Kirstie Alley was on the Oprah show today and they were discussing the causes of her falling off the wagon. If you didn't know, Kirstie Alley used to be the Jenny Craig spokesperson and lost a lot of weight. She has since put on all of the weight she lost and what happened to her is nothing uncommon.
Many people have lost weight only to put it back on. Since she is in the public eye, and was recently promoting Jenny Craig, every pound she gains is scrutinized. Here are some of the things that caused her to fall off the wagon:
She Stopped Exercising
While she was still on the Jenny Craig program, she kept all of her exercise equipment in her house (dining room area) and worked out regularly. Eventually, she stored all of her equipment in her garage and stopped exercising all together.
No Longer Accountable
Kirstie mentioned that it was easier to keep the weight off when she was a spokesperson because of the pressure placed on her from the legal standpoint. She had to lose weight because of the business agreement between her and Jenny Craig. She was weighed in all the time and being under that kind of pressure forced her to meet her goals. Once the pressure was taken off, it was all too easy to indulge in the wrong foods and slack off.
How She Could Have Stayed On Track
I do think her big mistake was stopping the exercise. When you slack off on exercising, it's all too easy to regain the weight and even harder to get motivated to exercise again. Even if she wanted all of her exercise equipment out of her dining room, she should have continued to exercise.
It seemed like she did better at exercising and eating the right foods when she was under some type of pressure. Maybe it would have helped to answer to someone like a personal trainer.
One thing I noticed was that she kept apologizing for letting people down. I don't feel she needed to apologize for that at all. If anything, people who have dealt with weight issues should know where she is coming from.
Another point that Oprah made was that we usually give ourselves 5 pounds to play with. The problem is that gaining 5 pounds can easily turn into 25 pounds if you're not careful.
Did you watch the show? What do you think?
Drink one shake a day to help with weight loss. Buy Shakeology and try it for 30-days. Order on home direct for FREE shipping and two bonus gifts!
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Most people mistakenly believe you can stop doing the work once you lose the weight. If you don’t continue to work a program of staying at a healthy weight, you will ultimately gain it back. So it is important to find ways to do this that you can live with–not just for a couple of years but for the rest of your life. If you ask any normal weight person how they keep the weight off they will tell you — they monitor what they eat, stay within a range of their ideal weight (no more than a couple of pounds), plan for events where they may overeat (parties, vacations, etc.), exercise, sleep well, etc. There is no magic pill — just hard work that eventually becomes automatic and thus easier to manage. You need to keep constant reminders of what you need to do to keep the weight off — or you will become complacent and gain your weight back, just like you did originally.
@FitGal – I couldn’t agree with you more. Well said.
What is her motivation to stay slim? It’s so easy to stay focused and work towards your goal when someone else requires you to do it. It’s so much harder when you’r on your own. Stop and think for a moment and ask yourself why you want to do this. Let that be your motivation.