Tonight on 20/20 ` A crash that would change everything. I do feel lucky to be alive. The courts blamed his girlfriend, but does he? Oh, she's been amazing. I'd be buggered without her. An amazing story about the power of positivity. These stars are losing it in order to gain it ` millions. Take a good look. The truth behind those celebrity endorsements. We're not seeing the whole story. It's the big business of beating the bulge. And how much would you pay for the new feeding tube diet? Wait till you see this. Wait till you see this. It is so disturbing. I-I think on the part of the patients, desperation breeds gullibility. www.tvnz.co.nz/access-services Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2012 Kia ora. I'm Sonia Wilson. Some people just aren't meant to work behind a desk, and Mike Natsky is one of them. He was a shepherd way up in the South Island high country on a horse, working with his dogs. Then last year the truck his girlfriend was driving crashed, leaving him a tetraplegic. You'd expect him to be angry, devastated, but, as Emma Keeling discovered, Mike hasn't allowed blame to ruin his life or his relationship. Soon as I could I left school and worked on a farm. ROCK MUSIC Yeah, just loved being on farms. He'd always loved wide open spaces. He'd always wanted to be a shepherd. Outside ` just fresh air. I'd hate to be stuck in an office. But in an instant, Mike Natsky's world, his future, changed forever. HEARTBEAT PULSES < Are you lucky to be alive? < Are you lucky to be alive? I do feel lucky to be alive. ETHEREAL MUSIC Don't panic. Just do it slow. Mike Natsky and Pippa Lucas had only been dating a few weeks. We met in Wanaka quite a few years ago. Um, he was on a shepherd's run up there. And a friend introduced me to him. What did you like about Pippa? I dunno, she was just a pretty cool chick, really. ETHEREAL MUSIC CONTINUES It was October last year ` Rugby World Cup time. 23-year-old Mike was working on Rockland Station, 45 minutes from Dunedin. He'd had a few beers after work. Pippa turned up, and cos I'd had those few beers, I thought, just get her to drive. And he said, 'Is it all right if you drive?' And I said, 'Oh, yeah, OK. I'll drive.' So we left to go to my mate's place and watch the rugby. TYRES RUMBLE We were driving along. Next minute I remember veering off the road and Mike grabbing the steering wheel. TYRES SCREECH And probably both of us pulling a bit too far to the wrong side. And then having to re-correct it back over. And yeah, going off the road. TYRES SCREECH BANG! OMINOUS MUSIC I was hanging upside down in the truck. And I knew I was buggered at that stage, cos I felt my knees on my chest. And I couldn't` couldn't move them. I remember sitting in the paddock waiting for them to get Mike out. My initial thoughts were, when I was hanging upside down in the truck, you know, I always thought people in wheelchairs, they just couldn't walk. That's it. I thought, 'I'll be in hospital for a week or two, and they'll chuck me in a wheelchair 'and I'll be home,' you know. (CHUCKLES) Little did I know. Yeah. HELICOPTER ROTOR WHIRRS They were choppered to Dunedin Hospital. I knew it was bad, but I always thought it was... you know, doctors can fix anything these days, and he was just gonna be all right. But... Yeah, no, I had no idea at that stage when I was in hospital that it was that bad. POIGNANT MUSIC It was confirmed Mike was a tetraplegic. He was in intensive care for three weeks, Burwood Spinal Unit for almost five months. I can feel pretty much just above here... from here up. And down my arms, sorta round my armpit's pretty numb. Can sorta feel it. And just up the sides of my arms and my outside two fingers are quite pins and needly, I guess you'd call it. Yeah. And everything below that, can't feel a thing. Pippa had suffered a broken bone in her skull and bleeding on the brain. But the emotional pain was much worse. A lot of guilt, and I guess I blamed myself entirely for the whole accident. QUIET GUITAR MUSIC Pippa was charged with careless driving, fined and disqualified for six months. Before the crash she was like any other 20-year-old. She'd planned to finish her horticultural studies at the Dunedin Botanic Gardens, then who knows? Were you thinking of travelling overseas? Oh yeah, definitely. I was thinking of travelling. But things have changed. But things have changed. Things have changed, yes. # One, two, three, four. Well, I guess I should confess... # It's always a bit of a bastard, actually, this door. Three weeks after leaving Burwood, Mike's moving into his specially fitted flat in Dunedin. Mum Marie is down from Te Kuiti to lend her eldest son a hand. And of course you run all of the emotions. Um,... How can this happen to my son? He's a healthy young man. He's out there riding around in the paddocks. And, um, he goes hunting. Can't be happening to him. But it` it did. Marie kept a diary during Mike's stay in hospital. All the way along, Mike's been really absolutely positive about everything. And he's the one that's propped us up ` everybody up ` with his joking and` and his positive attitude. Here, Mike, you can use one of those bags as a` Here, Mike, you can use one of those bags as a` Stuff everything in here, eh? How hard was it to meet Pippa for the first time, knowing she was driving? I s'pose the emotions, they run through your head. 'How am I going to react? What am I gonna say? 'What am I gonna do?' Then Pippa, sort of, stepped out, and there was this young, scared lady standing in front of me, and... I dunno, it was just like... just wanted to give her a hug. I was really nervous about meeting them. I guess I was embarrassed and felt really guilty about meeting them, but they were really nice. Yeah, they made me feel really good. I didn't have that feeling of... wanting to point the finger at her and saying look what you did. Um, not once have we had that feeling. RHYTHMIC ROCK MUSIC Mike's positive attitude makes it easy to forget just how much harder life is for him now. Even getting dressed takes 20 minutes. Yeah, it is a bit difficult. Like, you know, got no stomach muscles, and you can't hold yourself up. You gotta use your arms to prop yourself up. And your arms are the only muscles you've got, really. Do you still have feelings of guilt? Um, I do when I see him struggling with things. And you can see him getting frustrated Every now and then. He won't tell you that he is, but you can see it. And I feel guilty then, yeah. Everything's a struggle these days. Life is totally different. And it's only when you leave the city you realise just what Mike's missing. Mustering, or hunting, or whatever, and jumping on me horse and going for it ` seeing what's over the next hill. So can't do that much any more. JEFF BUCKLEY'S 'THE LAST GOODBYE' Rockland Station ` 23,000 hectares where a shepherd rules the hills with his dogs. Do you feel frustrated when you're sitting here? It` It's starting to come up, yeah. It comes up, but just put it back down where it came from, and, yeah, just get on with it, eh. No point in` No point in` ...crying. There you go. See, now you're living in town, mate... Station manager Tim Cossy hired Mike two years ago. What do you think about the quarters? It's a tidier than when you were here. < Oh, bloody hell, Tim, I dunno. It's a bit scruffy. How hard is it to see him in the chair, remembering what he used to be like? I've probably got used to it now a bit coming here now, today, um, with the way he is, because I've seen him a few times. But, um, you know, one instance there ` we have our local dog trials, and Mike wasn't there, and he was really keen on that. And, uh, I found it quite hard, actually. Yeah, we'd like to see Mike back, and we've always, um, I s'pose had the dream that, um, he's going to be one of life's miracles. PEACEFUL MUSIC Mike's days of riding horses are over, but he hasn't completely given up his old life. You hold it up your` Oh, you hold it, or` I'll hold your back of there. Put your other hand up. I'll hold your back. His best mate, Hamish Taylor, took the news of Mike's accident hard. You were in Aussie when you heard about Mike, and you rushed right back? Yeah, yeah. The accident happened on a Saturday night, and I found out on the Sunday evening and went to my boss and... between a few blubbering tears ` I know it's a bit unblokey, but he's a good mate ` and he` the boss understood what I was saying and told me to book a ticket straight away. They'd done so much together, but now Hamish plays a different role. One, two, three. Although they're not letting the wheelchair stop them from doing what they've always done. GUN COCKS GUNSHOT Country boys love their hunting. GUNSHOTS Do you worry about him? I do worry about him. I worry about him when I go to work and he's there by himself ` he's going to fall out of his chair or something. Or, yeah, just worry about his future, I guess. Cos he's always thought he was going to be a farmer, so... now he's got to change that whole plan. ENGINE RUMBLES Mike's determined to be 100% independent. Incredibly, only three weeks after leaving Burwood, he's already back on a motorbike and doing what he loves. Do you feel better about Mike's situation knowing that he can get out into a field and, you know, work the dogs as he used to? Absolutely. It's just amazing to see. There was a time where we wondered whether perhaps he would be back on a bike. (WHISTLES) But to see that, it just sorta makes you feel really warm and fuzzy inside. Stay there! And the fact that he's working his dogs again... That` That'll give him a real boost. Hello! He's just so positive all the time. Nothing seems to get him down. I don't think I've ever seen him angry or complain about anything through this whole process. Nothing he's complained about. Everyone I meet's amazed. All the nurses at Burwood, all my friends and everything, yeah. They're all pretty impressed. TYRES RUMBLE Six months after the crash, the site still bears marks of the trauma experienced that evening. I was really apprehensive coming down here, doing the same route that we did on that day. But it's just a spot, I guess. It's nothing, really. Mike, you've driven past here before. What were you feeling as we were approaching this spot? Yeah, I s'pose you've got the` the what ifs. 'What if we'd missed the pole?' 'What if...?' You know, "What if we'd gone off on the other side of the road?' ROCK MUSIC There will always be what ifs, but the incredible thing about Mike is the absence of self-pity. Right, you got that 'tard card there, Mike? Right, you got that 'tard card there, Mike? You wanna chuck that there? Oh, always wanted to use one of these things. Some things never change. Been a while since you've been in here now. Been a while since you've been in here now. Has been. Been amazing on it. You'll start getting fat. Hamish certainly isn't treating him any differently. Oh, nah. (CHUCKLES) That's for sure. Nah. He'll grab me, lift me over his shoulder and chuck me in the truck. Or... Yeah, nah, he certainly ain't covering me in cotton wool. Cos if you go and treat him all different all of a sudden just because he's in a wheelchair, it's gonna make his spirits a bit different too, isn't it? There's all the same banter between us all, and yeah. Nah, nothing's changed at all. There's no pretty blondes on treadmills, though. Oh, there has been ` a few times I've been here. A few nice little lycra bums running around? Mike can look, but he's not stupid enough to touch. He knows he's got a good thing going with Pippa. Oh, she's been amazing. Yeah, she, um` I'd be buggered without her, to tell you the truth. Yeah. That's for sure. Do you blame Pippa? Oh, no way. Like, could have been me driving. It could have been her in my position, you know. I'd rather it was me, to tell you the truth. POIGNANT MUSIC Are you right? Are you right? I think so. Call the cops if I start bleeding. The crash has brought them closer together. I don't want people to think that I'm there just because I feel I have to. I... choose to be with him. It's not that I feel I have to be with him. I've told her a few times it's not her job to look after me. It's nice to do that myself, really. Cos I know she sort of does feel obliged, I think, in a way. Thank you. Mike and Pippa are taking each day as it comes. We've been over quite big hurdles. Um, but it hasn't really changed. We're still the same silly, goofy people. Yeah, we still fool around and, yeah. This is divine, love. This is` This is (STAMMERS) BOTH LAUGH The future's unknown, but both know they'll always have a special bond. Are you worried about your future? No. I think I might even go further now than what I was on farming, you know. Maybe. We'll see. Hope I do. Yeah. No, I can have a good life. He's a farmer boy, but he's still got a wee bit of a sensitive side. He'll hate me for saying that. But no, he's really nice, and he's special. I wouldn't be without him. GENTLE MUSIC What an amazing couple. Thanks for sharing your story. Next on 20/20 ` celebrities raking it in while losing weight. But what aren't they telling us? No matter how they do it, we're fascinated by how celebrities shed those pounds. I think the dirty little secret about some of these celebrity diet endorsers is sure, they may be eating some of the meals, but they also have personal trainers, personal chefs, dieticians and nutritionists. We're not seeing the whole story on these commercials. a Welcome back. We've all seen the ads with celebrities endorsing weightloss products. But are we getting the full story? And just how much are they being paid to tell us about their amazing transformations? Tonight we look into the bulging business of losing weight. Great this summer. So, here I am. # Here I am. # Look at me. # It might be too good to believe. # Just this week there's buzz the next famous dieter will be Jessica Simpson. who reportedly inked a deal for Weight Watchers worth $3 million. That would be the highest fee ever. Jessica has not been shy about gaining pregnancy weight, because she knows that she's going to do a diet-endorsement deal when all of this is over. Jo Piazza is author of Celebrity Inc ` How Famous People Make Money. The celebrities, of course, are able to monetise just getting fat and losing weight. She's just sort of fat. Case in point ` former '70s sitcom star Valerie Bertinelli. Valerie Bertinelli has completely reinvented herself, and it's all due to losing weight with Jenny Craig. # This is it... # After One Day At A Time went off air, America's sweetheart was known mainly for being Eddie Van Halen's wife and for struggling with her weight. But after dropping 50 pounds and keeping it off, Bertinelli got a hot new career as a best-selling author and revived her old career as a sitcom star. I believe in Jenny Craig. They've gotten me to where I am today. And celebrities have helped the big weight-loss companies get where they are today. Last year Jenny Craig raked in more than $450 million. Nutrisystem more than $500 million. And Weight Watchers ` $1.2 billion. Jennifer Hudson's shrinking waistline has worked wonders. As a analyst of the market for 20 some-odd years, Jennifer Hudson has been one of the strongest spokespersons I've ever seen. # I am you. She's connected with the audience on an emotional level. # It's a new life for me. What's amazing to watch in these celebrities is the willpower that they suddenly get. Well, I think that it's pretty easy to have willpower on a diet plan when you're being paid millions of dollars to lose those pounds. Each pound for Valerie Bertinelli has added up to what? Somewhere in the ball park of around $60,000 per pound. $60,000? And on average the celebrities make around $33,000 per pound. Talk about having your cake and eating it too. Kirstie Alley might be the smartest diet endorser of all. Most people are tortured by yo-yo dieting, but Kirstie Alley's managed to make a career of it. The pounds are just melting off. Well, that's good news, because I have an offer for you. A job offer? It's from Jenny Craig. (SOBS) While endorsing Jenny Craig, she lost 75 pounds. Then after three years, gained it all back and more. Kirstie Alley is a very very savvy businesswoman. She double-dipped. She gained the weight back, and then she creates her own diet company. She's endorsing her own product. She's endorsing her own product. She endorses her own product. I've lost 100 pounds on Organic Liaison. But now instead of just being paid by Jenny Craig, she's making all the profits. Was this a business move? I absolutely think Kirstie Alley gained weight to launch her own diet product. Oh, come on. Now, that's kinda cynical, isn't it? It may seem cynical, but it makes sense. It's really just a smart business strategy. We contacted Alley, who fired back,... 'I wish I was that smart. I'd be a billionaire by now.' No matter how they do it, we're fascinated by how celebrities shed those pounds. I think the dirty little secret about some of these celebrity diet endorsers is, sure, they may be eating some of their meals, but they also have personal trainers, a personal chef, dieticians and nutritionists. We're not seeing the whole story in these ads. Those commercials have usually been aimed at women until recently. I was so tired of looking old and fat. They're all trying to go after that men's market, because traditionally men have chosen to do it on their own. Guys wanna go to meetings. They don't wanna read stuff in books. Dan Marino completely changed the game when Nutrisystem signed him. Every man secretly thinks he's Dan Marino in his prime. He just have to lose about 10 pounds to get there. You look great! Jenny Craig tried to get in on the action with Seinfeld's Jason Alexander, who went on to lose 30 pounds. # I was fat. Now I'm thin. Jason Alexander's ads were hilarious. But frankly men don't wanna lose weight to look like George Costanza. They wanna look like Dan Marino. Now Weight Watchers hopes to score with NBA star Charles Barkley as their first ever male spokesperson. Weight Watchers has the plan for men. Charles is very relatable, but he's aspirational. Men want to be what Charles was back in his heyday. Now they think by using Weight Watchers they can. Since retiring in 2000, Barkley put on a hundred pounds, but in just a few months on Weight Watchers, he lost 42. How did the eating habits change? Let me tell you something. In the last four months, I've eaten more vegetables than I had in the first 48.5 years of my life. He even poked fun at his new diet on Saturday Night Live. Weight Watchers worked for me. I feel great, except for one thing ` I am so hungry I am starving. Understand men. We need to be joked into losing weight. So he did in his latest commercial. Take a good look. My eyes are up here, guys. He's certainly having fun, maybe too much. Barkley was caught talking about his deal when he thought his mic was turned off. This was the greatest scam going ` getting paid to watch sports. This Weight Watchers thing is a bigger scam. Yeah. Is it a scam? The product is not a scam. What I was saying was I can't believe I'm getting paid to lose weight. And I said it about my basketball thing too. I tell my boss all the time ` this is the biggest scam going in the world. You all are paying me to watch basketball. I'll watch basketball anyway. And I made an off-colour joke, and somebody tried to make it into a controversy. Listen, I can't believe I'm getting paid to lose weight. This is the greatest country in the world. Coming up ` how far would you go to lose weight? This next technique might shock you. Patients we spoke to say the procedure is painless,... Gonna just place this in the nose, and I'm gonna advance it slowly... ...but still, it is hard to watch as Dr Di Pietro demonstrates on his wife. Swallow. Her nose, by the way, is anaesthetised. Once the tube is in, it's connected to a pump that sends fluid from this bag into the stomach 24 hours a day for 10 straight days. a Just how far would you go to lose weight? The latest, and very controversial, diet requires you to be hooked up to a feeding tube through your nose for 10 days. So, is it dieting gone mad, or a legitimate weapon in the battle against obesity? It's the picture that got everybody talking ` Wait until you see this. It is so disturbing. The diet that involves inserting a feeding tube ` the same procedure used to keep patients in a coma alive. This is nuts. You feel like gagging watching. I couldn't watch. I was like this. Urgh. Lanell Fagan saw this uproar, and she decided she wanted to try this diet. Can I give you my first impressions? Can I give you my first impressions? Sure. Can I give you my first impressions? Sure. This looks very uncomfortable. It's not. After knee surgery three years ago, she put on 30 pounds, and she say she tried everything to lose it. Even her own daughter was candid about it. You're really fat. When you first heard about this diet, a feeding tube put through your nose and down into your belly, were you, like, repulsed? I was repulsed a bit, but I wanted to know more. Dr Oliver Di Pietro ` an internist in Florida ` is the only doctor in America who offers what's called the K-E or feeding-tube diet. When you first see somebody with a feeding tube, it looks extreme. Well, I don't think the feeding tube is an extreme diet. Feeding tubes are very positive things. The patients we spoke to say the procedure is painless. Gonna just place this in the nose and I'm gonna advance it slowly. But still, it is hard to watch as Dr Di Pietro demonstrates on his wife. Her nose, by the way, is anaesthetised. Once the tube is in, it's connected to a pump that sends fluid from this bag into the stomach 24 hours a day for 10 straight days. The exact composition is a trade secret. But it's basically protein, certain fats and vitamins. Patients get 800 calories a day, and they cannot ingest anything else except for water, coffee and tea. That sends them into a state called ketosis, where the body literally eats its own fat and some muscle for fuel. The patients have to keep the pump and the formula with them at all times. Lanell carries hers in a designer handbag. This is Paolo Cometo's second go round. Turn on your side, Paolo. Five months ago he lost 20 pounds with the feeding tube. And he's kept it all off. This will give you an idea of the difference. But he still wants to lose more. The only time patients are allowed to disconnect the pump is 10 minutes a day for bathing. They wear it to bed too. For the privilege of this inconvenience, you pay $1500. The ads say you'll lose 20 pounds in 10 days, although there is a carefully placed asterisk there. When the feeding-tube diet got its first burst of exposure just a few weeks ago, some in the medical community, including Dr David Katz, a renowned obesity specialist from Yale University, reacted with disgust and disapproval. You've used words like 'lunacy, nonsense, a travesty and appalling'. There isn't even the hope that this would produce a lasting benefit. So, this is, in your view, a money-making scheme. I think it's exploitation. I think, on the part of the patients, desperation reads gullibility. I think frankly relying on a feeding tube is not all that different from relying on fingers down your throat to vomit. It's the same kind of dysfunctional response to the whole relationship with food. It's unhealthy. Now Dr Di Pietro is responding to all the criticism for the first time. He argues this is not some quick weight-loss solution for brides as was suggested in some of the initial media reports, but instead a serious new weapon in America's war on obesity. His point is that you are exploiting people's emotion and fear and despair over inability to lose weight for your own gain. What I would say to Dr Katz is I'm just offering the patients something that is safe and effective. It's been brought from Europe. This is not something new. It's been around since 2005. For Lanell, who's planning on buying a new bikini ` I am in a skirt that I haven't been in in over three years. ...and bringing all her old clothing out of storage... I now have all my size 2 and 4s back in place. ...for her, this debate is quite literally academic. This dress I haven't been able to fit into for four years. I'm absolutely in shock. The knock on the diet is it's a gimmick and` No. No. ...and it won't last. > No. Are you confident when this tube gets taken out that you'll be able to keep this weight off? Yes, and a person who would do this for 10 days ` it's a commitment. I think you finally have the mindset that you're ready to do it and you're doing it 100%. Let me check your weight really quick. Let me check your weight really quick. OK. Great. Now it's time for the final weigh-in. 137. Perfect. OK, Lanell, how are you? And then goodbye to the feeding tube. That's done. You can blow your nose, dear. Back at home she cleans out her closet. 20, 30 pounds worth of old clothes. And though some doctors would advise her not to throw away those old clothes and that she's likely to put weight back on,... Ta-dah! ...she is for now just revelling in her new skinnier frame. You love it? Awesome. Give me a hug. Insane. (CHUCKLES) Next up ` those before and after pics. Are they too good to be true? And how much money have you spent yo-yo dieting? If you see the ads on TV or in magazines, you'd think losing weight couldn't be easier. I've lost 50 pounds. I lost 200 pounds. Having the confidence to put on a bikini. A fantasy land for fat people. How much money do you think you've spent on diets? $10,000 or more. $10,000. Are you married? $10,000. Are you married? I am. I hear a scream somewhere. I hear a scream somewhere. LAUGHTER a Welcome back. From fat to firm. Those before and after pics ` are they, in fact, too good to be true? Americans spend close to $20 billion a year on weightloss, yet the more they spend, the bigger they get. ...firm and flatten your stomach. Ah, yes ` the before and after pictures, a mainstay of a multitude of get-thin-quick ads. But might some of them look too good to be true? We've seen pictures in magazines, on the internet. Meet Furious Pete. Most of the time it's hard to believe a certain supplement or training programme could really make you do the exact same thing. Furious Pete, aka Pete Czerwinski, has never made a real ad, but became a YouTube sensation by showing how easy it is to make your own before and after photos, fast. From flab to fab in just five hours. The first step in this video is to reverse the process. That's right. We're gonna do the after picture first. Go to the gym. Make sure you are as vascular as humanly possible. Jump into a tanning bed, grab a bottle of Pam, and spray the hell out of yourself. Beautiful. Then a little Photoshop to nip and tuck and voila. For the before picture, we wanna put ourselves into a fat-blob mindset. So now for the before picture, he eats lots of salty food. And then... Grab yourself a bottle of pop, a 2-litre bottle or even more is preferable. You can see I look fat as hell compared to the other picture. Over eight million people watched Pete's production. But many more watch ads like these and buy the products from this $20b industry, hoping for the same results as those on screen, but rarely getting them. I think they should show the before picture, the after picture and then a picture a year after. That's because a new study found at least 80% of dieters regain the weight and often end up heavier than when they started and anxious for the next new thing. Are you a size 14 and wanna be a size 4? It was an ad like that that brought me into my addiction. That's what I wanted to be. That's how I wanted to look. Cheryl's not alone. There are an estimated 100 million people dieting in America right now ` all at risk for something no one wants to advertise, yo-yo dieting. How many diets do you think you've been on in your life? How many diets do you think you've been on in your life? 15 to 20. Can you beat that? I can't, but at least seven to 10. Cheryl, Erin, Michael and Nina are long-time yo-yo dieters, caught in the cycle of trying different pills, potions and plans to lose weight, only to put it back on ` a frustrating and expensive habit. How much money do you think you've spent on diets? $10,000 or more. $10,000. Are you married? I am. I am. I hear a scream somewhere out there. The hype is as seductive as an ice-cream sundae. What it actually does is it promotes the yo-yo dieting. Dietician Staci Leavitt leads the weight-loss support group. She says the biggest battle is fighting gimmicks that make losing weight easy. It allows the people to just go on to their next thing, and even if they're successful, the next thing's already out. The next big thing is always pushed with fat numbers and big bold letters, but what's the real deal? That's when the words on the TV get small. 'Results not typical'. And really small here in the magazine ad. Where's that language? You see it? Where's that language? You see it? It's right down here. Where's that language? You see it? It's right down here. You see it? Tucked away in tiny print are words that say a mouthful. But their ads boast 37 pounds in 16 weeks. Or about 9 pounds a month. If there was a diet that worked, everyone would be on it, and we'd be a nation of healthy, fit people. That's because for all the largesse of the weight-loss industrial complex, the more we spend, the fatter America gets. Trainer PJ James couldn't understand why his clients couldn't keep the weight off. So he decided to put himself in their shoes. He stopped working out, ate like crazy and gained weight on purpose. I often was eating between 15,000 and 20,000 calories a day initially to put on the weight. In just three months he gained 90 pounds. He thought he would shed it just as quickly, but he was wrong. It wasn't just his belt that had changed, it was his mindset as well. I developed a habit where I just ate to feel better about myself. James did finally lose the weight, but he also gained a new understanding. It's not so easy for them to turn a switch on and get into shape. It really takes a lot of not only determination on their behalf, but a lot of understanding from people like myself. Still, given a choice between a lifetime of exercise and eating right, or just a few weeks of trying something new, the craving for an easy fix is hard to resist. All right, next up on 20/20 ` we're in Hollywood talking to the women getting all the action in TV2's Fringe and Nikita. GUNSHOT This is going to make taking your bodyguard out so much harder. SNAP! That could have gone better. It's been a while since we've had, you know, a female action sort of show too. The most recent comparison people were making was Alias. a Welcome back. Since Wonder Woman hit our screens in the '70s kicking butt in hotpants, there's been precious few strong female leads in TV land. But it seems times are a-changing ` a little bit, at least. Tonight, Emma Keeling meets the ladies from TV2 dramas Fringe and Nikita. In Fringe, she's no-nonsense FBI agent Olivia Dunham. GUNSHOTS In real life, she's nervous Aussie Anna Torv. Back in 2008, it was your very first chat show with David Letterman about Fringe. Yeah. I couldn't believe that. I-I-I couldn't speak. Like, my mouth was so clammy, and you didn't understand me. That was` My first ever is Letterman. He was so sweet to me, though. (CHUCKLES) Good to have you here. Thank you very much. Now in its fourth season, the show follows an FBI team using fringe science to unravel mysteries connected to a parallel universe. Our two worlds are inextricable. If one side dies, we all die. Born in Melbourne, raised on the Gold Coast, Fringe was Torv's big break. What do we have? This was my first US pilot, too. And everyone said, 'Oh, it's a pilot. You'll never get picked up.' (LAUGHS) Four years on.... (LAUGHS) Four years on.... Look at you now. Yeah. And John Noble, too, is a- is a fellow Australian actor, who spent quite a lot of time in NZ doing Lord Of The Rings. Say it was another man. He was here, and then he was gone. I saw him! John plays Dr Walter Bishop, and Joshua Jackson his son, Peter. WHISPERS: I could get used to this. It was all going well for Peter and Olivia in season three, then... ...so that we can begin to work together to fix` They don't remember Peter. How could they? He never existed. Peter's our lead character. To start a season without him was very strange indeed. What's beyond the door? Sometimes answers lead to more questions. Fringe has just been renewed for a fifth and final season, which means Anna might get a bit more time in Aussie. I still have, like, my Australian agent, and, um, yeah, a bunch of mates still in Australia that I sort of, you know, keep` I` I mean, I hope I get to go back. A lot of shows here, you know, only do, you know, 13 episodes, and those people I see going back all the time, and I'm so jealous, cos we do 22. So it takes us 10 months of the year, and then those two months are just so precious that you just, kind of, wanna just re` regroup. Nothing's straightforward on TV any more. BEEP EXPLOSION Maggie Q is Nikita, an assassin who escaped from a covert government organisation called Division after it went rogue. Who are you? I'm someone who wants to see Division fail. Peace. It always keeps you guessing. You're never quite sure who the bad guys and the good guys are. Yeah, that's true. We like the grey area on Nikita, and I think that's our-our-our creator's` One of his things is that, 'Who really is right or wrong?' You know, what they've experienced, or what they think, you know, is right to them. And I think everybody in` on the show has some element of self-righteousness. Whether it's sort of, you know, um, self-absorbed or not is-is-is another story. Typically, Hollywood has male leads in the tough action roles,... Could have gone better. There's more. ...so Maggie and co-star Lyndsy Fonseca have been enjoying the change. I just loved the fact that Nikita and Alex were such strong women. And I thought that they had a lot of layers already written on the page. And` And I think it's really hard to find great roles for young women. It's nice. I mean, it's actually been a while since we've had a female action sort of show, too. I think the most recent comparison people were making was Alias, and that was a while ago. That wasn't so bad, was it? That wasn't so bad, was it? I would have preferred the bar. This is going to make taking your bodyguard out so much harder. SNAP! Maggie Q does a lot of her own stunt work. But growing up in Hawaii, she did a lot more time in a bikini than a black belt. Now, you started off your career as a model, into acting and martial arts. < How did that transition actually happen? < How did that transition actually happen? Very suddenly. Very strangely. I, um` I modelled out of necessity. It was sort of, you know, one of those things. I was` I was going to school, and, um, I did a lot of commercial work, cos I'm quite small. And then, uh, I had moved to Asia when I was doing commercial work, and Jackie Chan was producing action movies for the young generation, um, that he wasn't in, but he was producing. And, um, he picked a couple guys and one girl, which was me, and his team trained us as, sort of, action stars over there. OMINOUS MUSIC METAL CLANKS Did everybody have to do a boot camp to make sure you could do the physical side? You would think, but no. I mean, I was hired, and no one even asked me if I was somewhat coordinated at all. I-I don't know. They got lucky, cos I, um, I grew up as a dancer, and I-I really was into the idea of doing stunts. But, um, no. I auditioned just with the material, and` and the physical aspect was not even brought up. Maggie's been type-cast in many action movies, but by grabbing a lead role, she's hopeful she'll be able to move in another creative direction. What are you gonna do? You'll see. SMASH! I think everybody goes through that in Hollywood. I genuinely` I'm sure Jennifer Aniston says, 'If I get another romantic comedy, I'm going to kill myself.' And so I don't feel, um, any kind of 'woe is me' in that department, but I do feel that, you know, you have to be known for something first, before you can be known for anything. What genre would you like to move into next? Oh, small. You know, something very small, very controlled and very soft. And something that I really can relate to on a` on a` on a different sort of emotional level. Maybe Jennifer Aniston's got a spare rom-com she could give you? Maybe Jennifer Aniston's got a spare rom-com she could give you? LAUGHS: Right. I'll give her an action movie, and we'll swap up. (LAUGHS) Hey, there's the solution. I'm not sure about Jen's fight skills, but Maggie's got the sexy-time stuff covered. DRAMATIC MUSIC All right, Fringe is up next, in fact, but just before we go tonight ` remember the story we did earlier this year on Auckland's ReQuest Dance Crew? Well, here's one pretty cool update for you. HIP HOP MUSIC PLAYS CHEERING Just a few months ago, we brought you the story of Parris Goebel (20). I told you... her Poly swag dance moves and choreography have meant huge success on the world stage. Soft, soft. And she was auditioning dancers for her new crews to take to this year's World Hip Hop Champs in Las Vegas. We're gonna go for four golds, and you're gonna do it, and start today! But she, too, had her own goals. She revealed she was heading for LA, and these were her last words to us. So for me it means no excuses. There's no excuse for me to not be as motivated as possible to, I guess, achieve what I want to. Fast forward just a couple of months... BOTH: Jennifer Lopez! ...and here she is dancing on, well, just a small show some of you may know. JENNIFER LOPEZ'S 'GOIN' IN' PLAYS You performed on the final of American Idol with Jennifer Lopez. 40 million people watching you in America alone, and then being beamed to another 100 countries around the world. I mean, has that actually sunk in properly yet for you girls? It's` It's a lot to think about. I mean, that many people watching you dance is... crazy. So, yeah, it's been... been amazing. And what was it like there out on stage? I mean, was it a seamless performance? Were there any hiccups that we didn't see? I tell you what, our rehearsal was not good. (LAUGHS) We had, like, wigs and hats flying off and slippery shoes. Then by the time it got to the actual performance, like, we had everything sewn in. The crowd was really good. I mean, it was like a sold-out concert, so it was very very overwhelming. So, what can you tell us about the work you're doing with Jennifer Lopez? Well, what we're working on today I can't really say. But, yep, I have been working on her world tour doing some choreography on, um, some of the pieces. And this week's probably my last week working on that with the dancers and with Jen. And it's just 'Jen' to you now. Is she nice? She's sooo nice. Like, really nice. So, like, you know, she talks to us and, kinda, give us ` how would you say? ` words of wisdom. And just about the industry, about life. So it's really cool to just pick her brain and see that, kind of, side of someone that, you know, is an icon in the music industry. So it's been really cool, and she's really really cool. Are you living your dream yet? Yes! Oh my goodness, yes. Every day I wake up, I'm just like... It's` I have to pinch myself. Every` Every moment here has been amazing. # The best night of my life. # Nice one, girls. That was amazing. If you want to see any of tonight's stories again, head to our website. You can also email us... Or go to our Facebook page. And let us know your thoughts on tonight's show. Now, don't forget to give us a shout if you think there's a yarn we should be following. We're interested in your stories, so keep those ideas coming in.