Jessica Simpson Shows New, Trimmed-Down Figure In Latest Instagram Shot

Jessica Simpson appears to have made the most of her $4 million Weight Watchers endorsement deal, which she inked in May of 2012, less than a month after the birth of her first child. Around that time, the Dukes of Hazzard actress reportedly topped out at 170 pounds.

After her second pregnancy, she has now dropped an estimated 70 pounds off her 5’3? frame since June of last year, and she took the opportunity to post a selfie in a slinky black dress on her Instagram account Friday.

While Jessica Simpson may not be back to her Daisy Duke workout routine, which in 2005 consisted of two-hour trips to the gym six days per week, she has obviously had a great deal of success on the program.

Here is where she started, almost two years ago:

And here is how she looks today, in that Instagram shot:

Now, not to throw cold water on the Jessica Simpson weight loss party, because she obviously looks great, but a few aspects of the photo should be noted. First, she’s wearing black, which has a slimming effect by obscuring extra bulges that might appear better defined in a brighter-colored dress on which lighting can work its unflattering voodoo.

Second, Jessica Simpson is posing with her hands on her hips, and appears to be turning her body subtly at the waist, both common techniques used by many celebrities that result in slimmer-looking photographs.

Third, note that the folding chair marked “Jessica’s chair” is blocking part of her lower body, obscuring any possible problem areas there.

And finally, the photo is in black and white, which again, smooths out imperfections that might be apparent in a vivid, color photograph.

Whether the shot was treated with retouching and Photoshop before being broadcast on Instagram, who knows? It’s certainly possible, but even giving Jessica the benefit of the doubt, she is still doing everything in her power to show off her weight loss to the best effect possible.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. On the Jessica Simpson Instagram account she — or whoever operates her account — captioned the photo “Too proud to sit down!” The pic was snapeed during the filming of her upcoming Weight Watchers commercial.

She should be proud of herself. As hard as she worked to fit into her Daisy Duke cut-off shorts at age 24, at 33 there’s no doubt that Jessica Simpson needed to work just as hard of not harder to get the body she displayed in the Instagram shot. On the other hand, with an estimated net worth of $100 million, finding the time to exercise gets much easier for Jessica Simpson than for the average person.