celebrity

Yo-yo dieter Kirstie Alley's determined to reclaim that bikini-worthy bod she strutted just two years ago, telling Oprah Winfrey she intends to shed 80 pounds by November - and blaming her newly pudgy shape on a lack of motivation. The 58-year old ex-Cheers actress's highly publicized chronic battle against obesity is far from unique. "About 95 percent of people regain the weight they have lost in less than a year," says psychotherapist Stefanie Barthmare of the Methodist Weight Management Center in Houston. "People who want to lose weight come in with such fierce determination and commitment in the early stages, but they are more committed to losing weight than to a new lifestyle. The motivation to diet only lasts for a limited period."

Alley, a former Jenny Craig spokeswoman whose weight has long fluctuated, told Winfrey, "I just said, I'm going to cut myself some slack. Big mistake." In 2007, she shared a People magazine cover with another former fatty, Valerie Bertinelli, looking gorgeous in a floor-length blue gown.