Starling Fitness: Daily writings on Fitness, Diet, and Health

People Magazine has a monthly feature called Body Watch. A couple of months ago, they interviewed Sara Rue, current star of Eastwick. More importantly, she was Leonard’s girlfriend for a while on Big Bang Theory and I wish she could have stuck around a little longer. I first saw her on the TV show, Popular, as the effervescent Carmen, but she has been acting since she was nine years old.

You can imagine my surprise when she announced that she was joining Jenny Craig to lose weight.

I’ve always felt a kinship to Sara Rue. She was the fat girl in Popular, who could dance better than everyone else and wanted to be a cheerleader. I was that girl and I LOVED that she got her chance to shine. Every time I see her in a movie or TV show, I feel like she is making a statement for all of us.

Does that change if she loses the weight?

Seriously. If she loses weight and gets back to that figure she had in 2005, will she still make me happy just to see her? Will she still be making a statement for us all?

YES! A thousand times, YES!

If Sara Rue is able to get to her goal weight, whether she uses Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers or goes back to that low carb diet from before, she is a stark reminder to all of us that it’s possible. She isn’t some actress who gained a little weight when her marriage hit rock bottom (yes, I’m talking to you, Valerie Bertinelli). She was a fat kid. She was a fat teen and now, she’s a fat adult. When she gets to her goal weight, we’ll all be there cheering for her as much as we cheered for Carmen when she finally made the cheerleading squad.

Here is a video of her talking about her decision.

I am embarking on this journey to be a happier healthier woman and I’m doing it publicly because I think that there are a lot of women out there that have felt like me over the years and if I can be an inspiration to just one other person, then I’ve done my job in the world.

I love how she talks about her goals.

I would love to put on a blindfold, walk into my closet and just grab anything and know that it’s going to fit, put it on and feel okay in it. That kind of freedom is something that I really crave.

YES! That is EXACTLY how I’d like to feel. Sure, right now, I can put anything on in my closet, but I NEVER feel okay in it. It’s always just clothes on my body and I haven’t felt like I looked good in my clothes for so long.

It’s possible to do this. I’m starting to believe that, and that little kernel of belief is so exciting to me. There’s something where it’s not a crash diet where I’m going to lose all this weight and white knuckle it until I gain it back. It’s a lifestyle choice. I’m learning to eat like a normal person, which I’ve never known how to do. The idea of waking up and not having to worry about food is a huge weight off my shoulders.

Sara Rue is keeping a video blog for Jenny Craig. Here is the first entry:

I wish her the best of luck with this new endeavor and I just want her to know that all of us fat girls are watching and hoping it works for her.