There have been hints and rumors lately that the character Ashlee on Guiding Light was going to have a weight loss show. Not just behind the scenes but it was actually going to be scripted into the show. And this week it has actually started to air.

They haven't come out and explained it to be the lapband instead the characters just keep referring to "WLS" but there have been a couple scenes with a pamphlet about the surgery and it is titled "GastroStrap System". As far as I can tell from Google there is no such thing but it sure sounds like a band to me. I can't see how that could be twisted into RNY or one of the other versions of WLS.

It's kind of silly actually, if the show isn't specifically paid for product placements they will go unnecessarily out of there way to change labels and logos. For instance I noticed the other day at one of the stores a character was shopping in the little credit card symbols next to the register that looked like Visa and Master Card actually read Vista and Master Care or something similar.

Too bad Allergan couldn't have found a way in on this one it would have been great advertising. The realise band wouldn't have a shot however as it is by Johnson and Johnson which is a big rival of Proctor & Gamble who produces the show.

For those that don't watch the show Caitlin VanZandt who plays Ashlee is one of the best actresses on the show. She is already beautiful and just shines on the screen. I have absolutely LOVED watching her character develop on the show.

I am so proud of her allowing (or I almost suspect - pushing) for this storyline to be told. It would have been so easy for her to have just hid it and let everyone think she had managed to lose with Diet & Exercise alone.

One of the best parts of this being a soap is that it can show some of the issues we have to face both coming to the decision to have the band as well as living with it.

P.S. Caitlin - If you are lurking around LBT, I wish you nothing but the best. YOU ROCK!!!

Guess I'm the only one that watches Guiding Light. It's been interesting already even though it isn't getting a lot of airplay there is a fairly active conversation going on about the band and WLS in general on the shows community forum pages.

Guess I'll just have to be content to talking to them about the show.

I don't watch the Guiding Light, but I think it's great that they are bringing WLS to the forefront. It's been a dirty little secret for so long, it's time that people wake-up and realize that it's part of the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and it works!

I've never seen the show, but I think it's great that they are working her real life situation into the show. I just hope it's not made to poke fun at the lapband. Hopefully they will show the good and the sometimes bad parts of the journey.

I do like soap operas though. I watch General Hospital and Days of Our Lives. I get the soap channel so I can just surf the guide to see when it airs.

Hmmmm............I checked the guide and it doesn't look like it comes on the Soap Net. Wonder why?

I don't watch soaps and I'm not sure I've even heard of Guiding Light.

(Ok, I did watch a few seasons of Passions TIVOed from SciFi because I went to school with one of the actors and thought it was hilarious).

I'm confused tho. A RL actress on the show had lap-band, and now they've worked it into her character's storyline? So the actress WAS fat on the show, but is NOW skinny and has also NOW gotten a gastric strap while skinny? Or she wasn't on the show until she was already skinny, and now her skinny character has a strap? (Replace skinny with average, normal, etc. - it's just easier to type).

I don't watch soaps and I'm not sure I've even heard of Guiding Light.

(Ok, I did watch a few seasons of Passions TIVOed from SciFi because I went to school with one of the actors and thought it was hilarious).

Ok, I've to ask, which character did you go to school with? I used to watch Passions a little here and there because it came on right after Days of Our Lives. I'm just curious because I am pretty familiar with most of the characters.

I don't watch soaps and I'm not sure I've even heard of Guiding Light.

(Ok, I did watch a few seasons of Passions TIVOed from SciFi because I went to school with one of the actors and thought it was hilarious).

I'm confused tho. A RL actress on the show had lap-band, and now they've worked it into her character's storyline? So the actress WAS fat on the show, but is NOW skinny and has also NOW gotten a gastric strap while skinny? Or she wasn't on the show until she was already skinny, and now her skinny character has a strap? (Replace skinny with average, normal, etc. - it's just easier to type).

She is overweight on the show so we will be watching her lose weight, hopefully. I don't know if the actress actually had the surgery or will be having it.

I don't watch the show but I read another post about it so I went to cbs.com and watched a little of Thursday's episode where she told some dude she decided to have the surgery.

Here's some info on the history of the character, including the WLS line, and a picture of the actress:

Ashlee Wolfe Played by Caitlin Van Zandt on Guiding Light - Soaps.com

and here's a bit more about the actress:

Caitlin Van Zandt - Ashlee - GUIDING LIGHT - GL - Bio

That is so cool! I don't watch this soap, but I may have to Tivo it once and check it out! Good luck to her!

It is only a rumor as far as I know that she has had it in real life but she has been losing some weight as of late so I think it may be true. She is still fairly overweight at least it appears so next to all the other very thin actresses on the show.

Oh and the "Dude" she was telling about it, is her boyfriend on the show. He is not bad on the eyes, though a bit young for me. Best of all they had their first an on screen "love scene" this week. Everyone on the GL board which I never visited before this storyline started, is all happy that the show didn't shy away from showing them in an intimate moment just because of her weight.

He has been supportive for the most part but still keeps trying to talk her out of it based on the idea that he loves her as she is now and that she doesn't need to lose weight just to please him or others. Sometimes that kind of "support" isn't very supportive for me at least, though no one on the GL boards can understand that.

I watched one of the online shows, the one where she goes to the doctor (I think it was the 10th's show). Very interesting to me. I may have to watch it now just to see what happens. That's all I need, another soap opera to watch, lol. My curiosity has gotten the best of me, so I'm sure I will tune in to it.

I'm all about supporting the band, but I think a more dramatic soap storyline would be for her character to have had the DS and have the other cast members deal with the nightmare digestive issues!!! That, I might watch....:huh2:

I have watched Guiding Light since I was a kid! Every other thing in the world has been brought up on this show. It's about time that they did something on weight loss. I think Ashley is beautiful the way she is, I can't wait to see her transformation!

I had to go looking to see if someone started a thread on this -- glad they did.

I have watched Guiding Light since I was a small child. There were periods off and on where I stopped for various reasons, but since I got DVR I got right back into it. Not as good as it used to be, but the nostalgia factor is still there for me.

I was glad to see a young overweight actress on the show. Ashlee is an interesting character, and although I got frustrated with how long it took for her to get together with her boyfriend, Coop, I've enjoyed their storyline. The show, like most soaps, is notorious for unrealistic storylines when it comes to medical stuff. For example, the hospital (Cedars) has one doctor that seems to do just about everything. I was surprised that Dr. Rick wasn't the one who did Ashlee's surgery.

When the surgery was brought up, I waited to see what kind. They just kept saying "weight loss surgery." It wasn't until recently that Ashlee said "gastric banding." It would've been a great product placement for Allergan but oh well. The details haven't been too off yet...except for when her mother, Doris called it "gastric bandage surgery." And when Ashlee came out of surgery and Doris and Coop were by her bedside, she had oxygen on. I wouldn't imagine she'd still have it on unless there were complications.

I didn't think that the lead-up was too bad either. She stressed to the doctor that she'd done a lot of research and thought a lot about it, that she wanted to be healthy and have her outside match her inside. And I think Coop is absolutely adorable. They had a great love scene the day before her surgery.

So I'm optimistic about how this will go and hope that it might encourage others to do research too.

Edited April 17, 200818 yr by GreenChrysalis