October 26, 2007

Carnie Wilson Will Speak at Nov. 8 Siouxland Program

Carnie Wilson, the celebrity singer and author now well known for losing half her weight after undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery in 1999, will be the featured speaker at a free community program on Thursday, Nov. 8 at the Marina Inn and Conference Center in South Sioux City.

Hosted by the Mercy Weight Loss Center at Dakota Dunes, the special event will begin with refreshments and hors d’oeuvres during a social “half-hour” at 6:30 p.m., which will be followed by Wilson’s program at 7 p.m. After the program, Wilson will be available to visit with attendees and to sign her books for them during a second social hour.

During her Siouxland appearance, Wilson will share her story of how she overcame a lifelong struggle with obesity to achieve personal satisfaction, professional success, and new dimensions of physical and emotional health. As part of her program, she will also field questions from her audience.

" We are very excited to have Carnie Wilson coming to Siouxland to share her weight loss surgery experience with us,” noted Dr. William Rizk, medical director of Mercy Bariatric Services. “We hope she will be an inspiration to others."

One of two daughters born to Brian Wilson, co-founder of the '60s supergroup, the Beach Boys, Carnie Wilson achieved stardom on her own right in the 1990s as part of the vocal trio Wilson Phillips – an extremely popular soft pop group which also featured her sister Wendy and childhood friend, Chynna Phillips, daughter of John and Michelle Phillips. Released in 1991, the group’s debut album, Wilson Phillips, yielded three hit songs – including the No. 1 single “Hold On” – and sold 10 million copies. The self-titled album also netted four Grammy nominations for the group, as well as a Billboard Music Award for “Hot 100 Single of the Year” (“Hold On”).

Along with the overnight popularity of Wilson Phillips came comments from fans and the media about Carnie Wilson’s weight and image because she was heavier than each of her two counterparts.

Wilson Phillips’ second CD, Shadows and Light (1992), debuted at No. 4 on the charts.

From 1995-96, Wilson hosted a syndicated daytime talk show, “Carnie!”

By the late 1990s, Wilson achieved a second fame of sorts by going public with her struggles with weight – a battle which included stints on the popular “Celebrity Fit Club” and a gastric bypass operation that she allowed broadcast on the Internet. The procedure resulted in her losing 150 pounds and dropping from a size 28 to a size 6. Wilson appeared on numerous talk shows to discuss the experience, and also appeared in an infomercial that promoted the surgery for those suffering from morbid obesity.

In the last few years, Wilson has very openly shared her story. In addition to the talk show circuit, she made guest appearances on several television shows, including “That ‘70s Show,” wrote the first of three books about food and weight loss (Gut Feeling: From Fear and Despair to Health and Hope) in 2001, and posed in Playboy magazine to show off her figure.

In 2003, Wilson released a second book, I'm Still Hungry: Finding Myself Through Thick and Thin. After attempting to launch a solo music career that year with the CD For the First Time, Wilson reunited with her sister and Phillips to release California, a collection of covers of pop songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s.

In 2005, Wilson wrote her third book, To Serve with Love. With her husband, musician Rob Bonfiglio, she also gave birth to a daughter, Lola. Once again, Wilson found it difficult to shed the pounds she gained during her pregnancy, so she signed on for “Celebrity Fit Club” in 2006 and lost 22 pounds over the course of the viewing season. That year, she also served as a correspondent on “Entertainment Tonight” and hosted the E! Entertainment Network special “101 Incredible Celebrity Slimdowns.”

The singer/actress also found time to release her solo CD, A Mother’s Gift… Lullabies From the Heart, which was a collection of songs for her daughter. Her father Brian even appeared on a cover of the classic song, “You Are So Beautiful.”

Most recently, Wilson released a holiday music CD, Christmas with Carnie.

The Nov. 8 event will also serve as an annual reunion for people who have had bariatric (weight loss) surgery at Mercy Medical Center, where such procedures have been performed since 1976.

The Mercy Weight Loss Center at Dakota Dunes was established last year as a collaborative joint venture between Mercy Medical Center—Sioux City, Dr. William Rizk, Dr. Michael Wolpert, and Dr. Keith Vollstedt. The program provides specialized counseling and education services for weight loss surgery patients in one convenient location inside Midlands Clinic at 705 Sioux Point Road in Dakota Dunes, S.D. Jennifer Black, R.N. CBN, is the program coordinator for the center.

While the Nov. 8 community event is free of charge, advance reservations are necessary and can be arranged by calling Mercy at (712) 279-2989 or by visiting www.mercysiouxcity.com.