Chaz Bono Needs to Lose 50 Pounds

Chaz Bono intends to lose between 50-80 pounds and will sit down with Dr. Travis Stork, co-host of the syndicated series The Doctors, for advice on slimming down.

In an exclusive interview which will air November 14 (check local listings), the 43-year-old transgender son of entertainer Cher and the late Sonny Bono will candidly discuss his lifelong struggle with his weight and reveals that being thin was considered very important in his family. "I wasn't an overweight child, but I was put on diets all of the time," he says. "So there was a lot pressure to be underweight growing up." Bono also shares his hope that the pressure of trying to lose weight publicly will give him more incentive to accomplish his goal.

Stork tells Bono that failure isn't an option. "People might say I can't empathize with Chaz because Chaz has lived a unique life," Stork says. "But the truth is Chaz's story is not that different from everyone else out there trying to lose weight."

Bono, who currently weighs 250 pounds and is 5'5, also talks about his years of drug and alcohol abuse, his stint last year on ABC's Dancing with the Stars, and why he has finally been motivated to lose the extra weight. The final results of his transformation will be the subject of a future episode of the Emmy Award-winning series.

(Photos courtesy of CBS Television Distribution / Stage 29 Productions LLC.)