Phylicia Rashad’s weight loss is rather pedestrian. It is not that she should not be praised for her effort to lose weight – she should be – it is just that Phylicia Rashad’s weight loss is so Hollywood.

No, she has not turned to the dark side – clenbuterol-assisted weight loss is not for her, thank God, and she is not on the Slim Fast Optima Diet either. Now, if you think she is into some silly detox diet such as the Lemon Juice Diet, she is not starving herself.

That said, Phylicia Rashad’s weight loss of 20 pounds has to do with Jenny Craig. That’s right, she is their new spokeswoman. How original! Not. I mean, how boring is that? Another celebrity signs up with Jenny Craig to lose weight and a year from now she is talking about her struggle to lose weight again because, you know, it is so hard to maintain the weight you have lost. Of course, I hope it does not happen to Phylicia, but for some reason a lot of celebrities have trouble maintaining their weight loss after Jenny Craig.

Anyway, here is a recent interview with Phylicia that sheds some light on her weight-loss effort.

Why did you decide to lose weight? I walked up three flights of stairs one day, and when I got to the top, I wasn’t breathing freely. I knew I needed to pay attention. Truthfully speaking, I had been approached by Jenny Craig a couple weeks prior. When I walked up those stairs, I thought, Oh, yeah, you’re going to do this. Now I walk up those same stairs carrying things and I’m breathing just fine.

Any foods you miss? Fried apple pie! But I don’t miss it so much that I’d go and get one.

What about exercise? I’ll ride the recumbent bike for 30 minutes and do some light weight-training. I try to get that in at least four times a week. If I can’t go to the gym, I’ll do a floor-barre DVD. I’ve worked with [founder of Floor-barre.org] Zena Rommett. It’s like a ballet class on your back to strengthen core muscles. [via]