When I learned that Kirstie gained back all the weight she lost, and then some, my heart went out to her, and chances are it went out from yours as well. Because the truth of the matter is that 95% of us who lose weight, gain it all back, and then some.
Because what's most secret, is what's most common...
That's why her story is also our story.
Most of us who are still overweight, or once were, are still secret eaters. In fact I was very surprised to learn that people who have maybe 5 or 10 LBS to lose are secret eaters as well.
It seems that "secret eating" is much more common that we may think.
So whether Kirstie has gained 10, 50, 83 or 100+LBS we all all can identify with her.
In my lifetime I've gained and lost at least a TON of weight. Maybe two TONS. And what has been the common denominator between going up and down on the scale?
My thoughts.
When I feel great about myself, it's easier for me to take better care of myself. I go to the gym more, I eat better, I sleep better, and the scale goes down. GOOD THOUGHTS.
When I feel poorly about myself, it's easier for me not to take better care of myself. I go to the gym less, if at all, I eat poorly, often secretly, craving carbs, and my light sleeping habits get worse, and the scale goes up. BAD THOUGHTS.
And that's the genesis of either outcome each and every time, my GOOD or BAD THINKING.
So it still seems funny to me that other than Dr. Beck, no one else is focusing on...
WHAT'S EATING US FIRST
and
WHAT WE'RE EATING SECOND.
Fat, slim, obese, fit, whatever... bottom line, IT'S ALL IN OUR HEAD.
Kirstie, if you're out there, check out Dr. Beck's books, better yet, see if she'll take you on as a patient.
And If you haven't read it online yet, below is Kirstie's story from PEOPLE magazine.
Kirstie Alley: 'Yes, I Gained 83 LBS'
By Elizabeth Leonard : PEOPLE magazine
When Kirstie Alley stepped on the scale for the first time in 15 months, it wasn't pretty. "I started screaming," Alley, sipping homemade fruit-infused water in her Hollywood kitchen, tells PEOPLE in the cover story of its new issue. "It said 228 lbs., which is my highest weight ever. I was so much more disgusting than I thought!"
But looking back, Alley, 58, is hardly shocked. During her three-year stint as a Jenny Craig spokeswoman, she famously trimmed down to 145 lbs. after losing and keeping off 75 lbs. But since parting ways with company in 2007, she had not worked out and banished her gym equipment to the garage. As for her diet, her small, low-calorie portions gave way to Chinese takeout and pasta drenched with butter. "I fell off the horse," says the 5'8" star.
Today, Alley says she is primed to hire a trainer, toss the butter and sign up for a triathlon in order to whittle her "schlumpy" figure back down to a bikini-ready 140 lbs. "Im going to have to work harder than last time," she says, but "Im way excited." In a candid interview, Alley sat down with PEOPLEs Elizabeth Leonard to talk about how she piled on the pounds -- and how she plans to get her body, confidence and -- yes! -- even her groove back.
[ PHOTOS: See Stars' Dramatic Weight Swings ]
Okay, how did this happen?
"It started with New Year's
[2008], right after leaving Jenny Craig. When you're a spokesperson for
Jenny Craig, there's responsibility. You have a person every week
standing over you when you get on the scale, and I did it naked because
those panties could weigh 30 lbs.! It was amazingly successful. But the
first nail in the coffin was that I didn't have to weigh in. I just
sort of went wild."
Did you go right back to indulging in cakes and grape sodas the way you did when you gained weight the first time?
"It
wasn't the exact same M.O. My food demons are Chinese food, fats,
butter. A lot of butter. If I'm at the movies, usually I eat popcorn
without butter, but [now] I'd say, "I'm at the movies, so who cares?"
And toast with butter. Or let's say I had two cups of pasta and six
tablespoons of butter on it. There was a lot of butter going on."
What else would you eat?
"For seven months I was a
vegetarian, and I can't tell you how much weight I gained being a
vegetarian! A vegetarian would probably be eating vegetables. But to me
being a vegetarian meant I'm going to eat enchiladas with no meat, and
I'm going to eat lots of bread, lots of carbs."
[ READ: Kirstie's Confessions of a Fat Actress ]
What weight do you want to get down to?
"I have to be below
140 to really look good. I have to work my legs like crazy. Actually,
do you want my real goal? My real goal's always too low. I love the way
I look at, like, 128. One time on 'Cheers,' I weighed about 148 lbs.,
and they told me to lose, like, 20 lbs. Now, I'm 5'8", so at 148 lbs.,
I wasn't fat. But they're saying, "You know, you need to lose 20 lbs."
So what does that put me at? 128. That's where I keep getting this
number."
Are you self-conscious?
"I'm totally inhibited. When I'm
overweight I will not go out. With my closest friends, yeah. But you
wouldn't see me at a premiere."
But you seem ready to turn your life around.
"I'm ready to
work. I messed up along the way, but I'm not going to concentrate on
that. I'm gonna go, 'You know what? Get back on the horse, lose the
freakin' weight, and then just move forward!'"
For more on Kirstie's journey from slim to "schlumpy" -- including her comments on her kids, her sex life, and how she plans to lose the pounds -- pick up the next issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, May 8!
