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In an age when reality TV shows like "Extreme Makeover," "The Swan" and "The Biggest Loser" have turned weight loss into a spectator sport, actress Kirstie Alley-best known for her starring roles on the hit NBC sitcoms "Cheers" and "Veronica's Closet"-decided to rebel against Hollywood's pound patrol with a fictionalized series based on her life: "Fat Actress."

While the unscripted show, which debuted in March on Showtime, pokes fun at Alley's expanding waistline and decadent eating habits (think whipped cream inhaled directly from the canister), it also zeroes in on her inability to land a job in an industry where being overweight is equivalent to committing armed robbery.

But the 54-year-old actress and mother of two also acknowledges that carrying extra pounds is as serious as a heart attack-literally-and she has been following the Jenny Craig diet (for which she serves as a spokesperson) and exercising in her living room, which has been converted into a fitness center. As she recently told a New York Times reporter, "Fat Actress" is not limited to the trials and tribulations of calorie-challenged celebrities. It's "about every woman-what they confront, what they're intimidated about, what introverts them."

Alley, who has already shed some of her excess weight, recently joined the growing ranks of celebrities who have published fitness memoirs/self-help books. "How to Lose Your Ass and Regain Your Life: Reluctant Confessions of a Big-Butted Star" hit bookstore shelves in mid-March and is destined to become a best-selling audiobook a few months from now. Alley's fans are undoubtedly eager to hear her thoughts on the ups and downs of yo-yo dieting-but how do you know whether Alley's approach will work for you?

It's as simple as popping a CD or cassette into your Walkman or car stereo system. Audiobooks can help you develop a nutritional vocabulary so you can distinguish the differences among all of the popular diets that make today's headlines (particularly when celebrities offer glowing testimonials). If you can't tell a "good" carbohydrate from a "bad" carbohydrate-or the "healthy" fats from the "unhealthy" fats-a good audiobook is the ultimate self-help tool, educating you on how particular diets work, the foods you can and cannot eat, and special considerations if you suffer from a condition like high blood pressure or diabetes.

From a financial standpoint, there's no better weight-loss deal. Instead of wading through countless shelves overflowing with diet books at your local bookstore, you can rent the top weight-loss audiobooks from an online site like Jiggerbug.com, which lets you screen all of the in-vogue eating programs without having to purchase expensive CDs or cassettes. And by selecting abridged forms of each book, you can hear each diet's core principles in roughly two hours-a major timesaver. A low monthly fee-less than the cost of a single audiobook-grants you unlimited access to all of the up-to-the-minute diet titles, allowing you to identify the one that fits your lifestyle. Gone is the need to page through lengthy books that leave your mind puffy and bloated.

"You can't go too far wrong with almost any self-help book," says Dr. Joy Davidson, a Seattle psychotherapist. "Most of them are written by knowledgeable, experienced experts in their field, which means that even those that are less than stellar will offer at least some worthwhile tips, a bit of inspiration and reminders to use the good skills you already possess."

A great self-help audiobook can be "life-changing," says Dr. Davidson, "when we learn something so new-so meaningful-that we alter the way we approach an aspect of our lives."

Nothing could be truer when it comes to the two critical components of losing weight:

" The physical side of eating: what-and how much-we eat.
" The psychological side of eating: how our emotional baggage and behavioral patterns influence our food choices and inclination to overeat.

Virtually all of the current weight-loss audiobooks address both aspects. The top picks:

1. The Atkins Diet

Famous Followers: Actresses Sarah Jessica Parker and Minnie Driver.

Hear the basics of the pioneering high-protein, low-carb diet from the man himself, Dr. Robert C. Atkins, who narrates "Atkins for Life: The Complete Controlled Carb Program for Permanent Weight Loss and Good Health." At roughly 2½ hours, the abridged version of the best-selling book highlights the diet's fundamentals. If you have specialized needs, Dr. Atkins "weighs in" on audio with abridged versions of his other bestsellers:

" "Dr. Atkins' Age-Defying Diet Revolution" is designed to increase longevity, with special emphasis on boosting your immune system, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, improving brain function and memory, and preventing adult-onset diabetes.
" For a diabetes-centric approach to weight loss,  "Atkins Diabetes Revolution: The Groundbreaking Approach to Preventing and Controlling Type 2 Diabetes" fits the bill. This audiobook explores "metabolic syndrome"-an underdiagnosed condition that ultimately leads to diabetes-as well as making critical lifestyle changes, heart attack/stroke prevention, and managing cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

2. The South Beach Diet

Famous Followers: Singer Bette Midler and President Bill Clinton.

Dr. Arthur Agatston, the Miami cardiologist who developed the South Beach Diet to help his patients shed unwanted pounds, promotes dieting without deprivation in the audio version of his bestseller, "The South Beach Diet: The Delicious, Doctor-Designed, Foolproof Plan for Healthy Weight Loss." He knows from personal experience that unrealistic diets fail because people can't stick to them. This realization made him even more determined to create an easy-to-manage eating plan, with normal-sized portions and snacks.

3. The Zone Diet

Famous Followers: Actresses Demi Moore and Sandra Bullock.

Zone Diet creator Dr. Barry Sears prescribes eating the ideal ratio of low-fat proteins, "good" fats and carbohydrates. Zone devotees eat several meals a day to avoid feeling hungry or deprived. Among Dr. Sears' audiobook titles:

" "The Zone" is an introduction to basic philosophy-perfect for dieters who want to burn fat, improve peak performance, and prevent heart disease and other weight-related conditions.
" "Mastering the Zone: The Next Step in Achieving SuperHealth and Permanent Fat Loss" is a follow-up to the introductory audiobook.
" Just released in January, "The Anti-Inflammation Zone: Reversing the Silent Epidemic That's Destroying Our Health" explores how "silent inflammation"-a widespread condition that wreaks havoc on the immune system-contributes to America's skyrocketing rates of heart disease, cancer and dementia/Alzheimer's disease.

4. The Ultimate Weight Solution

No discussion of weight-loss audiobooks is complete without mention of talk show host Dr. Phil. As a trained psychologist, Dr. Phillip C. McGraw knows that our "personal truths"-emotional roadblocks and long-held belief systems-significantly influence why we overeat. In "The Ultimate Weight Solution," he offers seven keys to permanent weight loss, accompanied by self-tests, questionnaires and exercises to help you uncover your problems "from the inside out."

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