Kelly Clarkson’s Weight Loss Journey: With Medication, Eating Protein, and Walking
After her recent weight loss, Kelly Clarkson could be entering the health space herself soon.
The rumors began after Hoda Kotb, who just left her position as co-anchor of Today, told Kelly on a January episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show that she’s in the process of launching a wellness app and company in the spring—and Kelly was all about the idea of focusing on wellness.
“A lot of us need to be better at that, ’cause we’re—I’m—a go, go, go, go,” Kelly said. “We exhaust ourselves, and we’re not good at knowing how to be still or slow down… Don’t tell me about it, invite me.”
“Oh, you’re coming!” Hoda replied.
Subsequently, fans got super-excited about the possibility of the two teaming up in the future.
Of course, Kelly seems to be doing just fine on her own. She’s looking super fit and glowy, whether she’s wearing makeup or not. She’s been everywhere lately, from the Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony in December to a new video for her single “You for Christmas.”
She’s feeling better than ever, too. 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.
What diagnosis did Kelly Clarkson have?
Kelly had a prediabetes diagnosis, she previously shared on her show.
On January 29, Kelly told King of Queens star Kevin James that she “was told I was prediabetic.”
“That was literally what happened,” she continued. “They were like — and I was, well, I wasn’t shocked. I was a tiny bit overweight. So, yeah, but I wasn’t shocked by it. But they did. They were like, ‘You’re prediabetic. You’re right on the borderline.’” (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.)
“And I was like, ‘But I’m not there yet,’” Kelly said. “And then I waited two years and then did, however, move into the — I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll do something about it.’”
What dress size is Kelly Clarkson?
Kelly hasn’t publicly shared her dress size—and, of course, she doesn’t need to. But an insider told Life & Style that she went from a size 14 to a size 8. “Kelly feels good and is having fun switching up her wardrobe!” the insider added.
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.”
How many children does Kelly Clarkson have?
Kelly has two children with her ex-husband Brandon Blackstone: Daughter River Rose, 10, and son Remington, 8. Kelly’s kids recently made an appearance on her show, where they seemed super comfortable in front of the camera. Remy even adorably belted out Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” in front of a live studio audience:
“Like their mama, both my kids love singing,” Kelly shared. “And when Remy got to set, he surprised us. He wanted his chance at the microphone, and he literally said, ‘Who do I have to talk to to sing my song?’ I was like, ‘Okay.’ So of course, we made it happen.”
Kelly has been walking a lot with her kids since moving to New York City, which has helped with her weight loss.
“We go walk the dogs a few times at the park,” she told People. “We’ll go for ice cream because my daughter will wear me down. We’ll go make slime and we go to the museum. Walking in the city is quite the workout.”
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.”
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!”
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 navigating certain situations and having 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 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.
