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Dec. 11--Be envied.
That's the tagline for Trimspa's marketing campaign.
Trimspa's sultry celebrity spokesperson -- former Playboy Playmate and reality television star Anna Nicole Smith -- graces the weight loss product's home page with her tanned body and bleached blond hair.
In the photo, Smith is on a beach gripping a bridle on a white horse. Her rock-hard mid-section shows off a belly button ring.
Inset "before" photos depict a fat, surly Smith in a black lace dress.
"She's gorgeous," India Stone, 31, says as she nibbles on a piece of dry hamburger meat that she filched from the edge of a cheerleader's sandwich before practice. "I've met her; she's really nice. People don't understand what she went through."
Stone works three jobs. She's a cheerleading coach at Beaufort Middle School, a bartender at Hemingway's on Bay Street and a mortgage lender.
Three times a week, she works all three jobs.
Keeping busy is a good thing, though, because Stone's major preoccupation in life lately is losing weight, and a busy schedule keeps her mind off food.
Stone, who is 5-foot-7, went from 215 pounds to 134 pounds in less than a year since she started taking Trimspa last January.
Stone would like to drop to 120 pounds by February.
"It changed my life," Stone says of Trimspa.
If it all sounds a little schmaltzy, that's probably because it is.
Stone could stand to win $150,000 in cash and prizes and a spot as Trimspa's next "real world" national spokeswoman. She beat out nearly 10,000 people to make it as one of 25 finalists in the Trimspa Million Dollar Challenge, a weight loss and personality contest, that will take place in the Bahamas Feb. 18-25.
Stone's mother, Robin Thompson, is also a finalist.
"I think they really like our story -- mother and daughter," Stone says. "I think I have a good chance at winning."
Stone started off her day at 6:30 a.m. last Wednesday as a volunteer for her 6-year-old son Bailey's field trip to an American Indian exhibit in Savannah. Bailey bought her a beaded ring for $1 during the field trip. Stone put it on her pinkie and showed it off to friends throughout the day.
"My kids are the reason I'm doing this; the defining moment for me was going to my son's baseball game," Stone said about the reason that she is able to stay on her weight-loss program, which includes downing a red Trimspa appetite suppressant pill twice a day, healthy eating and regular exercise. "He said, 'I'm so glad you went on a diet because you actually get off the couch and do stuff with us.' "
Stone skipped out on her mortgage lending job because she didn't return from the field trip until just before cheerleading practice.
"Remind me to eat," Stone said, zipping around town.
It was game day at Beaufort Middle School, and the cheerleaders were pumped to get out on the court and cheer on the boys' basketball team.
"Louder, girls," Stone says. "You have to be loud and clear."
Stone spends a lot of time thinking about her weight.
It wouldn't be a stretch to say she spends most of her day thinking about food and not eating it but wanting to eat it.
She looks at her reflection any time she passes a storefront window or a mirror.
Stone was always skinny growing up and remained a size 4 through her early 20s. She started gaining weight progressively after she gave birth to Bailey, her second son. And she completely spun out of control after her best friend died a couple of years ago.
In just six years, Stone went from 120 pounds to 215.
"I'm obsessed with food. I'm an emotional eater," Stone says. "I don't think people realize obesity is a real disease."
At about 5:15 p.m., Stone sneaked out just before the basketball game ended to pick up her kids at the YMCA after-school program, dropped them off at home with her husband, who had just gotten home from work, and got to her bartending job by 5:45 p.m.
With a minute to spare, Stone pulled into the Hemingway's parking lot. She pulled a pink makeup tote out of her purse and touched up her lipstick in the rearview mirror. She changed into tennis shoes and, then, just before going in, did a quick hair flip.
"I won't make tips if I look like crap," she said coyly and smiled. "As vain as that is, we live in a world where beauty is everything."
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Beaufort Gazette, S.C.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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