Losing Makes Charlie an Even Bigger Celeb

Part 4: Everyone wants to talk about the slimmed-down manager

Charlie Manuel has learned a few things from losing -- he learned that he felt better, he could do more on the field and that he was even more popular than ever.

No, Charlie wasn’t losing games; he was losing weight -- lots of it.

Seriously -- it’s pretty tough to imagine that the guy who brought Philadelphia its first championship in a generation could be any more popular, but he is thanks to his new diet.

“I had a checkup… and the nurse was asking me about it,” said Manuel from his off-season home in Florida.

The nurse saw that Charlie was doing ads for Nutrisystem and wanted to know more.

She wasn’t alone. He gets asked often about losing and how he is keeping off the pounds.

“People are very talkative,” said Manuel with a laugh. “People who have seen the ad always want to talk to me.”

Charlie is more beloved than ever even if he is smaller than before.

Charlie became a weight-loss celeb after he threw his weight behind Nutrisystem. He picked the Horsham, Pa.-based company after he asked around to see what diet would work best for a diabetic -- Manuel has type-2 diabetes.

“It was organized and really easy,” he said.

Manuel will arrive at Clearwater for Spring Training weighing in just around 230 pounds -- an amazing 56 pounds lighter than he weighed less than a year ago.

Charlie sites the Nutrisystem meals -- “some of them are actually pretty good” -- as a big reason why he could keep on losing weight.

He also likes that the NS food can go on the road with him as he travels with the Phightins.

“It’s really important that I have my Nutrisystem stuff,” he said.

Keeping to the plan on the road is even easier for Charlie because the team stays in places with fridges and microwaves. He often heats up his food and brings them to team meals, he said.

A fringe benefit of being a weight-loss celebrity is the encouragement that Charlie gets from everyone from strangers to his own players, he said.

Find out more about how the players treated the slimmer Manuel and if fans should expect another World Series run from the Phightins this season in the final installment of the series.

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