Kelly Clarkson Shares The Protein-Heavy Diet That Helped Her 'Drop Weight'
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Although The Kelly Clarkson Show only debuted in 2019, it's already become a staple of daytime television. So naturally, it makes sense that host Kelly Clarkson would emcee anther legendary event—the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting!
It's the second year in a row that Kelly will host the ceremony, where last year she "bawled" at the sight.
"It's so beautiful when you're standing there," she said on her show. "I was all of a sudden in a Charlie Brown movie, and it was magical!"
Kelly has been looking especially fit and glowy in recent months—and in a May episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the singer shared that she used a weight-loss medication after experiencing a health scare.
So how much weight did Kelly lose? Here’s what she's said.
Did Kelly Clarkson use Ozempic?
Kelly says she did not take the type 2 diabetes medication Ozempic for weight loss. During a May episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the singer discussed her weight loss with guest Whoopi Goldberg. After Whoopi raved about taking Mounjaro, Kelly opened up about her own experience with taking a weight-loss medication.
Kelly shared that she’s lost “a lot” of weight, saying, “Mine is a different one than people assume, but I ended up having to do that too because my bloodwork got so bad.” She added that she did not take Ozempic.
Kelly didn’t name the medication but said that it’s “something that aids in helping break down the sugar—obviously my body doesn’t do it right.”
Kelly said her doctor "chased [her] for, like, two years" to take the medication, but she was nervous of the effects on her thyroid. But ultimately, she decided to take it after she watched a birthday special that she planned to release.
“All of a sudden I paused it, and I was like, ‘Who is f*ck is that?’” she said. “You see it and you're like, ‘Well, she’s about to die of a heart attack,’" Kelly said.
Kelly shared that she was 203 pounds at "my heaviest," but "was never insecure about it."
"I was happy,” she added.
Whoopi, for her part, said she's lost the weight of "almost two people" after "doing that wonderful shot that works for folks who need some help."
"It's great for people like us who have issues," the View co-host added.
Her weight loss started after a health scare.
In December 2023, Kelly first hinted at her weight loss on her talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show. At the time, she shared that she doesn't wear Spanx anymore, per Life & Style. "In this building, it's so cold. I don't even need to wear Spanx anymore. I just wear them for warmth, like thermals," Kelly said during a singing game.
But on January 29, Kelly revealed that she was doing "something" about her weight after receiving a pre-diabetic diagnosis a few years ago.
King of Queens star Kevin James, who was a guest on the show, brought Kelly a vanilla malted milk shake as a gift. But Kevin shared that he was “going to be in trouble” for the gesture because he was shooting a documentary about getting in shape.
“There's a very big difference in being in shape and losing weight. I am the ladder,” Kelly shared. After Kevin told Kelly that she “looks great,” she joked, "this should help."
Kelly then shared that was told she was "pre-diabetic" two years ago. (Prediabetes means your blood sugar levels are "higher than normal," but not high enough for a type 2 diabetes diagnosis, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)
"I wasn’t shocked," she said. "I was a tiny bit overweight."
“They were like, ‘You’re pre-diabetic. You’re right on the borderline.’ And I was like, ‘But I’m not there yet,” she continued. “And then I waited two years and then I was like, 'Okay, I’ll do something about it.”
How long did it take for Kelly to lose 60 pounds?
Kelly hasn’t given an exact timeline on how long it took for her to lose 60 pounds. However, she’s dropped some hints.
The singer previously shared that a lot of things changed for her, from her happiness to her daily activity levels, when she moved to New York City in 2023.
But Kelly had already lost weight at that point, suggesting that she started her journey much sooner. In fact, Kelly told Today in 2018 that she had lost about 37 pounds after changing her diet.
“I know the industry loves the weight gone, but for me, it wasn’t really the weight,” she said.
How did Kelly Clarkson lose weight?
Kelly's weight-loss journey was sparked by a cross-country move from Los Angeles to New York.
“I was very unhappy in L.A. and had been for several years. I needed a fresh start,” Kelly told People earlier this year. “We told NBC, ‘I’m not trying to sound ungrateful, I just can’t stay here anymore for my mental health; for me and my kids.’ They weren’t doing well either. For the past few years, I’d just been showing up and smiling and doing what I’m supposed to do, but you can only compartmentalize so long until you break."
But Kelly said that she felt “good” going into season five of her show. “Knowing my kids feel good—and the dust has settled. Season five is my first season to actually enjoy every minute of it.”
After moving to the Big Apple, Kelly had to walk a lot more. Relocating to New York City ultimately helped Kelly get her body moving and start losing weight.
“We go walk the dogs a few times at the park. We'll go for ice cream because my daughter will wear me down. We'll go make slime and we go to the museum,” she said. Kelly also added, “Walking in the city is quite the workout."
But that's not all she did. Kelly began making changes to her diet and wellness practices, too, which ultimately helped supplement her healthy lifestyle after her pre-diabetic diagnosis.
Kelly changed her diet.
Kelly has revamped her diet and is focusing on eating lots of protein.
“I eat a healthy mix,” she told People. “I dropped weight because I’ve been listening to my doctor—a couple years I didn’t. And 90 percent of the time I’m really good at it because a protein diet is good for me anyway. I’m a Texas girl, so I like meat—sorry, vegetarians in the world!”
As Kelly noted, her diet is a "healthy mix," meaning she still allows space for treats.
“I still splurge. The other night I had a frozen yogurt with my daughter, and it was magical," she added.
While on a weight-loss journey in 2018, Kelly said that she would tweak the ingredients in foods to make her meals healthier. “It’s the same stuff you eat—I just use different ingredients,” she said. “Even like fried chicken, I use cassava flour, tapioca, or almond flour, and you use non-hormone chicken.”
The Plant Paradox
But Kelly admitted this isn’t the easiest route to go for most people. “I’m going to be real with you: It’s really expensive to do,” she added.
Kelly later clarified that she'd lost weight following The Plant Paradox by Dr. Steven Gundry. The Plant Paradox Diet is a lectin-free diet that eliminates beans, legumes, whole grains, certain vegetables, and dairy.
"I literally read this book, and I did it for this autoimmune disease that I had and I had a thyroid issue, and now all my levels are back up," Kelly told Extra that same year. "I'm not on medicine anymore because of this book. It's basically about how we cook our food, non-GMO, no pesticides, eating really organic...Literally, I haven't worked out at all!"
What weight loss plan is Kelly on?
Kelly hasn’t spoken about her diet or exercise routine since revealing that she is taking a weight loss medication, likely due to all of the attention she received over it.
However, it seems like she’s trying to eat a balanced diet with plenty of protein and to stay active for her overall health.
Kelly started prioritizing her wellness practices.
In addition to diet and exercise, Kelly shared she’s been indulging in infrared saunas, which have been found to improve sleep, relieve stress and pain, and help clear skin.
She's also started dabbling in cold plunges. “I just got a cold plunge because everybody wore me down,” Kelly added. Cold plunges are also known to help with cardiovascular health and can boost your metabolism, per Healthline.com.
She keeps a healthy mindset about weight loss.
When Kelly was at her lowest weight in the early 2000s, she was having dark thoughts, per Page Six. “I was miserable, like inside and out, for four years of my life. But no one cared, because aesthetically, you make sense," she said to Attitude.
“It was a very dark time for me. I thought the only way out was quitting," she added. "I wrecked my knees and my feet because all I would do is put in headphones and run. I was at the gym all the time.”
Kelly, who has struggled with mental health, has opened up about going to therapy.
“They give you so many tools for how to navigate certain situations and also to have somebody outside your circle that doesn’t know anything, but just knows what’s happening in the now,” she told Entertainment Tonight Canada.
Ultimately, Kelly told People that she’s learned to be kinder to herself, offering this advice to her 15-year-old self: “I’ve always been that kind of person that’s a little hard on oneself. I’d be like, ‘It’s not going to happen anytime soon, but eventually it’ll get easier. Around 41, you’re really going to get your shit together.'"
Did Kelly Clarkson get weight-loss surgery?
Kelly has not shared anything about getting weight-loss surgery. Instead, she’s spoken a lot about losing weight through changes in her diet and exercise routine, along with taking an undisclosed medication.
After Kelly revealed that she’s been using a medication, the talk show host hasn’t said anything else about her weight.
Kelly hopes to change the way people talk about weight.
Kelly has had to field a lot of talk about her weight over the years. But she told Glamour UK that being thin doesn’t make her feel more confident.
Kelly shared that, at once point in her career, she was asked to have a body like other women in the industry. “It was more of magazines shoved in front of you and, ‘This is what you're competing with and we've got to compete with it,’” she said. “I can't compete with that. That's not even my image. That's not who I am. That's who they are. We're all different and it's okay. I fought more when I was thinner than I do now, because now I just walk in and I just look at them like, ‘I dare you to say something. I'm happy in my life. I'll work on me in my time!’”
She also pointed out that she got her coaching role on The Voice after she gained weight. “I got on the No. 1 television show at my heaviest point, because it was right after I had kids, and they didn’t care,” she said.
Paul Telegdy, the chairman of NBC Entertainment, hired her “because he loved my personality, he loved that I connect with people and I’m really raw and real,” she said.
“It had nothing to do with my sex appeal or my look aesthetically," she said. "It had to do with me as a person. I think it’s really up to artists to force people to have that mentality.”
Now, Kelly has gotten rid of the "negative people" in her life, instead embracing the positive ones.
“It was a case of turning around, facing them and walking toward the light,” she told Attitude.
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