Jenny Craig, Kirstie Alley and more

I'm not a proponent of diets like Jenny Craig because I believe they infantalize people. Mommy Jenny makes your food for you (probably even cuts it up as well) and all you have to do is heat it up. No thinking. No planning. At least that's the way I see it. But people are successful-at least in the short run. I did know someone who had used Jenny Craig to lose weight and she was able to keep it off at least for as long as I knew her. There's really no secret to losing weight-eat less calories than you use. So pretty much any regimen will work. It's just a matter of being able to stick to it long enough for it to work.
The real issue is keeping the weight off-maintenance. I don't know any fat person who has not been able to lose weight. I know plenty-myself included-who have been unable to keep the weight off. That's where we all fall down-keeping the pounds from slowly creeping back. Don't know if it is will power or leptin or what but it happens to most of us. Or so the statistics tell us.
The chatter on the web is that Kirstie is fat again-maybe even fatter than she was when she so famously started the diet. I don't know if it is true but it wouldn't be surprising if it were. Losing weight and maintaining the loss is a lot like trying to get sober. You gotta keep trying until you're successful. And it may take lots of tries. If Kirstie has indeed gained her weight back, she's in a club with lots of other good people. If she has gotten fat again, I wish she wouldn't hide. I wish she would come out and show herself. We need people like Kirstie and Oprah to tell their fans that it's a struggle that goes on for life and you have to keep working at it if you want to stay healthy.
Fat and healthy? Is that possible? Yes, I believe it is. I want to lose weight because I feel better when I am lighter than I am now. But I'm pretty healthy. Cannot imagine being healthier. Some people are not as lucky as I am. But is it the weight, the fat surrounding the organs and cushioning the body or is the way fat people eat that makes them unhealthy? Because I got fat eating some pretty good food (along with some not so healthy stuff like fried chicken) unlike some overweight people whose weight is a product of fast food and lack of activity.
So, Kirstie, come out come out wherever you are. We're on your side.