year-old actress on The Guiding Light. She plays Ashlee Wolfe. She had a LAP-BAND procedure just one year ago. For more information, make sure you go to heartfeltmoments.org. I am on the website right now; it’s heartfeltmoments.org, or go to lapband.com. They can both provide you a lot of information, and when you get to that site, at Heartfelt Moments, you’ll get to see Caitlin’s photo and also a photo of her mom, and it’s just really wonderful.
I got to see the photos, your ”before” and “after” photos, and I followed your career, and it’s just, you know, it’s just so remarkable to see the progress that you’ve made. I want to congratulate you, and I want to really congratulate you on not only your success, but taking a few moments to help educate and inform women to make really helpful proactive steps in their life.
Caitlin Van Zandt:
Oh, it’s absolutely my pleasure. Thank you for having me, Todd.
Todd:
Oh, absolutely wonderful. Well, she is Caitlin Van Zandt. Thank you so much for joining us and for helping us EmpowHer women.
Caitlin Van Zandt:
Thank you.