Fat Actress

Weight loss programs are a sham. Anyone who wants to lose weight has two possible paths:

- Reduce calorie intake (diet)
- Increase metabolic calorie burn rate (exercize)

The mathematics are that simple. Yet in an increasingly obese nation, people don't want to hear this straight talk. They want to be told that they can buy weight loss. That's why Jenny Craig, Trim-Spa, Nutri-System and a myriad of other companies rake in hundreds of millions of dollars in the weight loss industry.

Of course to get a piece of the pie, you have to convince the public that your snake oil works. Trim-Spa was very successful for a time when they hired Anna Nicole Smith and she seemed to drop a ton of weight. At that time, they also hired hefty golfer John Daly. I remember getting a chuckle from seeing Daly drag his 300+ lb. frame around golf courses in a Trim-Spa shirt. Daly never lost the weight, Anna Nicole dropped dead, and Trim-Spa went down the tubes.

Recently, Jenny Craig had to fire spokeswhale Kirstie Alley. She had been well known for struggling with her weight, and actually lost a lot for a while. But now she's well north of 200 lbs. and they had to ditch her. Her replacement isn't exactly Keira Knightly. Beefy Queen Latifa will share ad duty with the once attractive Valerie Bertanelli. Too bad Jenny Craig isn't a publicly traded company. I believe it would be time for a short sale.