Hardly a week goes by without Kelly Clarkson going viral, whether it be for her take on a popular song, her celebrity interviews on The Kelly Clarkson Show, or her impressive weight loss.
Clarkson’s weight has fluctuated throughout her impressive career. The American Idol winner has shared her experiences of being body shamed by people in the industry who pressured her to maintain a low weight. “I can’t compete with that,” she told Glamour UK during a 2020 interview. “That’s not even my image. That’s not who I am …We’re all different and it’s okay.”
For Clarkson, losing weight was not about aesthetics or benefiting her career. “Honestly, at my heaviest point, I was hired to be on The Voice,” she said during the same interview. “It had nothing to do with my sex appeal or my look aesthetically. It had to do with me as a person.” Clarkson began her most recent weight loss journey for health reasons after her doctor gave her some bad news.
How did Kelly Clarkson lose weight?
On her show, Clarkson shared she lost weight through a combination of lifestyle changes and a medication that aids in helping the body break down sugar, after her doctor told her she was prediabetic. Due to existing thyroid problems, Clarkson was hesitant to take the medication when her doctor suggested it to treat the condition. “My doctor chased me for two years, and I was like, ‘No, I’m afraid of it,’” she said during a conversation with Whoopi Goldberg.
While she didn’t name the medication and she clarified “it’s not Ozempic,” one medication often used to treat prediabetes and type 2 diabetes is Metformin. According to WebMD, Metformin decreases the amount of glucose in the body as well as helping the body’s insulin work more efficiently.
In addition to medication, Clarkson made several healthy lifestyle changes. She told People that moving from LA to New York City made a big difference for both her physical and mental health after she found herself feeling burnt out. “I was very unhappy in LA and had been for several years. I needed a fresh start.” On her days off, she stays active exploring New York with her children and their dogs. “Walking in the city is quite the workout,” she proclaimed.
She also changed her diet, telling People “a healthy mix” of foods is key to maintaining her weight. Clarkson notes that listening to her doctor and eating a diet high in protein helped her lose the weight for good. She joked that eating this way comes easy to her thanks to her roots. “I’m a Texas girl, so I like meat,” she said, “sorry, vegetarians in the world!”
In 2018, Clarkson shared with Extra that she was losing weight at the time thanks to implementing tips from Dr. Steven Gundry’s book The Plant Paradox. “I did it for this autoimmune disease that I had and I had a thyroid issue,” she said of her reasons for picking up the book. “Now all my levels are back up.”
The diet also helped her drop 37 pounds, she told The Today Show. For individuals who are sensitive to lectin — a protein found in foods like legumes, tomatoes, eggplants, and grains — Gundry’s diet can help manage symptoms but it can be unnecessarily restrictive for those without lectin sensitivity.
Taking it slow and allowing herself her cravings are reasons Clarkson’s weight loss journey has been successful. Clarkson has lost an estimated 60 pounds over the span of six years as a result of eating less processed foods, swapping ingredients in her favorite foods for lighter alternatives, adding more movement into her daily routine, and taking medication to help her body break down glucose. She still makes room in her diet for the occasional sweet treat, telling People she “still splurges” on desserts like ice cream and frozen yogurt. Who can blame her?
Published: Oct 27, 2024 10:57 pm