- Al Roker lost 100 pounds when he got gastric bypass surgery in 2002, which he wrote a book about.
- Roker went after Jillian Michaels for stating that a ketogenic diet is unhealthy.
- Al Roker keto diet pill scams flood the Internet falsifying endorsements and his celebrity status
The ketogenic diet is one of the most popular diets in 2020, as it was in the top 10 most searched diet programs in 2019 according to Google search trends analysis. While keto diet pills and keto protein shakes are everywhere, so are fraudulent marketing gimmicks and advertising tactics that claim Al Roker used a random supplement vs following the ketogenic diet plan. Let's review Al Roker's keto story and outline how to avoid these fake schemes.
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Al Roker's Story on Using the Ketogenic Diet to Lose Weight
Anyone who has tuned in to NBC’s Today show in the last two decades knows the name Al Roker. Born in Queens, New York, Roker has been a staple of NBC and has even been featured in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest uninterrupted live weather report in 2014. However, one of his endeavors that has gotten substantial media coverage has been his weight loss.
Roker went through gastric bypass surgery in 2002, following his admitted failure of trying different substantial diet plans. The surgery led to a loss of 100 pounds, which was followed by his book over a decade later called, Never Goin’ Back: Winning the Weight Loss Battle for Good. However, his recent work to maintain his health and reach an even healthier weight has involved a diet that Roker seemingly is compatible with, the keto diet.
Roker’s choice of the keto diet had been highlighted by the Today show in March 2019, when the weather anchor stated that he’d been following the regimen for about seven months. At the time, he said, “I’ve lost about 40 pounds,” as he showed his audience a low-carb, keto-friendly recipe for sloppy joes and bread.
The decision to embrace the keto diet has been well publicized by Roker himself, who stated that he’s been able to keep his cholesterol levels balanced as a result of the diet. Roker stated, “My cholesterol, just had them checked a couple of weeks ago. Everything’s good.”
The standard keto diet requires that participants eat high-fat food, while almost entirely avoiding carbohydrates all together. The goal of the program is that the user maintains a 4:1 ratio of fat to carbs and protein, allowing the individual to lose weight through burning fat for energy, rather than the carbohydrates they eat.
Jillian Michaels has been notoriously aggressive against the keto diet. On January 5th, she tweeted out an article from Insider that claims keto to be “the worst diet for healthy eating.” The article goes on to state that a ketogenic diet is risky for the heart, while capturing many of the arguments that Michaels has taken on in opposition of this diet.
oh wait… what's that you say https://t.co/d3pdhMVE3p
— Jillian Michaels (@JillianMichaels) January 6, 2020
Roker, following this tweet, came after Michaels on Twitter, remarking that Michaels has continually “promoted on-camera bullying, deprivation, manipulation, and more” to get people to lose weight. Instead of keto being bad for the body, Roker accused Michaels of having her own “bad ideas” for fitness.
So @JillianMichaels says #Keto is a bad idea. This from a woman who promoted on camera bullying , deprivation, manipulation and more weekly in the name of weight loss. Now those sound like bad ideas
— Al Roker (@alroker) January 10, 2019
Reactions from these tweets were mixed, as some followers posted their success stories with keto, while others were frustrated over Roker’s decision to go out of his way and go after Michaels. On the Today show, Roker stated,
“There’s science on both sides that says it’s not a great idea and science that says it is a great idea.”
While Michaels hasn’t made any retort to Roker’s tweet or comments during the Today show, there have already been companies using Roker’s likeness as a way to support their keto supplement advertisements. In fact, there are even some supplements that state that he has his own supplement. While Roker has continued to support his weight loss choices on Twitter and in other social media, he doesn’t promote keto supplements at all.
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