Kelly Clarkson Shares The Simple Lifestyle Changes That Helped Her Lose 60 Pounds

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Kelly Clarkson is rocking some confidence.

The talk show host, who has been on a wellness journey for the last year, showed off her progress in June during the Daytime Emmys. On the red carpet for the award show, where she took home the trophy for Best Daytime Talk Show in June, the 42-year-old wore a gorgeous magenta gown.

But the star got some backlash after revealing on a recent episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show that she used a weight loss medication. When her guest, Whoopi Goldberg, raved about taking the injectable Mounjaro, Kelly shared her own experience.

Kelly revealed that she lost “a lot” of weight, before 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 also added this: “Everybody thinks it’s Ozempic. It’s not.”

Over the last few months, Kelly has been open about moving into an active lifestyle, switching up her diet, and taking a prescription medication to aid with her weight loss. Back in January, she revealed a pre-diabetic diagnosis, along with a cross-country move to New York City, kicked her into action.

“I was very unhappy in L.A. and had been for several years. I needed a fresh start,” Kelly told People earlier this year. “I was going through a really rough few years, and even in the first season it was rough behind closed doors. Just to be able to come into season five feeling good and knowing my kids feel good— and the dust has settled. Season five is my first season to actually enjoy every minute of it.”

Now, the “You Don’t Make Me Cry” singer says her workouts, diet, and lifestyle have all been revamped. Below, here are all the details on Kelly Clarkson's weight loss journey so far—plus, how she keeps a positive, healthy mindset.

Did Kelly Clarkson use Ozempic?

Kelly says she did not take Ozempic for weight loss. On a recent episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the singer talked with her guest Whoopi Goldberg about weight loss. After Whoopi raved about taking Mounjaro, Kelly opened up about her own experience with weight loss medication.

Kelly shared that she’s lost “a lot” of weight and added, “Mine is a different one than people assume, but I ended up having to do that too because my bloodwork got so bad.” She also 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 has faced backlash for opening up about her weight loss.

After Kelly revealed she's been taking weight loss medication, people flooded the comments of her Instagram posts.

“Let’s be honest & clear??!!! You do not lose 40 lbs in 2 months without serious help!!?? People are not stupid,” one wrote. “I truly love you Kelly but we all knew you used medication to lose weight. Why did you have to lie about it? Just disappointed 😞 😢,” another said.

But while some people expressed their disappointment, others came to her defense. “Screw these mean people, you do you! No one’s business, you shared in your own time line. Between you and your doctor. Congratulations on your journey, very proud of you!” said one fan. “Hey you look great and as long as you feel great, screw everyone else,” someone else said.

Meanwhile, Kelly's famous friends have come to her defense.

"As somebody who's fought with this... I took a raft of stuff when I had bypass surgery," Today co-host Al Roker, who underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2002, said during a May 14 episode. "It's not easy, whatever you do. So get off people's backs."

The ladies of The View weighed in too, with Whoopi pointing out that, "They kick her behind when she’s bigger, they kick her behind when she’s lost the weight, and now they’re kicking her behind because she said it out loud."

Joy, 81, added that "diets do not work" for her, while Sunny Hostin, 55, reflected on an "epidemic of [body] shaming."

"It all has to stop," Sunny continued. "People don’t say to a guy, 'Hey, are you on Viagra?' I don’t think the personal health choices you make for yourself should be subject to discussion."

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 on her show 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 series, 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.

"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 much weight did Kelly Clarkson lose?

Kelly shared on The Kelly Clarkson Show that she weighed 203 pounds at her heaviest and didn’t recognize herself when she watched back an episode of her show she had taped. “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 stressed that she was “never insecure” about her weight. “I was happy. People were like, 'Oh, she must not have been happy.' No, I was happy, I just did not see that,” she said.

Kelly ended up talking to her manager, who has been with her for 15 years, about it. “She was like, ‘I know, I’m kind of as shocked as you,’” Kelly said. “And I think because your people are with you the whole time, so it’s gradual. You don’t even realize.”

Kelly hasn’t publicly shared how much weight she’s lost, but Extra reports that it’s about 60 pounds.

How did Kelly Clarkson lose weight?

In 2023, Kelly requested that her talk show be moved to the Big Apple because she needed a change. “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,” she said. “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."

After moving to the city that never sleeps, 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 said she changed her diet.

Kelly shared with People that she’s re-vamped her diet, and is focusing on eating lots of protein.

“I eat a healthy mix,” she said. “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.

“But 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 tweaks 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.”

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!"

Watch this to learn about Kelly Clarkson's journey from American Idol to pop legend:

What workouts does Kelly do?

Aside from walking all over New York, Kelly hasn't shared a ton of details on her current gym routine. However, she previously opened up about her workout routine during a visit to The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2020.

"Sometimes I'm more fit and I get into kickboxing hardcore. And then sometimes I don't, and I'm like...I'd rather have wine," she said, per People.

She’s not into shopping for new clothes, though.

While Kelly is all about walking the streets of New York, you’re unlikely to find her cruising into stores along the way. She revealed on her show that she’s anti-shopping.

Kelly shared with Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush that she “doesn’t fit into” her clothes. “I love losing weight but here’s the thing: Jeans are so hard when you have a butt and, like, smaller waist.”

After Jenna offered to take Kelly shopping, she totally shot her down. “I don’t want to go shopping,” she said. Jenna sweetly offered to buy Kelly a few pairs, like she said she does for her Today co-host, Hoda Kotb—an idea that Kelly seemed really into.

Kelly also showed a picture on the show of Jenna and Barbara dressed in identical outfits as kids. “Those drop waist things were popular,” Jenna commented on the look. “Which is not good for girls with curves later on,” Kelly said.

Jenna said that she was “chubby” as a kid, and Barbara agreed that “there was a stage” for her sister. Kelly chimed in with, “I’ve had many stages,” before they all cracked up.

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.

In 2017, Kelly was at her lowest weight and admitted that 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 Magazine.

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.'"

Kelly doesn’t use weight loss supplements.

In 2019, the singer tweeted, "Other fake news that’s going around about me is that I’ve been taking weird pills 4 weight loss or doing weird fad diets. All of this is not true. I ain’t got time 4 all that. I eat the same stuff I always have. It’s all just made w/different flours/sugars/ingredients."

In 2023, a Facebook post that looks like it was written by Kelly (spoiler: It wasn’t) went viral. In it, fake-Kelly says that she bought “effective slimming gummies,” before plugging a product. The post also shows several doctored pictures of Kelly holding the gummies in places where she’s highly unlikely to be doing that, like on the red carpet and while posing next to Dr. Oz. Still, the post has gotten a lot of attention and been passed around a lot, which is probably why Kelly’s team decided to step in.

Kelly’s publicist, Melissa Kates, said in a statement to the Associated Press that the singer and talk show host “does not have any affiliation as a spokesperson” for any “weight loss products/programs.” Meaning, this is bogus.

Unfortunately, this post is still circulating and even shows up in search results when you try to find more information about Kelly’s weight loss. There are also ads for weight loss gummies linked to Kelly’s name that rank high in search results. Again, Kelly is not actually affiliated with these.

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.

Kelly said that 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. It had to do with me as a person. I think it’s really up to artists to force people to have that mentality,” she said.

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