Right before America gets ready to overindulge for the holidays, Jessica Simpson reveals she has lost 60 pounds. While on tour promoting her fashion line's Winter collection, Jessica revealed her new look and gave us a tease of her upcoming Weight Watchers commercial. We're taking a look at her new slim figure in this very lean PopSugar Rush.
It's official! After months of rumors that have been swirling throughout her pregnancy, Jessica Simpson confirmed that she's going on Weight Watchers to lose her baby weight. "So excited to be part of the @WeightWatchers family!" she tweeted this morning. The new mom joins other celebs who've used the diet program successfully; read on to find out other stars who are fans of Weight Watchers!
This week on Mad Men's "Dark Shadows" episode, Weight Watchers serves as a type of therapy for Betty Francis, who can definitely use it. Boredom, jealousy, and insecurity dominate Betty's life as a 1960s housewife on her second marriage, and she's turned to bags of Bugles to pass the time. Now determined to lose the weight, the former model turns to a new diet plan gaining popularity with women like her, Weight Watchers. Considering Betty's mother-in-law already tried to push diet pills on her, which contained amphetamines at the time, the group meetings are the responsible approach to weight loss for Betty Francis.
If you think Weight Watchers was a phenomenon of the '80s or remember Duchess Sara Ferguson as its spokeswoman in the '90s, you may have been surprised to see Betty attending meetings way back in the '60s. Jean Nidetch, the founder of Weight Watchers, got the idea for the weight-loss method after struggling herself to lose and keep off weight with diets and pills. Jean, who had weighed as much as 214 pounds, lost 20 with a diet prescribed by the New York City Board of Health, but couldn't keep it off. So in 1961, she decided to hold meetings with other women facing the same issues with weight at her home in Queens, NY. By Oct. 1962, she had lost 72 pounds.
Thanks to her success, Jean's meetings took off, and she went from having them every week to multiple times a day. She soon recruited other group leaders, like the one we saw running Betty Francis's meetings, who had previously lost weight with the program and continued to keep it off. In 1963, Jean and her husband Marty incorporated the business, and by 1965, they exported the franchises to Canada, Puerto Rico, Great Britain, and Israel, with 102 in total. Changes would come in the '70s, with a psychologist coming on and exercise being introduced, and in 1978 the company was purchased for $100 million by another brand featured this season on Mad Men: H.J. Heinz.
In 2010, Weight Watcher's founder published her autobiography, The Jean Nidetch Story: An Autobiography, which came after her 1972 book The Story of Weight Watchers. The autobiography is described as the story of Jean's "personal struggles, rags-to-riches rise, and sunny, can-do attitude." If only Betty had a hint of a sunny disposition. Instead, her all-consuming jealousy is casting dark shadows.
Photo courtesy of AMC
FitSugar reader Ambitious Kitchen adapted a Weight Watchers recipe for oatmeal blueberry banana bread! She shared her recipe in our Healthy Recipe group.
Love banana bread? Me too! You want to know what I don't love? All of the fat and calories in each slice. I adapted a Weight Watchers recipe, and fell in love with this moist, healthy banana bread. Feel free to sub in half of the flour for whole wheat if desired.
Get your oven ready and find out how to make this recipe at the healthy food blog, Ambitious Kitchen! Don't forget to share your own recipes in our Healthy Recipe group.
For celebs like Jennifer Hudson, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jenny McCarthy, and funny lady Tina Fey, Weight Watchers was the key to slimming down their figures. The program also offers success to us commoners — I know a handful of people who've lost college or baby weight using the point system. We know it works, but now we really know. A recent scientific study has proven those on Weight Watchers lose twice as much weight as compared to those dieting under the care of their primary care provider.
Although funded by Weight Watchers International, an independent research team carried out the study and collected all the data. I know it seems a little fishy to take note of a study about Weight Watchers that was paid for by the company, but the results speak for themselves.
Keep reading to hear more details about the Weight Watchers study.
Consumer Reports recently came out with its latest diet ratings, and Jenny Craig is on top. The diet program took top billing in part because most people on it stay on it for a while; a recent study found that 92 percent of dieters on the plan stayed on it for two years.
Three of the top four, actually, also featured branded prepackaged meals. Rated just behind Jenny Craig was Slim Fast, which offers branded meal replacement bars and shakes to help you lose weight. The Zone's delivered meals also were rated highly, coming in fourth. And while third-place Weight Watchers doesn't require product-endorsed meals as part of the diet, it does sell optional frozen meals and includes meetings or online counseling for support.
The diets that came in last, however, were the low-carb Atkins program and Ornish, the diet that emphasizes whole grains, fruits, and vegetables while limiting animal products. While there are support plans available for both diets, the main tenets of both can just be followed by buying a book.
Finding a diet that works for you can no doubt be a challenge; some people may love the convenience of knowing what and how much to eat, others may scoff at eating processed or frozen foods. Are you a fan of prepackaged diet programs like Jenny Craig and Slim Fast? What do you like about them?
Jennifer Hudson is hard not to love, especially after seeing her recent appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. During the interview, Jennifer talks about going from a size 16 to six, but says that she's as happy now as she was then and always loved her body, regardless of its size. Jennifer slimmed down to play Winnie Mandela in the upcoming movie about the South African first lady. To lose the weight, she enlisted the help of Weight Watchers and trainer Harley Pasternak. She also had a little help from her adorable baby boy — watch the video to see how he keeps his mom in shape and the one thing that Jennifer says being slim makes "more fun."
Every woman wants to feel like she could walk a runway even those who have just given birth! So who better to offer up the gold rules for dressing the postpartum figure than Project Runway's Tim Gunn. I had the chance to chat with the cohost and Chief Executive Officer for Liz Claiborne after he hosted a Weight Watchers fashion show. Check out his pointers for selecting flattering and appropriate outfits!
Actress Ginnifer Goodwin is smiling her way into the new year on Health's January/February 2011 cover. In the interview, the actress speaks candidly about her struggle with weight and admits that she's been on and off the Weight Watchers program since she was 9 years old. She only uses the diet program for times when she is exceptionally indulgent, and instead keeps up a healthy fitness and diet routine. Here are the highlights:
Weight loss stories are inspiring — especially when there's photographic proof. Even though a good majority of Hollywood stars are already in great shape, there were quite a few weight loss reveals in 2010. If you're looking for some motivation to lose a few pounds or add a little definition to your arms, keep reading! And don't forget to take a look at the picture to your left — since appearing on DWTS, Kelly Osbourne has dropped five dress sizes. Inspiring, right?
