When Kelly Clarkson’s talk show came back on air last fall, suddenly her weight loss was very noticeable. Going through the photos of Kelly throughout 2023, it did seem like she was losing weight pretty consistently throughout the year, then it was like “bam!!” in October/November. She lost a lot of weight from her face, but she’s really slimmed down all over. Check out this clip from her show from two weeks ago:
So, inevitably, there’s a conversation about whether or not Kelly is taking Ozempic or one of the other weight-loss/diabetes drugs. It’s no one’s business, of course, and Kelly doesn’t have the same kind of tortured tell-all history as someone like Oprah, whose weight struggles were always part of her celebrity brand. Kelly is just Kelly – she doesn’t owe us an explanation. Which is good, because she’s not admitting anything other “following my doctor’s advice.”
Kelly Clarkson is building a new life — and a new look — in the big city. As a single mom to daughter River Rose, 9, and son Remington Alexander, 7, Clarkson, 41, now calls New York City home. “I was very unhappy in L.A. and had been for several years. I needed a fresh start,” she tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story.
Relocating her hit talk show from L.A. to N.Y.C., “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.”
Typical non-working days now revolve around exploring the city with her kids (whom she shares with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, 47). “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 says.
Clarkson credits their on-the-go activities for helping her get in shape. “Walking in the city is quite the workout,” she says. “And I’m really into infrared saunas right now. And I just got a cold plunge because everybody wore me down.”
As for her diet, “I eat a healthy mix. 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!”
It seems reasonable that Kelly simply lost weight gradually over the course of a year by walking more, going for a more protein-heavy diet and taking away some of her personal stress. Do you believe that’s all she’s done? Eh. But again, she doesn’t owe us an explanation. She’s not lying, she’s just being purposefully vague.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images, Getty. Cover courtesy of People.
-
- New York, NY – Singer-Songwriter Kelly Clarkson dazzles in a vibrant orange and white long dress, brightening the scene with her smile in New York. Pictured: Kelly Clarkson BACKGRID USA 21 JUNE 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- New York, NY – Singer-Songwriter Kelly Clarkson dazzles in a vibrant orange and white long dress, brightening the scene with her smile in New York. Pictured: Kelly Clarkson BACKGRID USA 21 JUNE 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Citi Concert Series on Today Show at Rockefeller Center. Featuring: Kelly Clarkson Where: New York, New York, United States When: 22 Sep 2023 Credit: Roger Wong/INSTARimages
-
- Citi Concert Series on Today Show at Rockefeller Center. Featuring: Kelly Clarkson Where: New York, New York, United States When: 22 Sep 2023 Credit: Roger Wong/INSTARimages
Some people struggle with their weight. No one owes us an explanation of how/why they lost weight. I do wish people wouldn’t outright lie when the use meds/have surgery to help with weight loss because it gives people the false impression that weight-loss is easy/being overweight or underweight is a character flaw. Society makes weight (being too heavy or thin) a will power/moral issue when it can truly be next to maintain a healthy weight. You never know what someone else is living through.
Amen, TN DEMOCRAT.
Obesity Medicine is an actual specialty. If you need it and insurance covers it, get yourself referred.
No one owes an explanation, which is why they should not give a partial response. Either explain or don’t, but crap like “walking + more protein” is such an incomplete celeb answer. She could have kept it to “I worked with my doctor” if she felt like she needed to respond at all. The stigma comes from all of this wordsmithing.
The FDA has approved drugs to help people lose weight because obesity is a disease. If you would not make snarky comments about someone using drugs to control their blood pressure don’t make them about people who use these new drugs.
I follow a YouTuber who has struggled with her weight all of her life even though she was very active. Turns out she has PCOS and insulin resistance and was put on it. So, there are numerous reasons people get put on it.
But has Ozympic been approved for weight loss? That’s what people are making snarky remarks about. Plus most people who are using it. Only want to lose 5 or ten pounds. That’s just vanity. Actual weight loss drugs are for people who need to lose hundreds of pounds. Yes obesity is a disease. But the majority of people using Ozempic aren’t obese. They just have another disease. Called body dysmorphia. And that needs psychiatric help. Not drugs.
Yes it has the weight loss version is branded Wegovy – it is the exact same drug – the names are to assist in marketing and formularies (the list of drugs insurance will cover.) Same as Mounjaro which is marketed for weight loss as Zepbound.
@ Amyb – Wegovy is not a weight loss drug for people trying to lose 5-10 pounds. It is for clincially obese people or those who are overweight with complications. i think what ticks people off is the use of the drug to go from a normal bmi to underweight. and then pretending that they simply used “willpower”
I’ve struggled with weight my whole life to the point I developed 2 EDs. I’m the kind of person that looks at a cookie and puts on 3 pounds. I am an active person, I do cardio and lift weights, I even have a trainer and have done so fot the past 7 years yet the weight was hard to lose. One way to lose it? Not eating, and that is not only not viable but a damn big ED.
I was finally diagnosed with metabolic disorder and insulin resistance at the grand old age of 35. A doctor finally explained to me why I gained weight so easily and it was so hard to lose it. I was put on the lowest dose of Saxenda and it was a game changer. I am doing the exact same thing I’ve always done and lost 20 pounds in 7 months (for reference, I went from 65 kilos to 86 kilos when the insulin resistance kicked in and tried for 3 years to lose weight but it kept piling on) I have a way to go still but I know I wouldn’t be able to without this drug. Some of us are not overwight or obese because we lack willpower – we have a metabolic disorder, which is essentially a hormonal issue – and these drugs help us sustain a healthy diet.
I always find it easier to get exercise in places where I refuse to drive and walking is my prefrred option like NYC. It’s so easy to get 5 miles a day without even trying. Car-based cities I actually have to purposely make it a point to exercise.
I hate not having good public transport. It makes about a 10lb difference on my body.
Totally – cities with a walking culture tend to be healthier. I live in Toronto and I walk if its under 40 minutes and subway if its farther. I swear its the best thing for me and makes all the difference for my physical and mental health.
Good for her! You can see how good she feels. I lost 60 pounds over the course of the last year by following a low-carb, low calorie, high protein diet. No drugs. No one noticed at all during the first 25 to 30 pounds. And then there was some sort of you-changed-overnight tipping point and people kind of freaked out.
Ozempic doesn’t cause weight loss on its own. It levels your blood sugar so your appetite stabilizes. You still have to eat less to drop the pounds. But Ozempic makes it not such a white-knuckle struggle . And when you stop using it, you need to keep managing your diet.
That’s interesting. Did you also happen to have bought, new, better fitted clothes around the same time? Maybe that’s why they noticed.
Congratulations! I lost 45 pounds last year, and not one single person noticed until I hit around 25-30 pounds down. But as Snuffles pointed out, that was right around the time I started wearing new clothes that actually fit.
I honestly thought she just lost all that weight due to stress from her divorce and having to deal with her terrible ex-husband and father-in-law. But it also could be speculated that she had gained all that weight because she had to deal with her terrible then-husband and father-in-law, and the stress of dealing with such vile people.
Anyway, I like her a lot and I hope she is simply healthy and doing a lot better in her peace.
I remember way back she said in an interview when she’s thin it’s because she’s so anxious she cannot eat and when she’s heavier it’s because she’s happy.
She gained weight during the early 7 years or so (married for 10). Comes the drama/pain/divorce and she started losing weight when she was super stressed.
I like her and hope she’s okay & happy. Sounds like it. She may very well be following her doctor’s instructions to KEEP the weight off. Makes sense.
she did kind of talk publicly about it – I remember her talking about struggling to keep her weight off, how she decided to accept that her body was built to be heavier, and how she struggled with that.
so whenever I see someone who has said things like that over the years, and all of a sudden they are looking significantly slimmer… I’m going with Ozempic.
I think they should be honest in the same way that I think people like the Kardashians should be honest about their plastic surgery, personally. especially if they’re going to give interviews talking about their diet and exercise. 🤷
either way, she looks great and seems happy, which is the most important thing.
I lost 25 pounds once I resolved to divorce my husband. I realize now that I was eating my feelings. Once I was no longer conflicted about whether I wanted to be with him or not, I was able to stop trying to make myself happy with food.
This was in agreement with @Mellie below.
I don’t know if she is using meds or not, but I do know that I have had several friends go through the stress of divorce and they have used no medication and lost weight. They either can’t eat and have less of an appetite due to the stress of it all, or actually just feel free and great and begin living, exercising and eating well and lose weight that way.
So maybe it’s just the ‘medicine’ of getting a divorce! Who knows, but I’m happy that she’s happy.
THANK YOU for starting to be a little less shaming about those Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs. I took Mounjaro for around six months last year, and it helped change my life back to normal after struggling with breast cancer for a few years. I was really getting angry at Celebitchy for all the shame directed at those using weight loss drugs in 2023. Thank you for moving in the right direction, though in the future, let’s stop talking less about people’s weight in 2024.
I’m so sorry for your cancer struggle. I hope you are fully recovered and feeling healthy and happy. I don’t think people on here have an issue with taking weight loss medications, it’s when a famous person loses a significant amount of weight, often quickly, and publicly says it’s just diet and exercise. It can set unrealistic goals for the general public who may feel shame because they are also eating healthy and exercising but don’t lose 30 pounds. It’s most frustrating with the already thin celebs who have become even thinner recently and it’s clearly drugs. I’m specifically talking about the Kardashians, who all lost weight at the same time and are much thinner than they ever were. They lie and say it came naturally but we know it didn’t, which is frustrating. So it’s not the drugs or people taking them but rather the lying about it to the press and to the public.
She looks great and seems healthy and happy.
Didn’t she also shill for a diet gummy that was on Dragon’s Den? I saw several ads she did recently.
That was a scam, apparently. They used her image without permission. When you click on the video, she actually doesn’t say anything about losing weight or the gummy. So there’s that.
After leaving a toxic ex, I lost weight without even trying because all of that stress was gone! It’s amazing how much stress can contribute to weight gain/prevent weight loss.
And ozempic and similar drugs aren’t magic. The person still has to eat healthfully and move their body. They are a tool, not a magic injection. Many folks looking to lose weight also have insulin resistance and are pre diabetic, and Ozempic is approved to reduce A1C levels and improve the insulin response. Weight loss is just a result of that. Of course some ppl are just wanting to lose weight without the other medical issues, but you never know what ppl are dealing with behind the scenes.
Moving to a walkable city from a driving city for sure would have an impact. When I’m someplace like Chicago, my average steps in a day are almost 30x what they are at home, where I have to drive pretty much everywhere. There’s just a huge difference when walking is a part of everything that you do vs. it being exercise that you have to set aside time for.
Agree completely! I notice a huge difference when I can walk to most things and when I’ve had to drive.
It makes a huge difference to daily activity when functional walking and biking are options are available – I love being able to walk everywhere!
She was tiny when she was on Idol, then she had the kids and seemed like she had trouble like everyone else losing the weight or it wasn’t a high priority. Her Dr. told her she was in a danger zone and in order to keep herself healthy and well for herself and her kids, she lost weight. However she did it is no one’s business and I say good for her, she likes it, I love it.
I remember that one of my friends, who was struggling with weight issues due to thyroid, got on some kind of protein diet. She was eating mostly meat. She got to her ideal weight and stopped. She didn’t do a lot of exercise in that time because we were working until late hours. Since she didn’t need to starve herself to lose the weight, she was very happy about it. I don’t know how exactly it works, but I saw myself that it did. Also, I don’t think there is a right way to lose weight. Everybody’s body has different needs, conditions. If the drug works and your doctor approves it for you, there shouldn’t be an expectation to share it with anyone.
While I agree that Kelly Clarkson hasn’t had as long of a weight-conversation in public as Oprah, but I definitely remember watching season 1 of American Idol when she was easily moving on up with her gorgeous voice… and Simon Cowell had the nerve/audacity/awfulness to say that she should lose weight if she really wanted to be famous and have America to love her.
She was so young and it was her first public experience with fame and striving to be a professional singer, so yes it has followed her off and on in many different ways through her career.
I’m glad we’ve come far from that time when publicly discussing weight, but there’s a long way to go!
She seems so much happier after ditching her truly terrible husband, so whatever she is doing for herself I’m glad it comes from a place of love and self-kindness.
I have been on Mounjaro for six months and have lost 55 pounds. I’m almost at the stage where I will be on maintenance. If anyone asks me if I’ve been on the med I lie and have no shame about doing so. It really is no one else’s business, and I think it’s the height of rudeness to ask. I’m dealing with my weight loss in the healthiest manner I can. I’m eating a balanced diet, no sugar, and just not eating all that much. I’m also cycling my life away on my Exercycle. Eventually I might tell friends the truth, but to be honest one of the reasons I haven’t is that I’m so scared of regaining the weight once I’m off of it. So I’ll just continue on my way and hope that I have finally won this battle.
So happy for you!! I started wegovy about 2.5 months ago and I lost maybe 5-7lbs total. I’ve gone up in dosage, nausea is manageable, but I’m really disappointed I’m not having the same results despite being as active as I can and eating well. I’ve actually always eaten well and tried to be active when I could be due to ongoing ankle and knee injuries, but the weight after kids never moved. Obsessive food journaling, activity tracking, meeting with nutritionist ever two weeks for 6 months before the med and still….nothing. blood work all checks (minus the cholesterol and fatty liver), my PCOS is under control, I’m so discouraged. But i do love reading success stories to keep up some hope. and having struggled so badly for so many years to get to a healthy weight, about 70lb weight loss for me, anyone’s win feels like a small ein for me too in an odd way. Many cheers to you for sticking with all the lifestyle changes, and how awesome it is you built a strong foundation with/without the med. But that has to be a terrifying prospect to gain everything back. Sending lots of “you got this!” Vibes to you
It’s possible to lose a kg or so every couple of weeks with gentle exercise and diet management and shed 15-20kg over the course of six months to a year. I’ve done it myself without the help of doctors or chefs or any celebrity accoutrements. Keeping from regaining the weight is a whole other issue though.