'Less Than Perfect' Star Sara Rue Reveals a Show Stopping 50 Pound Weight Loss on Jenny Craig

CARLSBAD, Calif., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Jenny Craig, Inc., one of the nation's leading authorities on weight management, announced today that Sara Rue has achieved her weight loss goal of 50 lbs.* The critically-acclaimed actress, best known for her roles on Popular, Less Than Perfect and recently Eastwick, will debut her weight loss transformation in a national ad campaign for Jenny Craig.  Rue will also host a new weight loss reality show on the CW network in 2011.  

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Rue joined the Jenny Craig Program in December 2009 with an initial weight loss goal of 30 pounds.  After achieving that goal in March 2010*, and feeling inspired by her personal success, Rue decided to go for 40 pounds, which she achieved in May.*  At that point, she focused on shaping up for the summer by starting a conditioning program two to three days a week.  In July 2010, Rue reached her ultimate goal of 50 pounds lost* and has never looked or felt better.

The key to her success

Upon enrolling as a Jenny Craig client, Rue met weekly with her personal consultant Michele who helped structure a program designed to fit her personal lifestyle, incorporating a nutritional menu, physical activity plan and motivational techniques designed to explore the behavioral reasons behind her weight gain in order to achieve a long-lasting healthy lifestyle. 

A self-described "emotional" eater, Rue struggled with the cycle of losing and gaining weight, slimming down with various fad diets through her teens and twenties, only to regain the weight she lost.  "I was tired of being on this rollercoaster, watching the scale go up and down all the time.  I didn't want my weight to define me anymore," said Rue. "I finally feel comfortable in my own skin thanks to Jenny Craig.  They gave me a plan that I could stick to and a personal consultant that gave me that much needed guidance and support I was looking for.  I was never alone.  If I can do this, anyone can."

Moving forward in career and life

As an actress, Rue often felt self-conscious in front of the camera, especially when her weight issues were a part of the storylines for Less Than Perfect.  "I was so often cast in roles where my character needed to 'overcome a major obstacle,' which frankly was usually a result of the character's weight.   Even though I was acting in front of a camera, that's how I often felt off the set."

Rue, now a size 6, is planning a spring 2011 wedding to educational consultant Kevin Price and feels confident that she can maintain this weight loss. "I appreciate that I can put on a pair of jeans and feel good, or that I'm able to try on a wedding dress without being discouraged.  I used to avoid going to screenings of my own projects, simply because I was embarrassed of how I looked, but now I can't wait to walk the red carpet.  This is a great year for me!  I'm engaged, training to run a half-marathon, and living the active lifestyle I've always wanted," said Rue.

"So many people struggle with losing and regaining the weight, which is why we feel it is so important to share Sara's story of success," said Patti Larchet, CEO for Jenny Craig. "Sara is truly an inspiration for women, showing them that they too can lose weight and finally gain control of their weight issues with healthy, maintainable lifestyle changes."

Rue is thrilled with her results with Jenny Craig, and encourages other women to step off the 'rollercoaster' like she did, saying "You owe it to yourself to be healthy and feel beautiful, on the inside and out.  It will be worth it."

Sara Rue's "Reveal" Jenny Craig commercial debuts nationally on Monday, August 9.

*Clients following the Jenny Craig program, on average, lose 1-2 pounds per week.

About Jenny Craig

Jenny Craig offers a comprehensive Food-Body-Mind program designed to help clients manage their weight by creating a healthy relationship with food, building an active lifestyle and developing a balanced approach to living.

With its tailored YourStyle® program, Jenny Craig is committed to a personalized approach to weight loss by offering each client a one-on-one weekly consultation and a customized weight management plan designed to optimize individual success. With more than 80 delicious Jenny's Cuisine™ menu items, Jenny Craig's program is available in-centre and our at-home program, Jenny Craig At Home.

Jenny Craig, Inc., based in Carlsbad, CA, is one of the world's largest weight management companies, with more than 725 company-owned and franchised Centres in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Puerto Rico.

About Sara Rue

Sara Rue is a critically-acclaimed actress best known for the roles she played as Claudia Casey on the sitcom Less Than Perfect and Carmen Ferrara on the comedy-drama Popular. Born and raised in New York City, Sara spent most of her childhood backstage with her parents, who were very active in the Broadway theatre community. Sara's acting career began at age nine, when she was cast as Kevin Spacey's daughter and Burt Lancaster's granddaughter in the film Rocket Gibraltar. Shortly thereafter, she won critical acclaim for her television series debut, starring in the comedy Grand.

Rue has guest-starred on TV shows Will & Grace as Joyce, the sister of Grace Adler (Debra Messing), in Two and a Half Men, alongside Charlie Sheen and in The Big Bang Theory as Dr. Stephanie Barnett, the love interest of Leonard (Johnny Galecki). Recently she has appeared alongside Rebecca Romijn and Lindsay Price in the ABC dramedy Eastwick.

Apart from her roles on TV, Rue has also acquired work on the big screen. She starred as Sigourney Weaver's cellmate in A Map of the World and appeared as a scene-stealing social misfit in Can't Hardly Wait alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt. Sara was also cast in Pearl Harbor as a tough-talking nurse. Originally there was no role for the young actress, but she so impressed Michael Bay that he flew her to Hawaii, threw her in the scenes with the nurses, and told her to "improvise and be funny," which she did. In addition to numerous theatre, musical and Off-Broadway appearances, Sara recently began producing film and television, selling her first movie to Dimension Films.

SOURCE Jenny Craig