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printer-friendly version| This article was originally featured in OH Magazine. Click here to learn more. Fat was Hardly a Laughing Matter for Actress JoMarie Payton  Mocking fat people has long since been a staple of comedy,but for actress JoMarie Payton the subject matter hit a little too close to home. Although she was sought after for her portrayal of sassy, quick-witted heavyset characters on TV, being unhealthy and overweight was not a role Payton coveted in real life.Following a stark warning from her physician 18 years ago, Payton worried that she could soon be playing an actual death scene caused by her escalating weight problem?which topped out at 286pounds?and would miss watching her daughter grow up.?My knees were starting to buckle under me,? recalls the 52-year-old actress. ?I had a stomachache that doubled me over. I was so heavy I went into a diabetic state. But what my doctor told me really scared me. I?ll never forget the look in his eyes when he said, ?You better lose weight or you will die.? He warned me that this was only the beginning and that eventually I could develop more serious ailments such as heart disease and diabetes.? Payton was referred to Dr. Mal Fobi after a discussion about WLS with her doctor. ?I thought my doctor was crazy at first when he first mentioned it,? Payton says. ?I could lose weight when I put my mind to it. I tried every diet imaginable. But each time, the same thing would happen. I would drop 40 pounds in six weeks only to gain it back when ever I went off the diet. But I was very impressed with my surgeon when I met him. He told me that he would do everything he could to help me. That was a profound statement for me and helped me trust him.? A Courageous Act In 1985, Payton underwent the Fobi Pouch Gastric Bypass surgery.As a result, Payton has lost more than 100 pounds, and more importantly, she has been able to keep it off maintaining her weight currently at around 160 pounds. ?It was the best thing that ever happened tome. This surgery has made me more honest and truthful about my life. Better yet, I can eat anything I want and still get into my size 10 or 12 clothes,? says Payton. Payton was born in Albany, Georgia, the second oldest of nine children and the oldest girl. Obesity didn't run in her family, as she was the only one of her siblings to suffer from an excess weight condition. JoMarie?s weight troubles began asa teenager and reached its peak in her mid-thirties after the birth of her daughter. Payton said the motivating force to change her life was her daughter who is now 20.?I did it more for her than for myself. I considered having her such a blessing because at one time I didn?t think I was going to have any kids.I wanted to be around to do everything with her a mother could do. I wanted to go to Disneyland and do fun things with my child. I wanted tobe able to give the best I could give her as far as a parent relationship.Now, my daughter is in college and doing well.? Several years after she slimmed down, Payton garnered one of her more noteworthy roles as the effervescent mother of the Winslow household, Harriette Winslow, in the long running TV sitcom ?Family Matters.? The Harriette Winslow of?Family Matters? actually came into existence two years earlier with Payton-Noble as the tart-tongued elevator operator of the ABC-TV series ?Perfect Strangers.? Harriette became such a hit with viewers that the producers created ?Family Matters? as a spin-off series to star her and cast Reginald Vel Johnson as her husband. ?Losing the weight has given mea more competitive spirit, not to mention more energy. I am able to move around better on the set, of course.My self-esteem has always been there but now I have the confidence to challenge auditions like never before,? she says. The National Commission on Working Women honored Payton with the 1990 Alice Award for her portrayal on ?Family Matters.? Jo-Marie continues to thrive personally and professionally. She was recently nominated for an NAACP Image Award for her work as the character ?Suga Mama? in the Disney animated series ?The Proud Family.? ?I tell everyone you don?t have to walk around miserable, fat and unhealthy,? Payton adds. ?I am a living witness to how well Dr. Fobi?s weight loss surgery works. I?ve never had any major problems. I no longer live in denial. I am proud to know someone who could help me live a healthier, longer and more full life.? You can watch JoMarie live this fall on CBS?s ?Judging Amy?, on Fox TV?s ?Wanda At Large? and on ABC?s?The Big House? where she will be reunited with her TV husband, Reginald Vel Johnson in a mid-season replacement show. Upcoming films include a feature fi lm entitled ?Gas?and the long-awaited animated movie, ?The Proud Family.? JoMarie is also and accomplished singer and released a jazz album in 1999 entitled Southern Shadows. |