January 11, 2008
Queen Latifah: 'I Do Not Want To Get Skinny'
"I do not want to get skinny I do not need to fit into a bikini," she said, "but a tankini could work."
Her campaign isn't about weight loss - it's about being healthy. That's why she signed on and joined the likes of Kirstie Alley and Valerie Bertinelli.
"I'm not depressed or anything, like I felt I was eating myself to death," she said. "It's not that for me."
Losing just five to ten percent of her body weight will help Queen, real name Dana Owens, reduce her risk of developing diabetes.
"Anywhere from 15 to 25 pounds or so would be good for me," she added.
The "Mad Money" star, a proud voice for plus-sized women, also says she doesn't feel pressure to be thin in Hollywood.
"I would never had made it this far if I tried to be like everybody else," she said. "If I worry about trying to fit in someone else's mold, you are not going to like the person I become."