As you probably know, actress Kirstie Alley has struggled with her weight for quite a number of years now.   You might have seen her on the Oprah show two and a half years ago, looking pretty amazing and showing off her new bod in a bikini after losing an incredible 75 pounds.

Kirstie achieved her weight loss success for the most part by following the Jenny Craig plan.  Kirstie’s most recent weight struggle apparently began after she stopped being a spokeswoman for Jenny Craig.  The weekly weigh-ins that she had to do in order to be one of their spokeswomen really helped Kirstie keep the weight off, becuase it gave her someone to be accountable to.

After leaving Jenny Craig, she decided that it’d be okay to just relax a bit and cut herself a little slack.  Unfortunately, this turned out to be a huge mistake because over the next year and a half after leaving Jenny Craig, Kirstie didn’t workout or weigh herself at all.  Also, while she was losing weight, Kirstie used to keep all her workout equipment right in her living room, which made working out very convenient for her.

About a year and a half ago she decided to move all of her work out equipment out of her living room.  It was no coincidence that she started regaining all that weight she had lost right around this time.

After she regained all the weight that she had lost, Kirstie went through a real emotional struggle.  She felt terrible because she felt like she had let down all her fans that were inspired by her weight loss.  For a number of reasons, it’s been said that Kirstie felt humiliated by her weight gain.

It’s really unfortunate that Kirstie had to go through the emotional pain that often comes with losing and then regaining a lot of weight.  But, there are a few golden nuggets is that you can all learn from Kirstie’s weight struggle.

For starters, I think you’ve learned from Kirstie’s story that having some sort of accountability system is absolutely crucial for weight loss success.  For some people like Kirstie, that might mean undergoing weekly weigh-ins, conducted by someone other than yourself.  If you’re more of a private type person and don’t feel comfortable with a “stranger” weighing you, you can always weigh yourself weekly and join one of the many online weight loss support groups.

Many of these online groups are free, and you can both give and receive support from others who are also in the process of trying to lose weight.  Weekly weigh-ins with these online groups are usually optional, but they’re often highly encouraged.

Also, another lesson that you can learn from Kirstie Alley is that when it comes to workout equipment, it’s often a case of “out of sight, out of mind”.  So, to encourage yourself to work out on a regular basis, try to find a way where you can keep your exercise equipment prominently displayed.  If you actually see your treadmill right in your living room every day, you’re so much more likely to use it then if it was folded and stuffed away in your bedroom closet!

What else do you think you can learn from Kirstie Alley?  I’d love to hear your thoughts so post your comments below and let me know what you think.