Sara Rue Regains Weight, Becomes Jenny Craig Spokesperson
Thanks to @lilowen, who apparently has a long memory, for the heads up on this item!
We first wrote about Sara Rue all the way back in aught six, when she lost a bunch of weight and it was speculated (by gossipy people) that she’d had weight loss surgery and had to have it reversed. Here’s what I said at the time:
[I]f she wants to go all Reese Witherspoon for the sake of her career, I guess more power to her. I can’t imagine that looking like yet another generic Hollywood blonde would be helpful, but let’s face it, I’m probably wrong. Thirdly, I am depressed to have lost one of our hot, young, sexy, curvy-chick role models. And finally, I think she was way cuter before. But then again, we all know that girls-who-look-like-me are totally my type.
Well, I guess losing a lot of weight didn’t magically kickstart her career; but she gained some of the weight back and is now working for Jenny Craig.
“My weight has fluctuated my whole life, and because I’ve been on television since I was 11 years old, everyone has seen it,” she explains. “I think like so many women in this country I have a problem controlling what I eat sometimes based on my emotional health”… Rue’s initial weight loss goal is 30 pounds. Then, she says, “we’ll see how my body looks, how I feel, and go from there.” Her first post-weight loss goal? “Rock climbing or wind surfing!” Rue says. “The things that I’m just too intimidated the size I am now to do.” But the big question remains: Does she want to follow in Bertinelli’s footsteps and sport a bikini? “If I look half as good as Valerie does at the end of this, maybe, possibly,” Rue says, smiling. “I don’t know if I’m more scared of sharks or being in a bathing suit. Maybe sharks, depending on the day.”
Someone out there tell me you’re a fat rock climber or wind surfer! This makes me want to go wind surfing right now, when I’m way bigger than Sara Rue. Sigh. I know it’s none of my business, but she’s so cute again! I’m on the Sara Rue weight emotional roller coaster. Why does this always happen to me when some celebrity signs up to sell a diet?
Posted by mo pie
Filed under: Advertising, Celebrities, Gossip, Reese Witherspoon, Sara Rue, Weight Loss, WLS
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I am a fat rock-climber. It’s hard, but it’s awesome :)
I think she is beautiful, fat or skinny.
I think either ways she looks good. I don’t think she should worry too much about it… just being healthy and good weight is a good idea.
Is it sad that I just went ‘Who the hell is Reese Witherspoon?” lol.
Her comment about the rock climbing just made me think of the fat rant videos. You do not have to be thin to go and do the things you want to do, oy vay.
I’ve always loved Sara and especially since she was plus sized. I think she’s completely gorgeous.
I haven’t wind surfed in a couple of years but I was fat when I did it last.
It would be nice to see more actresses refuse to knuckle under to Hollywood’s ridiculous body size prejudices, but on the other hand, she’ll get more work if she’s thin. I don’t want to judge her, but it’s still sad.
Following on that, why do people think they have to be thin to do certain activities anyway? I’ve been a fat martial artist (10 years at various weights but all above 200 lbs), went regular surfing once (at about 225 lbs) on a trip to Santa Cruz, and now I’m a fat bellydancer (4 years and counting, including during a pregnancy). Starting in January I will be dancing in a professional troupe composed entirely of plus-sized women. You can be active at any size, people!
I’m honestly more distraught about Sara Rue going blonde than I am about her losing weight again. Seriously, do she and Brittany Murphy have the same agent or something?
I went rock climbing for the first time when I weighed 230lbs (5’8″). It was awesome and hard…but still awesome! And I started into martial arts at an even heavier weight than that and loved it too!
I’ve tried rock climbing and windsurfing, but I don’t do either anymore. Not because of my weight, but because I don’t like heights and I couldn’t get the board straight!
I DO teach Pilates. I’m the fat pilates teacher. And my classes are full.
I think Sara Rue is lovely, and I really wish she wouldn’t go with Jenny Craig. Seriously, that way madness lies! (Oh, and keep the red hair!)
I don’t windsurf or rock climb (though both are on my list to try), but at 230 lbs I DO hike, canoe, kayak, scramble, bike, ice skate…and am about to try skiing for the first time this winter. W00t!
That overweight women think they have to wait until they’re a magic size or weight to do those things is exactly why we started FGG.
I don’t do these strenuous outdoor activities because I’m an indoor spa type of girl and I’ll go to the gym, but I know a man who weighs 300 lbs. and does judo and a plus-size woman (don’t know her weight I’d say a size 18/20) who surfs regularly. I think they would probably both be fit enough and interested enough to do rockclibing and/or windsurfing, if the opportunity arose.
@ sarah: What is a good weight?
has anybody looked at the track record of former jenny craig or weight watchers “spokesmodels”? wasnt kristie ally a spokesmodel? i find it really funny (espically know the “success” rate of diets at 6 months and at 2 years out) that spokesmodels cycle out every 6-8 months….right after the “honeymoon” phase of any diet and RIGHT BEFORE YOU GET FAT AGAIN. I am new to the whole FA thing so i havent been keeping track, but i would REALLY like to see spokesmodels longtime success rates (ie 2 years later) compared to their success while a spokesmodel.
I’m kind of confused. I never knew she lost weight, because she’s kind of chubby now, on her new television show. My mother and I watch it together. We think she has the cutest lisp.
I think it’s kind of funny that we didn’t see her at all when she was, blending in, I guess you could say, but now she has a prominent role on a TV show. That I unfortunately can’t remember the name of.
Oh lordy! The girl has bought completely into the Fantasy of Being Thin.
I think it makes just about as little sense to say ‘I will begin rock climbing and wind surfing when I am this thin’ as it is to say ‘I will write a New York Times bestselling novel when I am this thin.’ The weight isn’t the thing stopping you, it’s the fear of actually living while fat.
Sarah Rue, I hope you get past this fear. You are awesome at any size, but all the more so when you are the size nature intended you to be.
I became a fan of Sara Rue back in 2002 when she was staring in “Less than Perfect.” At the time she talked about her weight in an interview :
http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2002-10-21-sara-rue_x.htm
My problem with Sara Rue is the same problem I have with any actress that represents to the press at once point in her career that she’s okay with her weight and then later decides to loose weight. I go from feeling like I have a role model to feeling betrayed.
But how I feel about her weight loss doesn’t mean I think I have any right to demand she stay fat. It just means I feel disappointed.
I’m sad that there are very few representations of myself, meaning women who are fat and proud and not seeking weightloss, to be found in mainstream culture.
PS There’s an essay in The Fat Studies Reader called “The Roseanne Benedict Arnolds” that also talks about “How Fat women are betrayed by their celebrity icons.”
Sigh. She is much cuter curvier and with red hair… and while yes, I’m biased, I definitely think she stands out (in a good way) more as both.
That’s funny. I’m going rock climbing on Monday and worrying about my weight didn’t come into it at all. Mostly I’m worried about my fingers not be flexible enough.
Wait, that’s Sara Rue! Oh my God I love her! She is so cute! I had such a crush on her, when I was fifteen and they used to show “Popular” in the middle of the day. Skinny Blonde Sara just looks like every other actress.
Her first offense was dying all of that lovely red hair! I feel like there’s some collection of red-heads who are disgruntled with their hair, meanwhile I’ve always been a big fan.
Anyway, she really does look like a less distinguished Reese Witherspoon as a skinny blonde. And I’m no actress, but I figure looking like another actress isn’t exactly good for one’s career.
And becoming a Jenny Craig Spokesperson is even worse for one’s career.
Considering she just got engaged, she might have other reasons for losing weight. My obgyn (who’s heavier than me) told me that I should probably try to lose some weight to help me get pregnant. We’ve been trying for a while (and been tested and everything works) and she said that while my weight isn’t a dealbreaker, it should be easier if I’m “healthier”. Anyway, I’m fine with how I look, but I’m not going to stay that way if it’s holding my life back.
I think Sara looks beautiful the way she is now.
I LOVED her on Popular. She was a curvy crusader for us phat grrrrls all over. Remember? She was a cheerleader! A Glamazon! She was awesome. Anyway, I really love her. If she wants to lose weight, more power to her… However, I think Jenny Craig is a pretty unhealthy, costly and potentially dangerous way to lose weight. It’s all processed food. YUCK! I really don’t care if she loses weight. but I really don’t like promoting these kind of unhealthy, quick weight loss regimens and idealizing the paradigm. And Barbara Cooper aka: Valerie Bertinelli… she’s gonna have an easier time on Jenny Craig because she’s naturally skinny– remember her as a teenager and deep into her 20s and 30s? She was a bone. Sarah Rue has always been fabulously curvy… I don’t know that anything short of a severe eating disorder will get her close to V.Bert.
I would, in a heartbeat, trade 30 pounds for the coordination and energy to take up any of the activities mentioned here. I tried windsurfing for a week straight when I was 15. My grandparents have a lot of amusing video of me falling in the ocean… but I never got any better. No size feels as good as awesome.
Are there any clumsy-acceptance sites? *sigh*
To Julie:
My whole family is shaped like I am, (5’5-5’9″, 160-210 pounds), and every single one of us get pregnant at the drop of a hat. Weight’s an easy go-to answer for “why isn’t this working”, but I don’t think it’s particularly valid. Don’t give up, and remember that like weight, fertility is very much individual. I have young (early/mid 20’s) friends in great shape who can’t seem to conceive, late 30’s zaftig friends who can’t seem to… well, not… and everything in between.
I think the only advice I can give you is, don’t stress out. Good luck!
Definitely cuter when she’s plusher. I’m disappointed Eastwick got cancelled even more disappointed she’s turned to JC.
This makes me so sad. Not only because I think she looks weirdly disproportionate thinner – her body’s just built for a little more curve, even if she doesn’t keep ALL the weight – but because I feel like no bigger actresses are confident in their own beauty.
I don’t know. I grew up with Sara Rue being the girl my size in movies. It’s ridiculous – and not very accepting of HER feelings – but somehow I feel like I’m losing a friend. WTF. I guess it’s just, we don’t have enough role models and relatable figures anyway. Losing one sucks.
Awww, I wish Sara would come and read this site and then say “screw it” and go rock climbing anyway. I started running at about 240 lbs (5’9″) the day after I volunteered at a half-marathon. And I decided to go for it because I’d seen so many people of all ages, shapes and sizes trying to go 13.1 miles and I figured if all of them could do it, I didn’t have an excuse not to. That was the first real crack in my FoBT, and it was one of the best days I’ve ever had!
Sara is adorable and sexy at any weight. I’m sorry she feels like she has to wait until the scale shows a certain number to do what she wants to do. Nothing makes me crazier than those stupid ads for gastric bypass surgery where the people are talking about all the fun they’re going to have once they can only eat 1/2 of food at a time. I regularly hiked, backpacked, and camped when I was fat. I went whitewater rafting. Now that I’m slimmer, fat chicks pass me on the running trail all the time, and I think, “You go, sister!” Why is it that no one ever showcases fat athletes?
Perhaps this time Sara will go for the middle of the road – maybe that will be a good balance, if she felt uncomfortable being larger, but doesn’t want to be miserable at a very low weight. I went for a long time not worrying about being the slimmest of my friends, but eventually at 174 lbs (5’6″) I started to feel uncomfortable. Of course my life is nothing like Sara’s, but I also lost a lot of weight pretty quickly for me (55 lbs in 6 mos) – however I did lots of outdoor activities from the beginning (wasn’t intimidated). I did figure I’d have more fun doing them at a lower weight, but that really wasn’t the case for me. When I was down under 120 lbs, I was barely eating, exercising lots, and nearly passing out in public. I was no happier – it really is the skinny fantasy! Anyway I’m in the middle now, eating what I want, and exercising when I can. Hopefully Sara will end up in the middle as well!
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