Jennifer Hudson Opens Chicago Weight Loss Center On South Side (PHOTOS)

CHICAGO (AP)-- Jennifer Hudson's name has graced an Oscar and Grammy, but the Chicago native said she never imagined her name would be on a weight loss center that she could use to inspire others.

The singer and actress stopped in her home town Tuesday for the opening of "The Weight Watchers Jennifer Hudson Center." Hudson, who lost about 80 pounds, is a spokeswoman for the company.

The new center, where walls are covered with posters of the svelte star, is in a strip mall on Chicago's South Side, not far from President Barack Obama's home.

"I never thought I would make it to have my own center," said Hudson, who wore a fitted, ruffled black dress and high-heeled studded black boots. "I'm so honored to be here and see this day."

Weight Watchers had pledged to donate a portion of the center's revenue to a foundation that Hudson co-founded in honor of her late nephew, Julian King.

The body of the 7-year-old was found in a vehicle a few days after Hudson's mother, Darnell Hudson Donerson, and brother, Jason Hudson, were found dead in the family's Chicago home in October 2008. All three had been shot. The estranged husband of Hudson's sister is charged in the killings and is awaiting trial.

Hudson, who started the foundation in Julian's honor with her sister, Julia, said she was inspired as a child by seeing the success of others.

"I love to target children, because that's the thing that makes a difference," Hudson said. "We hope to do the same thing and start here at home in Chicago with health, with education, with dreams."

Hudson, who first earned fame as an "American Idol" finalist, won a Grammy for her self-titled album and an Oscar for her role in "Dreamgirls." Her album "I Remember Me," came out this year.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who attended the ribbon-cutting, called Hudson "Chicago's ambassador to the world at large."

Check out Hudson's weight loss journey here:

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Comments

[PoundOFun]

05:05 PM on 09/28/2011

Jen, I am so proud of you.....please follow up on this project, keep it real and don't let the dollars skew your involvement. Many times these celebs come in, make changes and then leave never to return. And before you know it the very people meant to help.....end up loosing out...because the costs are too high or changes to locations occur...I've seen this happen many times in my community!!

[kisakisa123]

11:08 AM on 09/28/2011

J Hud is living proof that "YOU CAN" if you never give up... Happy for her and uber proud of her...

http://youtu.be/Y7m56YH-lHw

[Adonijah]

09:55 AM on 09/28/2011

Koudos for Miss Jennifer!

[Adonijah]

10:18 AM on 09/28/2011

Dang! I've been spelling kudos wrong...lol.

[phillyfreedom]

07:56 AM on 09/28/2011

I think most of you posters are resentful at seeing an attractive African American.....or a successful one.....or a wealthy one....or an educated one.....and the list goes on. Get a life!!

[cque8]

06:35 PM on 09/27/2011

Good to see a celebrity doing something positive with their fame and money. More should open clinics and schools in areas that help the communities that need it the most.

[Adonijah]

09:55 AM on 09/28/2011

Yes!

[AllBlackWoman]

04:17 PM on 09/27/2011

Too right they should name the centre after her, it's the least that they can do for the best live promotion that they have ever had. After Jennifer I'm sure that subscriptions for weight watcher saw an all time high. I think it very honourable that they have decided to donate some of the funds to her nephew, a commendable action.

http://www.allblackwoman.com/jennifer-hudson-to-open-weight-loss-centre-chicago/

[Adonijah]

09:57 AM on 09/28/2011

Agree!

@ I think it very honourable that they have decided to donate some of the funds to her nephew, a commendabl­e action.

[scoutfinch2]

02:56 PM on 09/27/2011

She has taken control of her singing career, her acting career (OSCAR), and her health. Commendable.

[whodunitbandit]

01:57 PM on 09/27/2011

im on weightwatchers and it is working. with the points plus plan, you have more points and get points for activity. it's doable.

[docnaeo2]

01:46 PM on 09/27/2011

These celebs are so funny... Take this pill & lose 40 lbs
& have a sixpack abs with it... Personal trainers , plus
cooks & dieticians to make it all so much easier...

[cas2dy]

08:06 PM on 09/29/2011

Yes, but if you know anything about Weight Watcher's you would know that anyone can achieve what she has just by eating the right food combinations and types. ..and it isn't against any particular budget if you shop wisely. Weight Watcher's Weally Works!!!

[kyprice9]

01:34 PM on 09/27/2011

She needs to just do the commercial without the catterwallering, she thinks is singing ! I can't turn the channel fast enough when it comes on !

[Adonijah]

10:00 AM on 09/28/2011

LOL! Sumthing about that song is buggie bigtime. If I can, I alwayz mute the TV...lol. However koudos for all her success. She deserves it.

[famer22104]

01:17 PM on 09/27/2011

I don't know about you guys who just sit with your computers and criticize. Do you know how hard it is to loss weight? If I were heavy and have health problems, I'll do anything to loss the weight. And Jennifer Hudson is making a difference and has the result to show it. If it benefits her why not go all the way, her and everybody!

[lpnx2]

01:13 PM on 09/27/2011

And my question is,how will we pay for this Ms.Hudson,if we can't afford to attend weight watchers because of the cost,what makes you think we can afford your new proposition.We are a struggling America.............................................................................

[itsmegp46]

01:12 PM on 09/27/2011

Jennifer looks fantastic. I'm sure we all agree. But at 170 pounds, she's no size zero as has been stated before.

[dc8s]

01:40 PM on 09/27/2011

I knew they were lying when that was published. *Shaking head.*

[noudidnt]

04:08 PM on 09/27/2011

She's not 170. Geta life.

[itsmegp46]

03:53 PM on 09/29/2011

No, you get a life or better still listen more carefully next time. The spokesman on the video said she's currently 170 lbs.

[Atchka]

01:09 PM on 09/27/2011

Wow, they paid one woman hundreds of thousands of dollars to lose 80 pounds and keep it off? Weight Watchers must be the answer to the obesity epidemic. Let's open thousands of clinics and give away their secrets for free!

Oh wait, the average Weight Watchers customer who spends an entire year on the program loses 15 pounds.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/07/health/weight-watchers-lancet/index.html

Of course, when they look at just the people who successfully achieved their goals and followed them for five years, they regained 62% of the weight they lost, and just 28% were still maintaining a loss of greater than 10% of their starting weight.

http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FBJN%2FBJN99_04%2FS0007114507862416a.pdf&code=fcc4df06b1e0718ebe3d4e84592ebdd3

But yeah, let's use this extreme outlier whose career and personal profits benefit greatly from weight loss and suggest that anyone who joins Weight Watchers will lose between 1 to 2 pounds per year (aka 52-104 pounds per year). That's brilliant!

Peace,
Shannon

[dc8s]

01:42 PM on 09/27/2011

Exactly!! WW is a DIET and it does not work long term. I am no longer overweight due to a *mindset* and *lifestyle* change without the aid of diets, bars, shakes and programs. I got up, went to the gym every day, started researching food and did it the right way. Most everyone I know who's into the "points" thing gains weight after they stop counting. If Kirstie Alley isn't proof enough, what else do people need? I congratulate Jennifer on her weight loss and healthier lifestyle, but she is not going to stop the obesity epidemic--especially among black women--with WW.

[Atchka]

01:56 PM on 09/27/2011

Hate to disappoint, dc8s, but lifestyle change does not create major weight loss in most people. At the University of Alabama — Birmingham there's a lifestyle program called EatRight, which focuses on the sort of healthy changes that you're talking about (eating better foods, exercising more) and their long-term results are equally disappointing: "During EatRight, participants of the follow-up study lost an average of 4.0 kg [8.8 pounds]. After a mean follow-up time of 2.2 years, the average weight change was +0.59 kg [1.3 pounds]."

http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/v14/n10/full/oby2006207a.html

The problem isn't diets, it's weight loss. The vast majority of people are unable to sustain significant, long-term weight loss. The most sustainable amount is between 5-10% of your starting weight, which isn't that much on a fat person.

The good news is that the lifestyle changes you are talking about DO IMPROVE HEALTH, regardless of whether you lose weight. Weight loss is not the way you measure health or the success of a lifestyle change. You are better off referring to your metabolic indicators (blood sugar, blood lipids, blood pressure) than fretting over the scale. By all means, make positive, healthy changes, but if you don't lose weight, don't give up and don't consider yourself a failure. If you improve your choices, then you improve your health, regardless of what the scale says.

Peace,
Shannon

[cas2dy]

08:10 PM on 09/29/2011

Not exactly a diet....it's about choosing the right foods and knowing how the food combinations affect your body. I've known quite a few people who lost on this diet, including myself, my daughter's school's vice principal and her husband, my sister...and we all kept it off. This is not that other program with the nasty food that tastes like the packaging it comes in. Weight Watcher's allows you to pick your own foods and cook them and even my beer guzzling Hubby likes my WW creations. Please stop knocking Weight Watchers. they've been around for a long time for a reason. It works.

[veritas88]

10:09 PM on 09/27/2011

Then you stay fat. Your comment is pointless.

[Atchka]

10:24 AM on 09/28/2011

No, my comment is not pointless. If you look at the research on health and weight, you would find overwhelming evidence that focusing on healthy lifestyle, regardless of how much weight it causes you to lose, is the best approach to lifelong health.

Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and any program that promises significant, long-term weight loss is setting people up for weight cycling, which is many times more dangerous and unhealthy than staying at a high, but stable weight.

Focus on health, not weight, and you'll be fine. Hardly what I would call pointless.

Peace,
Shannon

[dc8s]

01:43 PM on 09/27/2011

*Claps.*