Role Models: Help or Hindrance?

she said she would do it. And a year later, she did. I am proud of her for keeping her commitment to Oprah and her viewers. That takes guts. I am 5'6, 110lbs and there's NO WAY someone could get me to show my body of tv. But Kirstie looked good from what I saw (just a clip) So good for her.

Kudos to Kirstie for keeping her commitment and for wearing a bikini on national television at age 55. But is she a good role model? No way! As the comments on the other thread show, people are angry and confused about her apparently lying about her weight. How can she be a good role model for weight loss if she can't be honest about her weight?

And Oprah with her constantly yo-yoing weight is hardly a good role model either.

If Kirstie Alley really wanted to show off, she would of done well to get on scale before and after her weight loss. In other words -- tell the truth! Boast about her actual weight loss on a scale on Oprah instead of posing in a bikini which clearly displayed she is not 145 pounds.

And another thing, at first Kirstie said her starting weight was 201 pounds. Then she upped it to 220 and said she lost 75 pounds.

Her lying has taken away from her success in my opinion because she's presented herself as a role model to women and done them all a diservice by not being truthful. At the end of the day she's nothing more than a highly paid spokesperson who is acting for Jenny Craig.

She may have lost some weight, but not as much as she claims. She hasn't fooled me.

To those of you who think she's not lying -- let's see Kirstie on a scale then!

It's one thing to commend someone for having lost weight, but it's quite another to be proud of someone who has lied twice about her starting weight and is now claiming to be 145 pounds -- when clearly that is not the case.

Kirstie is being paid to speak for Jenny Craig and if there were any truth in advertising -- we'd see her on scale proving what her starting weight was and what her actual weight is today.

Guess some people are easily fooled by advertizers and highly paid celebrity endorsemers.

I guess I liked her heavy better. She was trying to be honest about her problems with weight. When she did the TV sitcom about being a "fat" actress...I felt she was finally being who she is. Now she's back to being the character from "Cheers". I didn't care much for her there. Who knows who she REALLY is when she isn't in front of the camera.

Maybe she is a commentary on a lot of us out here. love and peace..lynnann

She still has a ways to go...

whoa. you guys are haters.

Gracious me. She has/had a weight problem just like Oprah. That is probably the ONE thing that makes them most human. People KILL me looking for role models in everything that walks across the t.v. screen. Take the positives that you can from her and leave the negative in la la land. Hell, the fact that both of them can buy and sell their way out of most situations and struggle with their weight is more than enough reality whether she was 220 or 201. JEEZ.

Talk about misery loving company. How come one is REAL because they're fat? Accepting ones self image is important, but face it, being fat isn't healthy. Finding comfort in your favorite celebrity fatty is NOT the way to go.

I think it's great that Kirstie lost all the weight by getting healthier. When she was thin before, it was because she was using a lot of cocaine. Now she's getting healthy and just because she's self-conscious of her starting weight (come on, like no one here is a TAD ashamed of their heaviest weight), it doesn't change the fact that she has indeed lost quite a bit of weight and looks pretty good now.

Well done to her that she's lost weight but shame on her for lying about how much she started out weighing. It's taken away from her glory of it and let's face it, she's the one who's being a show off and boasting about it all. She opened herself up to the criticism as well as the compliments.

We'll see how long she keeps it off. I mean who can live on packaged processed Jenny Craig food forever? Not even the rich and famous who are getting it for free and being paid to brag about it for crying out loud.

I totally relate to Kirsty. We are both 5'8", her starting diet weight was 220, mine was 228. We are both in our 50's.

First, I remember the day she told Oprah she would come back in a bikini. She gulped bigtime upon that statement, but saying it on national TV made it something she had to live up to. People like me don't ever have to put ourselves on the line like that in front of an audience for us to tear apart in a blog like this. She was really gutsy and brave.

Second, I look to her as an inspiration for what I can achieve. I have now lost 30 pounds and I would love to get to the point where I could look like that in a bikini. I haven't worn one for 30 years.

Third, yes she may not be ideal weight for what someone else believes is thin, but she has come a long way. When you are in your 50's that is a very hard thing to accomplish. Your body is not as resilient as it was in your 20's or 30's.

I am very inspired by Kirsty.

I agree with everything in your post, Sky, it's wonderful for her that she lost all that weight, and no-one on here is saying that that's not a good thing, but what kind of positive role model tells outright lies like that?

Here in Australia we have a well-known actress, Rowena Wallace, who also did the Jenny Craig thing, and was filmed all the way through her 'amazing transformation'. She then participated in a few JC videos and promotions etc.

Since then, she's gained everything she lost (plus some, by the look of it), and has appeared on another reality program about losing weight.

What this shows is that Jenny Craig style programmes simply don't work for most people, even 'celebrities'. It's early days yet for Kirsty Alley - but I'd bet pretty good odds that she''ll be back where she was, doing another series of 'fat actress' in five years or so. And jenny Craig Co will wash its hands of her, just as they did with poor old Rowena Wallace.

In future if Kristie wants to show off on national tv, let's hope she tells the truth, or just shuts up!

I'm offended by the lying in both cases. Anyone who has been/has known someone that is 220lb knows they are much smaller than Kirstie was, even if they are considerably shorter. It is like somehow 220lb was the top weight that is acceptable to list, even if you are clearly morbidly obese like she was, and nobody will admit to a bigger number.

I don't think she lied about losing 75lb - I think she probably lost a lot more than 75lb, if not on Jenny Craig, before. She now appears to be around 180lb, and I'm sure she must have been at least 300lb, probably more like 360lb, at her heaviest. So why the dishonesty? 75lb while on JC sounds about right - that would put her starting weight at 255lb, since at Fat Actress she wasn't at her heaviest anymore.

I pulled up the video on You Tube, and I think she looks AWESOME.

I thought she was an extremely attractive larger woman while on Fat Actress,

And I don't get some of the comments in the threads saying she still has a long way to go. She wouldn't get that anywhere but in Hollywood.

I don't assume much about weight because it can vary so widely person to person. I know someone larger than me in measurements (by about 4" on the waist, 2" on the hips) who (at my height) weighs 20 lb. less (we've weighed ourselves on my body fat scale in front of each other) And I don't care much if she smudged heer weight anyways-- this is Hollywood. Her view of weight, I bet, is distorted by listening to what her friends weigh.

Anyways, y'all who still want to insult her need to look around at "normal" people, not to Hollywood... and then, some KUDOS are in effect!

I know from personal experience how hard it is to lose weight, so I am proud of both of them for being successful at that. (I don't appreciate being lied, to, however. I am 5'8" with a very similar build to Kirstie and there is NO WAY her starting weight was 220 or that she is now 145. NO WAY!)

But, my biggest problem with this whole topic is I don't consider either Oprah or Kirstie to be be role models in the area of weight loss. They are entertainers. They are businesswomen. (They are very good buisnesswomen in my opinion) But, their lives are nothing like mine so I don't want to look to them for motivation. They don't know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck and still try to buy healthy items at the grocery when it's cheaper just to get something off of Micky D's dollar menu. They have people to cook the healthy foods for them and personal trainers to push them to exercise--I have to research my own recipes, figure out my own nutritional information, make myself get out of bed every morning and go exercise.

If you want real role models, check out the websites of the people who post here regularly who have lost weight and kept it off while living in the real world. Check out profiles of people who post on WeightWatchers.com or ChangeOne.com or the gazillion of other real-world diet sites. Check out the NWRC.

(I'm not the Laura who posted above... I'm a different one)

Oprah lost her "credibility" with me a long time ago. Started with her "Favorite Things" show, which is totally fun, but completely unrealistic for us 'normal' people. I mean, come on... $500 for a SWEATER??? right. Then there's that author fiasco from last season when she 'confronted' him about lying in his memoir, but never removed her endorsement of his book. Finally, her up and down weight. I sympathize, but don't consider her a role model. She is simply too rich and too out of touch for me to identify with.

You know who I see as a good celebrity role model? Tracey Gold. Remember her? She played "Carol" on Growing Pains. She overcame anorexia, and is now healthy. But whenever she's interviewed about it, she is completely honest, saying that it requires a daily commitment from her to stay healthy, and that some days ae much harder than others. THAT kind of honesty, I respect.

As for the Kirstie Alley/Jenny Craig thing... kudos to Kirstie for losing the weight. It's a difficult thing to do. But I don't believe that she's solved any problems, and fear that she will gain it all back. I don't think that programs like J.C. address the actual problem for people like her (and me) who are self-admitted Compulsive Eaters. It takes a commitment to a life-changing attitude, and a program such as Overeaters Anonymous to get through the tough times. And accepting that you will never be free of the compulsion to eat, but that you can control it.

First of all, Kirsty is 55. Which means probably postmenopause, so she will never look the way she did before the weight gain. Also the tv cameras make her look at least 10lb more than she is. I think she looks great for her age and she will most likely lose more weight.

There is no way Kristie is 145. I am 5'5'' and weigh 140. I just had a baby and I need to trim at least 10 pounds off my frame but I am not as fat as Kristie. Even post partum I am wasy thinner than this. She would be a pencil if she weighed 145 at 5'10''. Nicole kidman is 5'10'' and weighs 140 and she is a stick.

I think Kristie is a lovely looking person but I am upset that she has lied about her weight. I once struggled with an eating disorder and this will make people think that 145 is way too much for them to weight if they are 5'10'' and 145. This is how I now feel. I know I need to lose 10 pounds to approach looking slender based on bmi but looking at these images has put doubt in my mind that I now need to lose at least 30 pound:(.

It was very dumb of her to go on tv looking like this. She is well on her way to being slim and looking wonderful. Why did she have to make a spectable of herself anyhow???

Why did she have to make a spectable of herself anyhow???

Well Shannon that's a good question. I think the most obvious answer is that she's another attention seeking celebrity, a has been tv and movie actress and looking to grab the publicity. Not forgetting the money she's made to become a Jenny Craig evangelist.

Doesn't impress me much.

I thought she looked great!

I think she looks great.
While she’s not my inspiration I had started my journey before her. If she is lying that’s between her and her creator but when I hit 220 I swore I was 195 and I wasn’t lying I just hadn’t weighed myself in a while and the 220 was a shock to me. I can’t judge what Kristie weighed. Now I look thinner than most people my weight due to where I lost it. Buy I looked a lot fatter than Kristie at her heaviest when I was 234.8 My ww weight.

Shannon
at 145 at 55 Your BMI is 24.1, indicating your weight is within the normal range for adults of your height.
You don't really need to lose ten pounds maybe a little toning but at that weight you are far from overweight and most likely look better than you think you do.
Also some loose skin happns after birth and some thinks the longer you keep the weight off.

I am not saying you don't have a right to feel overweight but the fact is you are normal.

Some of it also is puffiness due to water. Woman are supposed to have 25% body fat so maby it's not that kristie lied or not. But the fact you are so used to the ultar thin models and celbs that it's hard to tell what people are suppossed to look like now.

Hi, everyone,

I'm pretty long-winded, so I apologize up front! Those of us with weight issues always have a lot to say!

I've been following Kirstie's journey with Jenny Craig, expecting what has happened. I had to watch Oprah, and I thought I might even be jealous because I've lost lots of weight so many times in my life only to find it again and again. I wasn't at all jealous. I was angry, at first, but I ended up feeling sorry for Kirstie.

I'll never be a bikini model, but I never wanted to be. Kirstie did a disservice to anyone with a weight problem. She and Oprah have done harm to the already terrible stigma of being fat. Did anyone really watch Kirstie? Could you see how unbelievably self-conscious she was? Not even Oprah believed the 145 pounds, and it was obvious. The last thing the fattie world needs is a public figure who is obviously lying. It's impossible to celebrate a victory. I would have really cheered her on if she'd been honest about her weight, focusing on the comparison between where she was and is now.

I would have also been impressed if she had worn the suit with self-love, but it was obvious that she couldn't wait for the segment to end. Why did she have the skirt? We all know.

It's insulting to those of us who have struggled for so long to think that we could be fooled, and it bothers me that a figure as influential as Oprah would go along with it. Fat is a huge societal issue.

I felt from the beginning that Kirstie was trying to shame herself into losing the weight by going so public with it, which we know isn't going to work. It would have been so much better to have refused to torture herself by saying that she wasn't where she wanted to be and felt too inhibited to wear a bikini.

I was looking at another blog yesterday, and what started out being comments about Kirstie ended up with a vicious attack on a woman who stated that she was large herself. The posters lost the topic because they were so busy bullying the fattie. I couldn't believe the disgust fat still musters in people. Shame and fat still go hand-in-hand. Nobody who is fat wants to be; it's not about will power. Fat is a symptom of other problems. Look at how the obesity rate is rising in this unhappy country of ours.

Kirstie's problems aren't over -- there is still way too much insecurity on that face. Being obsessed with losing weight is as harmful as the food obsession itself. Someone above mentioned what a slow process it is, and it's true. I've lost tons of weight fast, only to gain it again. I'm working on a different strategy right now, and while it's much slower, it's working.

I still allow myself my comfort food, but it's only the first step in a healing process. Comfort food has a place, and my focus is on shortening that phase of pain and getting on to healing. In acknowledging that I'm eating because I hurt, it allows me to mourn and move on, which causes me to eat less. I've lost 20 pounds in a year, and I'm still obese. But it's the first time in my life that those pounds have stayed off.

I don't like being fat, and I'm going to keep working - hard. What is working is the simplicity of the plan - good days and bad days, without self-recrimination. It's the most honest and self-loving way I've ever lost weight before - no pills, diets, surgery, shame, obsession, or brainwashing.

OK, that's enough - I get pretty passionate!

Jackie

I don't care if she lied, although I never believed that she topped out at 220. Closer to 300, I would guess. Facing up to your scales can be terrifying.

And I agree that she probably weighed more than 145 in that bikini. BUT, she looked fabulous!

It's obvious that she's lost a lot of weight. Being 55, that makes her an inspiration in my book.

Jackie, great post.

iportion, the difference is if you said your top weight was 195lb and it was 220lb, it doesn't matter. If a celebrity that is not being PAID by a weight loss plan to be a spokesperson for their plan lies about their current or starting weight or both, it also doesn't matter. But in her case, we are dealing with false advertising, and that does matter.

I am curious why no one has taken into account that TV adds 10 lbs. KA looks like she weights about 155-160lbs in her bikini. Take away 10 lbs and you have 145-150lbs. I think she is telling the truth. She carries her weight in her thighs and probably in her younger years she weighted around 130 with a small upper body and slender thighs. A taller person has a wider range of "normal" weight. She probably wears a size 8 (or 10) on the bottom and a size smaller on the top.

I think she looked so different that what was expected because we are used to seeing altered photos that make her (and anyone else who appears in print, even the skinny models) look like an idealized perfect woman. All any woman needs is the right lighting and photo editor to be glamorous and gorgeous. KA's appearance was highly staged, with body makeup, careful lighting and body movements; however, you can be assured she knew the camera would add weight. The woman has courage and she looked curvy, healthy and beautiful.

Also goddess does have a point with the camorra adding pounds

Jan
Sadly 220 wasn't my top weight. I am honest with how heavy 234.8 was my weight watcher weight and even that wasn’t my top weight.

My point is people a lot of times are in self denial about big they are or were.
I had people who made fun of my weight who didn’t realize they were bigger than me.
They were in “I am not that big” mode and a lot of times people who think that way are.

If her top weight was higher it be the co's best interest to tell the truth because if she was 300 than she lost more than 75. But there are a couple of companies who lie out right and even out up people who lost with other programs.

iportion, so that is one of the reasons I think that JC is being dishonest. If you were just a regular WW member, not a spokesperson or anything, and your weight was recorded the minute you joined, so was Kirstie's.

So in short: kudos to Kirstie, shame on Jenny Craig.

Jackie said:
Hi, everyone,[...]

Your best is the best one I've read on this blog so far! Well said. And all the best of luck to you and thanks for the words of wisdom and inspiration!!!

Sky said:

Your POST is the best one I've read on this blog so far! Well said. And all the best of luck to you and thanks for the words of wisdom and inspiration!!!
[...]

Quoted to correct error ... wish this blog had an edit feature!!!

Give the woman a break!!!! What difference does it make 90, 10 or even having her stomach reduced. She lost it!!!! Good for her! She shouldn't have to say where she started, look at her now-she looks amazing.

Snippy, so Jenny Craig doesn't have to prove any of their claims according to you, of how much weight was lost or even if the weight was lost by using their program or having her stomach stapled? Wow. Advertisers would be so much happier if everyone thought like you.

I'm in NZ so I haven't seen the video of Kirstie although maybe I can hunt it down on UTube

Kirsite
I wrote about Kirstie http://taliamana.blogspot.com/2006/10/beauty-only-click-away.html less than a month ago. Candid photos of Kirstie in September show she was at least 180lb. I seriously doubt that she could have got to her stated weight in a healthy way in that time frame.

Kirstie - well ahem. Those Jenny Craig photos use a lot of camera "tricks".

To name a few:
- she is wearing shaping underwear to pull in the extra fat
- the pictures have been photoshopped
- the angle is especially flattering

In short there is a lot of deception involved in those photographs and it doesn't reflect well on Jenny Craig or Kirstie.

Oprah
I believe Oprah is a shocking role model for weight loss. Every time she looses weight she parades a new fitness/weight loss expert on stage and shows us her new trim body and then it starts over again. She must have gained and lost several hundred pounds in the last 10 years. It's appalling that she makes such a fuss every time she looses weight. On the one hand it is inspiring, but then she gets plump again and ruins it.

Also, the last Oprah diet I recall was pure deprivation. She ate almost nothing and drastically restricted the food groups that she ate from. NONE of her changes have been permanent.

WHOS YOUR FAVORITE CELEBRITY ROLEMODEL?

no one they are all on drugs, or have messed up lives, probably oprah if i had to choose
My role model is God

I thought Kirstie looked fabulous.A few pound one way or the other so what,,anyone can see she has lose a good chunk. I think arguing over her honesty over afew pounds is more unrealistic,personally. She was booed on the Oprah show for her bravery showing her great new body. I was baffled by that.She is not some thin boned waif after all.
Interestingly, I saw an ad for the new Kirstie/Oprah partership and they showed the clip where Kirstie shows her stuff. They edited the footage so you hear cheers not jeers when she revials her body.To me...thats more dishonest..