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"It&amp;#039;s always inspiring to hear about people who&amp;#039;ve shed major pounds and it&amp;#039;s especially refreshing to talk to a celebrity who did it just like the rest of us (i.e. a popular weight loss program and baby steps towards exercise instead of a crazy fad diet combined with multiple hours of cardio each day).  I got the chance to meet with actress Sara Rue, who recently lost 50 pounds on Jenny Craig (and looks amazing!) when she was in New York City last week.    I think I&amp;#039;ve got the actress pose down, eh? We talked about weight loss hurdles, the exciting event she&amp;#039;s training for now and even, her upcoming wedding! Sara Rue takes my questions, after the jump.  WD: Why did you choose Jenny Craig?  SR: I wanted a program that gave me support beyond the diet or meal plan. I had heard that Jenny Craig pairs you up with a consultant so I figured that would be especially helpful. I did the Jenny Craig at home plan which allowed me to customize the plan and schedule it into my busy life.  WD: Did you add exercise or was it mainly diet that you changed?  SR: I started out small with walking just 5,000 steps a day (I wore a pedometer). Then, I kept bumping up that number until I was doing 10,000 steps per day, which is the recommended amount. Eventually I started running a little bit and doing run/walk intervals for a couple minutes at a time. The longest distance I&amp;#039;ve now run so far is 9 miles and I&amp;#039;m training for a half-marathon! WD: Awesome! Which one?  SR: Not sure yet, still deciding between a couple different races, but it&amp;#039;s in the works.  WD: What is the one thing you were most excited to wear after shaping up?  SR: Jeans. Definitely jeans. I used to only wear dresses, skirts, etc. to hide my body. Now, I can throw on a great pair of fitted jeans and a t-shirt and be ready to go! WD: Besides the obvious benefit of looking good, what&amp;#039;s been another healthy benefit of shaping up? SR: I&amp;#039;m happier in general and not as tired. My energy levels are up and I&amp;#039;m (slowly) becoming a morning person. It used to take me three cups of coffee to get going in the morning, but now I&amp;#039;m much more energetic. My relationship with my fiance is also better because we&amp;#039;re more active together now.  WD: Fill in the blank: One thing nobody told me about weight loss was ________ SR: How much emotional baggage I&amp;#039;d have to conquer. I figured that the diet and exercise aspect would be tough, but I didn&amp;#039;t realize how much of weight loss was emotional and psychological. My consultant helped me through that part.  WD: And besides the weight loss, what other professional projects are you working on?  SR: I&amp;#039;m hosting a new show called Shedding for the Wedding (couples compete for a dream wedding by dropping pounds) which will air on the CW Network in early 2011 as well as preparing for my own wedding next Spring! If you need a little shape up inspiration, check out our weight loss transformations series: 10 Incredible Weight Loss Transformations, 7 Couples Who Shed Pounds Together, and 6 Women Who Got in Better Shape After Baby.  And to watch as real women shape up, check in with the WD Slimdown bloggers, who are following Joy Bauer&amp;#039;s plan to get healthy. \u2013 Abby Cuffey, Associate Health Editor "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/a45321/celebrity-weight-loss-transformation-2111/>