Monday, February 21st 2011, 4:25 PM

Herbert/AP

First lady Michelle Obama, seen here at a "Let's Move" event, angered Rush Limbaugh with her dietary choices last weekend.

Edmonds/AP

Rush Limbaugh disapproved of her choice of ribs.

He may be no model of fitness himself, but Rush Limbaugh thinks Michelle Obama could stand to shed a few pounds.

Especially before telling other people what to eat.

The conservative talk show host slammed the First Lady in his radio show Monday after she was spotted in Colorado snacking on some short ribs. The vacation dinner, Limbaugh charged, went against the First Lady's emphasis on promoting nutrition and exercise.

And he didn't exactly mince words.

"The problem is, and dare I say this, it doesn't look like Michelle Obama follows her own nutritionary, dietary advice," he said. "And then we hear that she's out eating ribs at 1,500 calories a serving with 141 grams of fat per serving ... I'm trying to say that our First Lady does not project the image of women that you might see on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue or of a woman Alex Rodriguez might date every six months or what have you."

The First Lady's health initiatives encourage people to make better choices about what foods they eat, and emphasizes getting enough fruits and vegetables daily. She also encourages everyone, especially children, to get outside and exercise in her "Let's Move" campaign.

"We want to make sure that people understand this is about overall health and physical fitness is ... something that I stress in my household. It is a part of that. It's a natural part of your life," she said on Good Morning America earlier this month. "My kids have to get up and move. They can't sit in front of the TV. I have my girls involved in sports because I want them, as young women, to understand what it feels like to compete and to win and to run and to sweat. ... This is about all of that, as well."

When the diet report was published by a Colorado newspaper, she was at a Vail resort skiing with daughters Sasha and Malia. She took them to Restaurant Kelly Liken in Vail Village on Saturday night, according to Vail Daily, where she ate a braised ancho-chile short rib with hominy wild mushrooms and sautéed kale. She also began the meal with a pickled pumpkin salad with arugala.

"Yes, it's true, the first lady dined at our restaurant tonight and seemed to really enjoy it," restaurant chef and owner Kelly Liken told the newspaper.

Limbaugh's not the first conservative to slam her nutrition choices. Fellow conservative darling Sarah Palin often ridicules the First Lady's efforts, arguing it's not up to the Obamas or the government to tell Americans what to eat.

"What she is telling us is she cannot trust parents to make decisions for their own children, for their own families in what we should eat," the ex-Alaska governor told radio host Laura Ingraham in November. "Instead of a government thinking that they need to take over and make decisions for us according to some politician's or politician's wife's priorities, just leave us alone . . . "

Limbaugh suggested he just didn't think the Obamas were following their own advice.

"She's a hypocrite. Leaders are supposed to be leaders. If we're supposed to go out and eat nothing, if we're supposed to eat roots and berries and tree bark, show us how," he ranted.

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/02/21/2011-02-21_rush_limbaugh_calls_michelle_obama_a_hypocrite_after_first_lady_reportedly_eats_.html