tonight on "nightline," diet rehab. is it possible to be addicted to food? this doctor says yes. and claims he has a 28-day solution. tonight, one young woman's battle to stop compulsive overeating. plus, all hail the queen. she went from hip hop -- ♪ >> to the home shopping network. and now she's joined forces with dolly parton. her rags to riches rise from momma's girl to mogul. lara spencer gets real with latifah. and bad reputation. casey anthony is back. >> just strange how much things have changed. >> with a new look, new life and

new hope. but as she works to rebuild her image, is there any way someone this infamous can find redemption? >> announcer: from the global resources of abc news, with terry moran, cynthia mcfadden and bill weir in new york city, this is "nightline," january 5th, 2012. >> and good evening. we begin tonight with the number one resolution on many people's lists. losing weight. it's big business in the u.s. americans spent a staggering $62 billion last year on weight loss programs and health club memberships. tonight, a doctor who says we may be spending our money in the wrong ways. food, he says, can be as addictive as heroin. so, we put his 28-day solution to the test during the hardest time of the year, the holidays, with a mother who is desperate to lose weight. here's abc's juju chang.

>> reporter: >> when i look at myself, when i look at my body, i'm not happy. i don't want to be big anymore. i don't want to feel uncomfortable in my own skin. >> reporter: kalia moss weighs 242 pounds and says she's an addict. a food addict. >> my relationship with food is, i feel like i abuse it. >> reporter: in one day, she can eat an entire box of pasta. a typical meal involving huge por shuns of white rice and beans. >> feeling stuffed but still hungry, kind of. it's weird. >> reporter: and she's constantly snacking. what kinds of foods would you mind lelsly eat? >> chips. i would sit there and not even realize that i ate the whole bag. >> reporter: the former plus size model gained 60 pounds of baby weight with the birth of her son. >> make mommy hungry. >> reporter: at 30, she says she began to fear she was eating herself to death. what was the motivation for you to go on this diet? >> my son.

i want to live a long life. i want him -- i don't want him to grow up without a mother. >> reporter: now, after a lifetime of failed diets, she says she's ready to try a different approach. by putting her brain on a diet. it's called diet rehab, developed by dr. mike dow, and it's designed to break food addictions in just 28 days. >> haurn will kill you faster, but food addiction is killing a lot more people in this country. >> reporter: but if somebody's been addicted to food for 10, 20, 30 years, how can you possibly cure that in 28 days? >> you really have to have them fill their brain with the seratonin they need. 28 days is sort of that gold standard. it takes a month to build a habit. >> reporter: dr. dow has agreed to work with kalia face to face. >> nice to meet you. >> reporter: the diet rehab begins. >> i have to see what's in here. >> reporter: he goes through kalia's fridge, identified all

the bad foods. >> this is about 800 calories. >> i can drink the whole thing by myself. >> white rice. white flour. mayonnaise. seafood fry mix. >> reporter: she hopes to lose ten pounds in 28 days, by replacing her addictive foods with what dr. mike calls booster foods, which produce the same field-good chemicals in the brain. >> love, love, love this yogurt. >> reporter: what do you replace all that with? >> booster foods have two things going on. they keep up very satisfied in the stomach and they actually give you sort of small, steady a amounts of the brain chemicals. >> reporter: week one, eat as you always have, but add one booster meal and activity a day. kalia swaps regular pasta for whole grain and veggies. >> it feels good to be preparing something healthy like this. >> reporter: and amends short walks to her daily routine. >> after i ate my booster dinner, i wasn't hungry.

i was proud of myself. i can really do this. >> reporter: week two, eat as you were, but add two booster foods and two booster activities. kalia amends more fresh fruits and salads. >> my breakfast is like grits and home fries and biscuits and stuff like that. i can't eat that stuff. so, today i'm going to start off with a fruit juice. >> reporter: but as week two nears its end, kalia hits a stumbling block. >> i had a very bad day. and i didn't follow the diet. day nine, day ten has been rough. and i have 18 more days to go? >> reporter: week three is the hard part. where we start eliminating her addictive foods. just three servings a day. and increase booster activities to three a day. >> so, we're going to my local grocery store to pick up a few things. >> reporter: but she can't deny she's missing her old friends. >> juice. and my onion rings.

>> reporter: though she's still missing her fatty foods, dr. mike says after time, her brain will crave the new healthier diet. so, you are playing with brain chemistry. >> i am. diet rehab is actually tailored to balance your chemical levels, because food is giving us those chemicals. food addicts aren't really hungry for sugar and candy. they are usually actually hungry for peace and happiness. >> reporter: week four cuts back her addictive foods even more, just two serving a day. and four booster activities. kalia decides it's time to join a gym. >> i'm serious. and i want to do it. >> reporter: her finish line has one major obstacle in the way. the christmas holiday, full of fat and sugar. >> i'm in my grammy's kitchen. and here it goes in the grease. i'm not eating that. just to let you know. i'm on a diet. >> reporter: kalia powers through, and 28 days later,

she's ready to step on that scale. >> i'm anxious because i don't know what that scale is going to say. if i don't lose the ten pounds, i'm going to be upset. 233! one pound away. one. >> reporter: not quite, but almost two her goal. and more importantly, she's successfully changed her li lifestyle. describe the new you. >> i really am paying attention to what i eat now. i love brucebruszle sprouts now that was not 28 days ago. >> reporter: while she may have broken her addiction, but she knows the temptations will always be there. for "nightline," i'm juju chang in new york city. >> and dr. dow's book is on sale now. just ahead, queen latifah. she's done it all. but she's never done this. duking it out with dolly parton, in her new movie.

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>> announcer: "nightline" continues from new york city with cynthia mcfadden. >> she released her first album, "all hail the queen" when she was only 19 years old. in the two decades-plus since,

dana owens, better known aslati, a golden globe and nominated for an academy award. tonight, with a new movie in the offing, abc's lara spencer introduces us to a side of the queen you haven't seen. >> you know, we're friends, just because we get a little -- i don't want you to get upset. >> at least attempt to whoop you. >> reporter: show me the moves. when we asked queen latina how she wanted to spend the day, she surprised us with her answer. >> who spelled my name wrong? where is my h on the end? trying to distract me. >> reporter: we're keeping it so real -- >> super real. >> reporter: and it doesn't get anymore real than bowling. beautifuling is -- >> you know, bowling is just fun for me. it's just fun. it gives you a chance to try to

get it perfect. you get to hit a strike. >> reporter: seeing the metaphor for your life. a lot of strikes these days. it's true. at 41 years old, queen latifah has catapulted her career from the bowling lane to the red carpet. >> well, i am who i am. >> maybe you were five procedures ago. >> reporter: in her latest role, she teams up with the feisty dolly parton to play a choir director in "joyful noise." >> quit it with the nails. >> reporter: and she's not only the star, she's the film's executive producer. how tiny is dolly in real life? >> this big and about -- >> reporter: she just looks tiny, though. >> does that make any sense? >> reporter: i got it. before she was the queen, dana owens was a jersey girl. her mom was a schoolteacher. her dad, a cop. and dana, just a regular kid from a humble home. where did this drive come from, though? >> i watch my mom and my dad work really hard. but also i got lucky and i fell

into a group of kids in high school who all had big ideas. we had big dreams. ♪ >> reporter: dreams she made happen. at 18, she broke into the world of hip hop. eventually topping the charts with rap hits like "you and i-t-y." >> it helped me with timing and rhythm. even "living single." that timing you have to have on a sitcom was kind of natural for me. put on your fake lashes and just tramp your fake behind up on out of here. >> reporter: she quickly parlayed those rapping skills into much harder roams, playing a rugged lesbian bank robber in the hit movie "set it off." >> you come out here, my gun is going in your mouth. the first time i had any acting lessons is when i did "set it off" and i hired a coach because i knew that i wanted to do something really special with the role. i mean, he did have me wearing, you know, hanes underwear, which

are really comfortable. these things fit good but i could not wait to get them off. i'm like, okay, can i be a girl again? ♪ when you're good to momma >> reporter: and the glamour would soon follow. by the time she starred in the movie "chicago," she had truly become the queen. >> fortunately i've been able to kind of slowly build and grow. >> reporter: and you think that's what kept you grounded? >> definitely. i think what really has kept me grounded is having real people around me. i mean, i have friends, real friends who are not yes men. when i do a good job, they pat me on the back. when i do a bad thing, they slap my hand. they always love me, regardless. you got one of a kind eyes. >> reporter: but even with her cover girl status and hsn clothing line, even with the grammy, the emmy and the oscar nods, even with the hit series and the blockbusters -- >> i get that a lot.

>> reporter: her brand continues to expand. what's the thread that goes through all of those different ventures that you have? >> you will see something that is done with beauty that comes from the inside-out. with confidence. and also be some form of fill land throe by. i might be in that 1%, but i'm part of the 1% that came from nothing. >> reporter: in "joyful noise," she plays a mother. >> and i'm very, very proud to be your mother. >> reporter: and it's a role she could see herself playing in real life. >> i'm just going to have to go for it. it's going to happen some how. come hell of high water. >> reporter: i think you'd be a great mom. >> i think i would be, too. at some point, i just want to kind of live beyond my -- i've accomplished all my goals. >> reporter: you could have done this interview anywhere. you chose a bowling alley. >> i really wanted to go to the gun range but i didn't think you'd get very good sound. >> reporter: maybe next time, queen. for "nightline," i'm lara spencer in new york. >> terrific.

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she was acquitted of murdering her daughter on july 5th. and then she basically disappeared -- until now. casey anthony has the rare and unenviable position of having attracted enormous public disdain, disgust, even.

a release of a video of anthony has caused enormous controversy. here's abc's david wright. >> so, this is my first video diary. it is october 13th. >> reporter: it's the first time we've heard her speak since a florida jury found her not guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, caylee. >> we the jury find the defendant not guilty. >> extremely excited that i'll be able to keep a video log, take some pictures and that i have something that i can finally call mine. >> reporter: a black and white video diary, posted this week on youtube. it is not clear by whom. the only thing that hints at something strange is what she says about her whereabouts, which is clearly not home. >> i know i'm be here for many, many months more, even if i'm only here for six months. >> it is almost like a therapy session in a lot of ways. i'm feeling better, i got a dog, i think this was really her attempt at catharsis. >> he's as much my dog as any of

the other pelts we've had. >> reporter: on the video, casey anthony never mentions her dead daughter. not once. >> if this was her attempt to tell her own story, she did it very badly. >> reporter: howard bragman is an expert at restoring a tarnished image. a veteran hollywood publicist who now runs reputation.com, an online service that helps people downplay harsh things that have been published about them online. >> if something bad about is you online, there's no statue of limitations. it's like herpes. you have to live with it for the rest of your life. >> reporter: casey anthony's name was one of the top ten google searches last year, because millions of people were shocked by the crime and equally shocked the jury did not convict her. fairly or not, many see her, like o.j. simpson, as someone who got away with murder. >> guilty of the crinot guilty murder. >> the court of public opinion is made of much different

assumptions that the court of law did. and it's harder to overcome. >> reporter: for a hollywood celebrity like charlie sheen -- >> i am on a drug, it's called charlie sheen. >> reporter: a bad image is tolerable, maybe even profitable. for kim kardashian, tabloid headlines can mean a career. bragman argues redemption might even be possible for someone like lindsay lohan. >> people want lindsay lohan to succeed. but the one thing i've learned about celebrities in trouble, we can't wand t it more than they want it. >> so, this is the end of my first video log. i will probably do another one later. >> reporter: casey anthony's image problem runs much deeper, says bragman. >> there are tens of millions of people that believe she murdered her daughter. and i believe that someone could come forward and say, "i did it" and they would still hate her. >> reporter: after all, she's famous for just one thing. t