Actress Nicole Sullivan on Losing the Baby Weight with Jenny Craig

I know, I know, I said the “B” word.   Baby weight.  It’s OK, take a deep breath, break out the smelling salts.  Getting back to the pre-baby bod is a Herculean task for many moms, and I count myself among them.  I managed to miraculously lose a good amount of weight in between Baby Number Two, and Baby Number Three, but now, more than three years after Baby Number Four, I find myself at an all-time-high weight.  NOT fun.

Like many others, I’ve tried a bunch of different things; low fat, no-carb, low-carb, “miracle” 3, 5, and 10-day diets, I’ve even done yucky shakes and shiz, but I couldn’t stomach that.  One thing that always helps me feel better about the whole mess is that I am NOT alone in my plight.  And when I find out that even “the beautiful people” are dealing with the same issues I am, I feel even better about the whole thing!

Which brings me to my point…I was recently offered the chance to participate in a conference call with actress/comedienne Nicole Sullivan.  I’ve been a fan of hers since she was “The Vancome Lady” on “MadTV” back in the day.  Yes, I will wait while you do the requisite YouTube search….

Done?  OK then.  Nicole recently gave birth to her second son,  Beckett, and since she struggled so much with losing weight after her first child, she knew that she had to find a better way to lose the baby weight.  Jenny Craig approached her to be a spokesperson, but Nicole was hesitant at first,  not sure she wanted her weight-loss struggle to be so public.  But she took the plunge, and reached her goal weight with the Jenny Craig Weight Management Program.  Shortly before her 40th birthday, Nicole has lost 35 lbs in 16 weeks.  How amazing is that?

So of course I was excited to be able to chat with Nicole about her weight loss, and how she manages everything being a busy working mom.  Nicole has said about her experience with Jenny Craig,

“I am beyond thrilled with my success on the Jenny Craig program,” “Before starting Jenny Craig, I really felt like I had tried every diet under the sun, and nothing worked – not to mention how crabby I always was from taking unrealistic steps to lose weight!  With Jenny, I finally feel like I have a partner in achieving my goals and staying accountable.  My consultant Becky has made losing the weight easy for me and kept me motivated along the way.”

But I have to be honest.  I love food, and I love to eat.  I never even considered the Jenny Craig program because I thought all of the pre-packaged food would leave me ravenous.   Nicole addressed this by telling us that the Jenny program utilizes a concept called “Volumetrics”.  Yeah, I didn’t know what that meant either!  Neither did Nicole!  She told us at first she thought it was some “fake, doctor-y word”.  But basically, Volumetrics is a plan where you find foods you can eat lots of while still losing weight.  So in addition to her Jenny meals, Nicole would add in lots of fresh fruits and veggies, as well as salads and yogurt products.

I was also curious about her workout routine.  As a new mom, who has recently been signed to a new TV show, it must be hard to fit in hours of training, right?  So what is Nicole’s super-secret secret?  WALKING!  I could barely believe it.  She told us that she started off slow, just once or twice a week.  Now she’s up to 4-5 times a week, and she ups the ante by carrying baby Beckett in the carrier while she walks!  (Just have to say I LOVE that she’s a babywearer!)

My stepmother did Jenny Craig about 20 years ago.  I remember that the food didn’t look very appetizing.  So I was curious if things had changed since then, how the food was.  Nicole assured me that the food was delicious, including an amazing Double Chocolate Cake, which kinda does look like heaven on a plate!  Any diet that lets me eat something like that is a diet I can get behind!

All in all, it was pretty cool getting to talk to a gen-u-ine celebrity on the phone, and it really gave me a new outlook into a weight loss program that I honestly never paid much attention to!    Don’t forget to check out Nicole’s new Jenny Craig commercials, which started airing yesterday, in which she shows off her new bikini bod!  Color me jealous!

So spill…what crazy diet programs have you tried?  What works and doesn’t work for you?  I’d love to hear from you!