Carnie Wilson, singer from Wilson Philips and host of The Newlywed Game has her own reality show coming out in January on GSN, Carnie Wilson: Unstapled. Wilson is no stranger to the scrutiny of the tabloids. She’s been a yo-yo dieter since the 80s and she has revealed all to the media on numerous occasions. Back in 1999 she even showed her gastric-bypass surgery online; thus the title of her new show. She said,

“I’ve written two autobiographies and posed for Playboy. I think I’ve pretty much been out there,” but she added, “This is definitely the most exposed I’ve ever been.”

The show will follow her day to day life as a mom but the season starts with her trying to lose the 50 pounds of baby weight she gained when she had son Luci. As a mother of two toddlers, Luci and Lola, she knows the trials and tribulations of raising kids and also getting back into that favorite pair of jeans. It should be an interesting reality show and because fans of Wilson Philips and the Beach Boys adore Carnie Wilson it should be a big hit.

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Carnie Wilson has fought her battle with weight in the public eye for years and now that she’s pregnant she’s more determined than ever to not let the cookie crumble (no pun intended) and put on unnecessary weight yet again.  She told People Magazine,

“I don’t need to pick at Oreos or pick at muffins. “I’ve put on 42 lbs. at [age] 40. I don’t have to gain any more weight. I put my foot down. The baby is growing, and she’s perfect.” 

One way she’s keeping that weight down is by remaining active as she is the new host for the show The Newlywed Game where she has to stand during all of the tapings.  It has been hard being on her feet all day but she always see the lighter side of it.  She said,

“There were a couple of times where I’d ask a funny question and she would kick … and I’d let the audience in on what was going on.”

Congratulations to Carnie for approaching pregnancy and weight gain with a positive and realistic attitude.

It’s time to review the good, the bad and the ugly in celeb diets of 2008. First a brief recap of 2007. The picks for 2007 were for the most part right on. As predicted, Kirstie Alley did in fact fall off the wagon with Jenny Craig. No surprise, Ricki Lake continues to shine with her remarkable weight loss success as she adopted some key weight loss behaviors. Capping a remarkable turnaround for 2008, Britney went from the worst celebrity diet list of 2007 to the best celebrity diet list this year proving that you are what you eat.

This brings me to theme for the year in celebrity diets of 2008, specifically that “diets don’t work.” The key to sustainable weight loss is not so much a particular diet but the adoption of the proper lifestyle behaviors. It’s the reason why Oprah can’t achieve sustainable weight loss despite trying multiple diets and having all the resources in the world (personal chef, trainer, Dr Oz etc).

You’ll also noticed that this year’s winners all have one thing in common as they develop their new lifestyle dietary behaviors. They achieved their remarkable slim downs by increasing their intake of veggies and fruits. No crazy fasts, diet pills, supplements or miracle cures. Here’s to 2009 and hopefully you’ll find some inspiration from this year’s crop of winners. Enjoy and be healthy, Dr Marc

Best Celebrity Diets for 2008:
5. Jennifer Love Hewitt: Those unflattering bikini photos seem so long ago as this Ghost Whisperer star has been letting her body speak loud and clear; daily fruits and veggies do a body good.

4. Jessica Alba: Jessica exercised her superhero abilities on a regimen of whole foods, cardio and interval training to power her fantastic 25 pound post-pregnancy slim down.

3. Debra Messing: Eating gracefully, Debra lost 42 pounds of her post-baby weight by sticking to a diet high in unprocessed veggies, fruits and lean protein.

2. Kelly Osbourne: By fixing her refined carb cravings with her new addiction to veggies and fruits, Kelly Osbourne is reborn with a healthy new figure.

1. Britney Spears: Since ditching her “Toxic” junk food diet for veggies and lean protein, Britney is sporting a new outlook and an A-list slim down that has everyone wanting “A Piece of Me.”

And the Worst Celebrity Diets for 2008:
5. Carnie Wilson: Carnie proves that even gastric bypass is not a fix for sabotaging behaviors. Despite her much publicized surgery and weight loss, this Celebrity Fit Club participant regained 58 pounds. (Her yo-yo dieting continues; she most recently lost 50 pounds before her current pregnancy.)

4. Monica Seles: This former tennis star may have lost 33 pounds on a high protein diet but she also increased her risk of chronic disease. Advantage: heart disease, cancer, and osteoporosis.

3. Hilary Swank: 47 ways to sub-optimal health. Reportedly downing 47 “million dollar” supplements a day, this Million Dollar Baby star is unwittingly subjecting her body to accelerated aging.

2. Kim Kardashian: Kim has kept her shapely “junk in the trunk” figure with exercise and a gig on Dancing with The Stars. However, her junk food diet will inevitably cause… too much junk.

1. Oprah Winfrey: The queen of media and yo-yo dieter is the poster child for “diets don’t work.” Proper weight loss behaviors and habits should be one of Oprah’s “favorite things.”

Carnie Wilson has dropped 40 pounds from her top post-gastric bypass weight of 208 pounds, according to OK Magazine . You may remember that Carnie, with the help of gastric bypass surgery, shed 150 lbs from her 300 lb high. However she regained weight with her pregnancy… and no doubt a diet full of processed foods. Now many of you may be asking, “she had gastric bypass, she shouldn’t have any weight problems.”

So how can gastric bypass fail? Gastric bypass is not the “cure all” everybody thinks it is. And remember gastric bypass is not without risk. Although post surgical death rates have been reported to be 0.1-2%, among MediCare patients the risk of early postsurgical mortality among 16,155 Medicare patients treated during 1997–2002 was found to be even higher: 30-day mortality rate of 2%, which rose to 2.8% at the 90-day mark and 4.6% at the end of 1 year.

So how can a gastric bypass patient regain weight, despite having a walnut-sized stomach that can only hold an ounce of food? The culprit many times are liquid and semi-solid calories. No matter how small you make the stomach, liquid calories and semi-solids such as whip cream “bypass” the gastric bypass and cause weight gain. Here’s the deal, gastric bypass is NOT the solution. Obesity is not a plumbing problem! If you don’t change your behaviors and continue to consume highly processed, calorie-rich foods you will gain weight… EVEN with a gastric bypass.

Back to Carnie Wilson…

Carnie Wilson’s Diet:

She reveals to Ok Magazine: “No sugar, no carbs, no dairy, no red meat, no flour of any kind. I’m eating blueberries, turkey bacon, egg whites, and lots of raw vegetable salads. I make my own salad dressing with apple cider vinegar. My only fat is coming from olive oil. No avocado, no roasted nuts – just raw almonds.” She curbs cravings at night with “a tablespoon of almond butter.”

She goes on to say “the only sugary thing is berries.”

One thing that is troubling is her “motivation strategy” which includes cooking comfort foods for others.. bread puddings and banana bread, but not eating it herself.  She claims she does “a lot of tasting and spitting out.”

Her workouts include Yoga and strength training.

The Celeb Diet Doc weigh in…

OK, here’s my assessment. Kudos on the salads and blueberries! These are the keys to her current slim down. Carnie needs to stop cooking comfort foods and by all means stop tasting these foods!! It’s like a smoker who says they quit smoking last week, but later tells you that they only take a couple puffs now. It tells me she is not going to stick with her current plan and will resort back to the foods that got her in trouble in the first place. Without proper behavior modification even gastric bypass will fail.

A diet misconception promoted by many “low carbers” is that blueberries are “high carb” and should be avoided. This is frankly ridiculous. You will not gain weight with unprocessed blueberries. As Hillary famously stated at the Democratic convention: “No way, No how, No weight gain with blueberries!”

“Low carbers” falsely label all carbs as bad and get the misguided notion that many fruits, such as mangos and berries, are “high carb” and will cause weight gain. False! Processed carbs will cause weight gain, not fruits. But that’s a discussion that’s best left for another post…