Kirstie Alley plans own weight-loss system

Enlarge Photo Actress and television producer Kirstie Alley gestures in Boston, Massachusetts, April 30, 2005. REUTERS/Jessica Rinaldi/Files

Wed, Feb 20 06:29 AM

After working as a spokeswoman for the Jenny Craig diet system and losing 75 lbs in three years, actress Kirstie Alley plans to launch her own weight-loss program, she told People magazine on Tuesday.

"The weight-loss field is wide open and not immune to new ideas and improved solutions for the fat problems that plague many of us Americans every day," Alley said in a statement.

"I want to create something new that will help millions of people end the seemingly never ending fatty-roller coaster ride," she added.

Alley, 57, rose to fame in movies and on television in the 1980s, and became a series regular on smash hit TV comedy "Cheers." Her numerous films have included Woody Allen's "Deconstructing Harry" and "Drop Dead Gorgeous," about a small town beauty pageant.

Weight gain almost derailed her acting career early in this decade, but Alley defied convention and turned her struggle with overeating in Hollywood into a TV show called "Fat Actress."

Three years ago, she agreed to lose weight as spokeswoman for Jenny Craig, a company that specializes in helping people lose weight through eating regimes, exercise and counseling.

Since then, actresses Valerie Bertinelli and Queen Latifah have also agreed to undertake the Jenny Craig system and act as representatives for the company.

"I guess it's as good of a time as any to announce that I intend to develop and pilot my own weight-loss brand that I hope to launch in 2009," Alley said.

She did not give specific details about what she intends to create, only that she expects it to be "the healthiest, yummiest, easiest and most effective weight-loss program on the market."

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