Nicole Eggert Weighs In On "Celebrity Fit Club"

Posted on Mar 11th 2010 12:00PM by Amy Levin-Epstein

Filed Under: Celebs & Entertainment, Interviews

Red bathing suits have a way of keeping actress Nicole Eggert in the spotlight. After tabloids starting attacking her weight gain, she headed to the beach -- in a red bikini that made her "Baywatch" one-piece look modest. "I was like, my being overweight is not my worst quality so how do we laugh at this?" said Eggert, who released a video on FunnyOrDie.com about her added pounds.

The video is humorous, but relays her message: "I'm a real women and real women gain weight." She's equally open on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club, where she appears with other familiar faces like Kevin Federline, his ex Shar Jackson, as well as musicians Sebastian Bach and Bobby Brown. Here's what she told That's Fit about the experience.

That's Fit: Why did you decide to do Celebrity Fit Club?
Nicole Eggert: I was featured in some of the tabloid magazines as having gained weight and it was sort of an eye opening, horrid experience for me. When the offer came through I felt like: A -- It put a lot of pressure on me and, B -- It would get me out of the house and get me working. A lot of my weight gain was being depressed and being home.

TF: At 130 pounds and at 5 feet, 2 inches tall, you weren't "overweight." Why go on a weight-loss show?
NE: When you experience something like depression, you fall apart in a lot of ways. I threw myself in a therapist's chair and we worked on all the mental issues i had going on and really got my spirit back. I felt like the outside needed to match the inside. I didn't look in the mirror and feel great.

TF: So what would you say to a young girl who saw your video, or you on the show, and said, she looks good to me?
NE: I would say that they were right, and to maintain this Hollywood figure is really, really unrealistic. Is your heart healthy? Is your mind healthy? Do you feel good? That's it. Period. This skinny-minnie-waify look that has taken over is unrealistic.

TF: What do you tell your daughter about weight?
NE: Being a good or a bad person is something that takes a lot of work. But gaining or losing weight is something that is exterior. Hopefully I've been a good influence on her. She's watched me go from really, really thin to gaining weight and to now finding a happy medium.

TF: What was the actual program like?
NE: It really tested your heart more than anything. I expected to go and put on some boxing gloves and throw a bunch of punches and do 10 million jumping jacks and it was really about teamwork and doing actual Navy Seals training, which is nothing anyone in my age group needs to be doing!

TF: What are you doing now in terms of maintenance?
NE: I've actually hooked up with the Kardashian girls who are friends of mine, who introduced me to a thing called Quick Trim [to help lose the last five to seven pounds]. We're doing a boot-camp workout. I'm really trying to stay away from any carbs and any bread, and trying to do the protein, vegetable, and small, small portions. [My body] is still a work in progress. Right now I think I look like a healthy average slim women. I want get back ... to looking incredibly hot again and feeling incredibly hot again. I'm going to continue to use a trainer because I think it's great motivation and a great distraction in the middle of a hard workout. I believe in [therapy] forever and always have, always will. The day you don't think you need to work on yourself is the day you should work on yourself harder.

TF: Who did you click with on the show? Anyone that got on your nerves?
NE: I immediately clicked with Shar. We have a lot in common. I felt bad for her situation [getting surprised by Kevin Federline appearing on the show]. She was put in a very awkward position. Being single moms and doing it all on our own and being little petite girls we related very well to each other. I found Tanisha [Thomas] completely draining, although she is funny. And then you have people like Jay McCarroll who are in it to be manipulative and to play a game and their heart isn't there, their agenda is there. I guess that's their introduction to TV, is being on reality. [Editor's note: Thomas was on Oxygen's Bad Girls Club and Jay McCarroll starred on Bravo's Project Runway.] They know that game and they play that game very, very well.

TF: How do you think weight is blown out of proportion?
NE: It's so sad that I've worked so hard to be a good person and yet that's all that is being recognized now. I lost my dad. We had this really long battle with cancer and then I was being tested for cancer. It was a horrible thing our family went through for over a year. At the end of the day, if all I did was gain a little weight out of it, I came out of it pretty shiny.

Eggert and the Kardashians are touting Quick Trim, but is it a healthy way to lose weight?

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Tags: celebrity fit club, interview, Nicole Eggert, quick trim

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

KatieCouric'sNemesis 3-12-2010 @ 6:52AM

Let me get this straight...you spend hours at the gym, you've probably had breast implants and anything else to make your body "perfect" so that you could get a job on a show that's known to be a T&A special...and you have the nerve to be surprised when you're judged on your looks?

Now you've gained a little weight and the tabloids are mocking you? Simple answer--don't make things worse by trying to laugh at it. The power is all in the tabloid hands because YOU've given that to them by taking a Baywatch job to begin with!

Pardon me while I laugh.

twigster 3-12-2010 @ 2:30PM

What looks more elegant - a giraffe or a hippo?

wayne 3-12-2010 @ 9:49AM

I love nicole, shes so cool, so hot,I wish her all the best in life

Charlie 3-12-2010 @ 8:04AM

Who cares if Nicole Eggert gained weight? So, now she's overweight because she's not 50 pounds underweight like everyone else in Hollywood? Absolutely ridiculous when the media buys into this crap that if you don't look anorexic, you're "overweight". And, even if she IS overweight (which I don't think she is), does this make her a bad person or a failure? Leave the poor woman alone, for pitisakes.

Katherine 3-12-2010 @ 3:30PM

American culture. No wonder our education system is failing. The only thing our culture seeks is skinny women with fake breasts. Why aspire for anything else?

mjk 3-12-2010 @ 9:18AM

I hate the way she refers to herself as a "little girl," or a "good girl." You are a GROWN WOMAN. I just found that really odd and a bit offensive.

JBaer 3-12-2010 @ 9:21AM

People who judge other people by their numbers disgust me.

LinMG 3-12-2010 @ 3:30PM

To JBaer...I so agree with you. Mostly, I think it is sad. I mean, why are many people so quick to judge people, in general, and especially people who are overweight (not that i think Eggert is). But, in general, people are quick to label people who aren't slim - apply negative terms to them, etc.. For shame. A person's weight is not a measure of who they are as a human being. And some of those people who judge -- apply negative labels to overweight people -- who would never consider being friends with them -- gee, I wonder about THEIR hearts and souls. So what if they ARE slim! Gee, when one dies, does anyone think it's gonna say on their headstone that they were SLIM?! I think not. Is that what they will be remembered by? NO. Yes, it would maybe be great if a person is slim (only IF there are health issues from being overweight - NOT everyone has, contrary to popular belief)-it'd be great if a person is slim and has a great heart and soul, and is kind. But if a person is overweight and they are a good, kind human being, it is their life. And they should not be judged or treated unkindly or discriminated against - no one should.

justcuz 3-12-2010 @ 9:46AM

Ok....I know what it's like to have the pressure of "stay skinny". I was a competitive gymnast for years. You are the girl that people can't wait to see get fat. I have been following Celebrity Fit Club. There are a couple of things:

1. Nicole is beautiful
2. She is the ONLY one that seemed to have clashed with Jay. He was putting up numbers and following the program. She just didn't like him because he confronted her about not following the program.
3. Nicole wasn't losing hardly anything, and drinking wine all of the time. If you make a choice, own it and take responsibility for it. Don't blame the person that brings it to your attention. He was trying to help her and the team. The bad choices she makes reflect on the team.
4. I was embarassed for Nicole when she would stand on the scale and say "I don't get it. I don't know what happened". When we could all sit there and see her drinking wine. Seriously?
5. I am sorry that all of these celebrities are picked at and hounded by the media. I don't get it. They work hard to bring us pleasure through their work and this is how we pay them back? By pointing out if they have cellulite, pimples, etc. We as society are being bully's. Why do people take pleasure in tearing other people down. I don't get it. It would be nice to see magazine covers with a positive message about positive things that celebrities are doing. Because they are out there doing it everyday. Unfortunately, this is probably why they resort to alcohol and drugs. That is how they have to cope with all of the attacks and pressure to be perfect.

On behalf of society, I apologize to all of the celebrities who feel like they have completely lost any sense of privacy and feel like they have to live up to the expectations of perfection.

Talyor Klein 3-12-2010 @ 9:33AM

I wish women would stop cutting down other women when they are not happy with their weight. Please stop referring to your only being a real woman if you gain weight. I believe that is what Nicole said.
I am 5'9 weigh 125 pounds never diet, work full time am 38 years old and a wife and mother to a 16 year old. I live a very busy life just as anyone who is overweight is taking care of their family. Why would that not make me not a "REAL WOMAN?" Women of all sizes and shapes, please stop saying negative things about one another. If someone is naturally thin and isn't battling with weight,be happy for them. God chose to make them that way. Don't be so nasty, just focus on being the best person you can be.

Linda Klauschie 3-12-2010 @ 10:22AM

I am with you 100%. Although I am about 20 lbs overweight now, at age 56, I weighed next to nothing until I turned 40. I was always trying to gain weight and they would say things like "Just eat more." When they complained about their weight I wanted to tell them to just eat less, but never did. We should all just appreciate each other for our good qualities. Yes, I am trying to lose weight now, but my weight doesn't define who I am.

Ray 3-12-2010 @ 4:15PM

Good point. I don't understand when people say stuff like 'a real woman gains weight'. It's similar on the male side, too (just not as vicious). It's simple. Most Americans turn to food for comfort from stress. The rest of us do not. Some of us actually eat less when we're stressed and have to remind ourselves to eat.
Enjoy who you are Taylor. Real women know how to deal with stress without stuffing their faces. Same with real men. There just isn't that many of us, anymore. That is the real problem.

Donna 3-15-2010 @ 11:30AM

Oh my talk about taking things out of context! You sound more annoyed at her, and not cause she said she is a real woman. I can't see how you got insulted from her saying I'm a real woman I gain weight.I am a woman I do not see how you think she means all woman, just a reference to herself. Sounds more like, I am am not what you see on TV people. I do not permanently stay 90 lbs. I am a live woman and real woman gain weight. Not all woman gain weight. I hope you feel much better about your lucky self now. Not all people were create with the same genetics.

Hermit 3-12-2010 @ 9:45AM

Actually, I'm glad to hear that Nicole is simply wanting to weigh less. The tabloid magazines have a way of getting the worst photos possible, but when I saw her on a cover while I was in line at a market, I thought she may be very ill.

basketpam 3-12-2010 @ 10:36AM

This is what the rest of the world hates about Hollywood. The obsessiveness producers and other people have about an actresses' weight has literally cost several women their life. Ever watch the movie White Christmas with Bing Crosby? Danny Kaye? Remember the woman that ended up with Danny Kaye in the move, Vera Ellen? even back then she battled anorexia because the pressure to be thin as a rail was always present. It just about ruined her life. Look at Karen Carpenter, she died from a heart attack at a FAR too young age because of anorexia, once again trying to fulfill that image that women are to be all skin and bones. I don't understand why we tolerate this? And you know what, it's all OUR fault. If the public didin't make such a big deal about their sex symbol women they wouldn't have all this pressure on them to be a size 0. And as far as I'm concerned, the tabloid papers should be outlawed around the world. They have ruined more lives than anyone can count. Until we the public stop demanding this trash, nothing is going to change and more lives are going to be messed up because of nothing but gossip. You know folks, all of this IS a sin and I feel those who actually do it for a living like that slimy creature known as Perez Hilton will once day have to answer for it to a higher authority. And I wouldn't want to be in some people's shoes when that day comes.

amelia 3-12-2010 @ 1:42PM

Excellent! I couldn't agree more! Unfortunately though, I don't think this fixation and/or expectation to be skeletal will ever go away. I also think it's so unfair that it's only a CRIME for women to gain weight and not men! ):

clarence 3-12-2010 @ 10:12AM

WHAT WEIGHT GAIN ? SHE LOOKS GREAT

DON CATOZZA 3-12-2010 @ 10:15AM

nicole you are awesome just keep doing what you are doing to be happy.all these people who say negative things .are morons and i use the term lightly,they're just jealous and probaly depressed and not to healthy in mind and body.

Lea 3-12-2010 @ 10:25AM

At 5'2" and 130 lbs, she is not overweight. Even if we weren't given those stats, just look at her! I think it's pathetic that she feels she needed to go on a weight loss show. She is a fine example of the weight-obsessed in Hollywood. But it's not just Hollywood - it's too many people in our country who think this way! It's sad when a beautiful woman cannot see her own beauty. She's a horrible example for women because her actions scream low self-esteem. Wow...

Rie 3-12-2010 @ 8:45PM

Actually the healthy weight for a 5'2 female aged 25-59 is from 108-143 depending on bone structure..and judging from the photos she appears to be medium build. This would put her at a healthy weight from 118-132. Please compare a woman to a woman not an adolescent male.