Carolyn Phenicie, Contributing Writer, Food Culture
Following in the footsteps of Marie Osmond, Valerie Bertinelli and Jennifer Hudson, former Cheers actress Kirstie Alley recently launched a new diet program.
"You might know me as an award-winning actress…or as that actress who gained weight and lost it and gained it back again and appears weekly on the cover of the Enquirer in really ugly fat clothes," Alley, who famously lost weight and showed off her new body on Oprah only to gain the weight back again, says in an introductory video.
Her program, Kirstie Alley's Organic Liaison, is a bit different than other celebrity diets in that it's brand new. Osmond's NutriSystem, Bertinelli's Jenny Craig and Hudson's Weight Watchers all existed before the celebrities jumped on board to help promote it. Organic Liaison has been in research and development for the last two years, Alley says. The release of Organic Liaison coincided with the premiere of Alley's new TV show, 'Kirstie Alley's Big Life,' which airs on A & E.
The program consists of two basic components: a group of dietary supplements and access to online tools. The dietary supplements cost $139 for a month's supply and include Rescue Me (a nutrient replacement elixir), Release Me (a calcium and magnesium supplement) and Nightingale (a sleep aid containing tryptophan.) The site also sells Relieve Me (a digestive aid) and Pagoda (a green tea metabolism booster), for an additional cost.
The online program costs $10 a month or $89 for a whole year and includes access to online tools including an organic recipe database, calorie counters, meal planners and an organic food finder. Members can also join forces with an online supporter, called a "Chubby Buddy."
So far, it's gotten mixed reviews; reviewers' primary complaint is the lack of a set exercise program, widely considered key in any weight loss attempt. Some, though, see something a bit more sinister: a scam for Scientology. Anonymous, an anti-Scientology group, sees links between the supplements in Alley's program and those hawked by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. There are also several Scientologists working for Alley's company in different capacities.
Whether any one person will be successful on a diet promoted by a celebrity is dependent on a variety of factors, but it's clear celebrities are successful at selling diets for weight loss companies. Hudson follows in the footsteps of Jenny McCarthy and Sarah Ferguson, who previously advertised for Weight Watchers.
There are plenty of other online diet options that are free (like SparkPeople) or cheaper (like LiveStrong's Daily Plate Gold) than Alley's, but those who only want the online tools and not supplements may put a dent in her business. That, plus the fact that it hasn't been advertised widely (unlike the other celebrity diets, particularly those hawked by Osmond and Bertinelli), makes it unclear how successful it may be.
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