“Understanding the infinity of knowledge is the first step in learning to live.”
Kelly Clarkson’s Weight Loss Journey: How She Lost 60 Pounds With Medication, Eating Protein, And Walking
“Everybody thinks it’s Ozempic. It’s not.”
We love that Kelly Clarkson has the voice of an angel, yet she’s still so relatable. Prime example: her journey to get healthier. The Grammy winner recently revealed she’d been ignoring a prediabetes diagnosis for two years before she saw a fateful video of herself. “I was like, ‘Who is that?”” she shared with Whoopi Goldberg on a May 2024 episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show.
While I don’t agree with Whoopi the loudmouth liberal of The View insight into politics. The two discussed what led Kelly to make very down-to-earth changes and drop about 60 pounds. Now, experts say making similar lifestyle tweaks can potentially help millions of us transform our bodies for the better. Keep reading to find out how.
– ALLISON NEMETZ
Discover The Kelly Clarkson Show star’s success secrets-and why experts say they can help the rest of us boost fat burn by up to 900%. The first things most women do to try to get in shape are eating a little better and walking more. Turns out, Kelly really is like us. The number-one strategy she credited with her leaner physique: simply putting one foot in front of the other.
The 42-year old mom, who relocated her show to New York after a messy divorce, began taking her dogs for jaunts in the park, strolling to local shops and restaurants and sauntering through famous museums with daughter River, 10, and son Remy, 8. “Walking in the city is quite the workout,” Kelly explained to People magazine. While she didn’t reveal exactly how much she walks, a New York Times report found people are so likely to walk rather than drive in the Big Apple, the average person logs over 10,000 steps a day-with many getting more than 19,000 steps daily!
Now, walking alone often isn’t enough to move the scale as much as we want it to. For her part, Kelly added other techniques proven to significantly enhance the exercise.
Kelly Clarkson’s 60-Lb. Weight Loss: How Walking Helped Her Slim Down and How You Can, Too
Combining exercise with weight loss meds can supercharge results
By Jenna Fanelli and Allison Nemetz Updated: February 7, 2025
Articles by Allison Nemetz’s Profile | Woman’s World Journalist | Muck Rack
Kelly Clarkson Lost 60 Lbs by Walking More Get Tips to Boost Your Calorie Burn
After Kelly Clarkson debuted her striking weight loss in 2023, many suspected her success was due to Ozempic. While the Grammy Award-winning musician hasn’t shared which weight loss drug she used, she’s been relatively open about her health journey overall. And it turns out a few simple daily habits—like walking—supercharged her calorie burn and helped her drop weight. Here we break down how walking helped Clarkson lose weight and how you can start reaping the health benefits of regular strolls, too.
Did Kelly Clarkson take Ozempic for weight loss?
While walking did help Clarkson reportedly shed 60 pounds, she also got a boost from using weight loss medication. “I am doing that wonderful shot that works for folks who need some help, and it’s been really good for me,” Clarkson revealed in an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show last year. “Everyone thinks it’s Ozempic. It’s not,” she clarified, though didn’t share which medication she has taken.
However, she did explain that it helped “break down the sugar—obviously my body doesn’t do it right.”
Ozempic and similar medications (including options like Mounjaro and Zepbound) work by mimicking GLP-1, a hormone that helps control blood sugar and turn off hunger.
Because synthetic GLP-1 doesn’t break down as easily as the real thing, it can “help create the feeling that you just ate dinner, so you don’t want more food,” according to Weill Cornell Medicine obesity expert Louis Aronne, MD, whose most recent research on the drugs appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association in November 2024.
Did Kelly Clarkson use Ozempic?
Whoopi Goldberg Reflects On ‘Sister Act’ & Admits She ‘Had No Business’ Being In Musicals
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 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.)
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.”
This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
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 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 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
Now 56% Off
$14 at Amazon$1,300 at Walmart$32 at Macy’s
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 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 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.
Kelly Clarkson in 2022 and 2023 Weight Loss
What an Rx boost can do
When Kelly began to get noticeably smaller, rumors circulated that she was on weight-loss drugs. She soon confirmed the rumor was true. “Everyone thinks it’s Ozempic-it’s not. It’s something else,” she shared with Whoopi. Kelly added that at first she resisted a prescription: “My doctor chased me for like two years, and I was like, ‘No, I’m afraid of it.’ What changed her mind? “My blood work got so bad,” she said.
Protein is Key Too
Doctors tend to recommend that those of us at risk for diabetes should avoid excess carbohydrates. which can wreak havoc on blood sugar levels. European research shows that those on a protein rich diet that limit starch and sugar experience biochemical shifts that naturally increase GLP-1 production. Plus when you cut back on carbs you begin to turn fat into fuel called ketones. Ketones increase fat burn up to 900% and help destroy appetite. Also pair a low carb diet with walking and you should see awesome results with no prescriptions needed.
Does Kelly use a crazy strict Keto Diet?
Nope. She has shared that her menus are a healthy mix and she aims to make good choices 90% of the time/ So if you want to follow Kelly’s lead, start walking and take other steps to improve your health. But also enjoy every step of the way no matter how far you are from your goal. Because Kelly just doesn’t just walk to get fit, she’s all about walking toward the light to a better life. Another life lesson Kelly learned id that the kinder you are to yourself — getting healthier or anything you want is much easier.
Foods that work like Ozempic
Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound quiet “food noise” by increasing levels of the hormone GLP-1. The drugs can be especially helpful for those with type 2 diabetes or who struggle to keep their blood sugar levels in check, like Clarkson.
But if you’d rather try a natural approach, you can mimic the effect of GLP-1 meds with certain foods. A Norwegian study found a low-carb diet keeps GLP-1 high specifically in women—and a free app like Carb Manager can help you hit healthy carb goals for your body. To further enhance the effect, incorporate the following options:
- Protein and calcium. Calcium from dairy or greens pairs with amino acids in any protein source to “potently stimulate GLP-1 release,” per a 2021 study in the journal Advanced Nutrition.
- Antioxidant bombs. Polyphenol antioxidants in colorful produce, spices, nuts, coffee, tea and cocoa have been shown to seriously spike GLP-1 levels.
- Allulose. Zero-cal sweetener allulose (found in trace amounts in figs) is proven to rev GLP-1 and speed weight loss.
How did Kelly Clarkson lose weight?
Before divulging whether she took weight loss injections, The Since U Been Gone singer also revealed that she was prediabetic, something that kick-started her new healthier lifestyle. “I wasn’t shocked,” Clarkson admitted on her talk show. “I was a tiny bit overweight…they were like, ‘You’re prediabetic. You’re right on the borderline.’”
“My heaviest, I was like 203 [pounds], and I’m 5 foot 3 and a half,” she continued. “My doctor chased me for like two years, and I was like, ‘No I’m afraid of it.’” But when her blood work got “so bad”, she changed her mind and reconsidered weight loss drugs.
To help shed unwanted pounds and work toward reversing her prediabetes, Clarkson pointed to infrared saunas, a balanced, protein-centric diet (that includes the occasional sweet treat) and an active lifestyle as the forces behind her progress.
“Walking in the city is quite the workout,” Clarkson told People while discussing how her life has changed since moving to New York City. The Kelly Clarkson Show relocated to NBC Studios in Manhattan in October 2023 after shooting the first four seasons in Los Angeles.
After winning American Idol in 2002, “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,” Clarkson told the magazine Attitude. Her switch to walking—a low-impact, high-reward form of exercise—is an example of the many ways she’s learned to go easier on her body while still hitting her goals.
Now, when she’s not filming, Clarkson spends her days with her son and daughter, walking all over the big apple, from visiting museums to bringing their dogs to the park, she shared.
And that’s something that has supercharged her results. Both walking and meds work separately, but it’s together that they tend to make magic. In fact, research shows that combining walking, a healthy diet and an Ozempic-style weight-loss med can help people lose up to 22 percent of their body weight.
How walking aids weight loss
Generally speaking, New York City it’s extremely pedestrian-friendly and traveling on foot is part of everyday life for most people.
“Living in a city like NYC incorporates a lot of walking into daily activities, which is great for your overall health,” says Chris Mohr, PhD, RD, fitness and nutrition advisor at Fortune Recommends Health. “All movement counts, and research suggests those who move more regularly are not just fitter, but generally weigh less as well.”
Because walking inherently fits into (and is sometimes even required for) errands, activities, socialization and commuting in the city, it’s an accessible option for most people, he explains.
“Instead of dedicating an hour or two a day to exercise and being sedentary otherwise, walkable cities encourage you to perform what are called exercise snacks: short bouts of activity spread throughout the day,” adds Jake Dickson, CPT-NASM, Certified Personal Trainer at BarBend.
These manageable spurts can serve as building blocks to reach your goal. No matter where you live, Steven Shamah, MD, Chief of Endoscopy at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, encourages his patients to log at least 10,000 steps a day. Once you start consistently achieving 10,000 steps every day, you can gradually increase it for even more health benefits, if you’re able, he suggests.
“Though walking is not the complete puzzle for weight loss, it is an important one to couple with a healthy diet, quality sleep and stress relief,” Dr. Shamah says.
How to make walking for weight loss easier
While it’s inarguably simpler to get more steps in if you live in a walkable city like Clarkson does, it’s still possible to infuse more walking into your daily life in other creative ways. Here’s how:
Does Walking Help You Lose Weight? Here’s What the Experts Say
Bookend your days with a walk
One thing that can be helpful is dedicating some time at the start and finish of your day to walk. In the mornings before breakfast and evenings after dinner, walk for 10 to 30 minutes, advises Dickson. These increments will depend on how much free time you have, but they ultimately add up (and can even improve digestion, too, he adds.)
Get more out of short distances
When possible, parking your car farther away than you need to and taking stairs instead of elevators or escalators is also beneficial, experts say. If you use public transportation, have some time to spare and the distance is not too far, see if you can disembark your bus or train one stop early and walk the rest of the way to your destination to burn more calories.
Walk and talk
You can also try swapping in some walking when you’d normally be sitting. Grabbing coffee with a friend? Chat and sip while you stroll. When talking on the phone, stand up and move around during the call.
We know and love how convenient online shopping can be, but when you’re able, opt to go to the store and explore while walking up and down the aisles instead. Work in an office? Take mini breaks to take a lap or two around the building throughout the day. And if you’re logging some time on your computer or watching a TV show at home, invest in a walking pad or treadmill so you can multitask!
Which Weight Loss Medicine Did Kelly Clarkson Take? – Search
Kelly Clarkson clarified that she is not taking Ozempic, which is an FDA-approved prescription medication for people with type 2 diabetes. Although she did not name the specific medication she was prescribed, it was previously revealed that she used Mounjaro, which also treats Type 2 Diabetes. people.com+1
Kelly Clarkson Greatest Hits Full Album | Best Songs Of Kelly Clarkson Collection 2021
How Kelly Clarkson Lost 60 Pounds Without Giving Up Her Favorite Foods | Celebwell
Kelly Clarkson Weight Loss: How Walking Helps Shed Pounds | First For Women
Kelly Clarkson Lost 60 Lbs. by Walking More-Get Tips to Boost Your Calorie Burn
Kelly Clarkson’s Jaw-Dropping Transformation: How She Shed 60 Pounds
I’m a holistic doctor — 3 foods that mimic Ozempic and how they work
Complete List of ‘American Idol’ Winners: Where Are They Now?
American Idol Winners – Search Videos
BONUS: The two key ages when our bodies shift down a gear
GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are plants, animals, or microorganisms whose DNA has been altered using biotechnology to introduce desirable traits, such as resistance to pests or improved nutritional content. While GMOs have been praised for their potential to increase food security and reduce the need for chemical pesticides, they are also controversial. Critics raise concerns about environmental impact, health risks, and ethical considerations. However, scientific consensus generally supports that GMOs are safe to eat and can offer significant agricultural benefits when properly regulated.
Organic vs Non-GMO Food – What’s The Difference & Which Is Better?! | Watch