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Delta Burke’s Weight Loss: How She Slimmed Down with Crystal Meth
Join us as we unfold Delta Burke’s weight loss journey to living a happy and healthier life. Read about her journey and how she shed pounds.
Delta Burke's roles in varied movies and television promise to be a grand spectacle. The American actress and film producer sports her on-screen performances and off-screen duties with aplomb. Her incredible skills and acting talent make her one of the greatest artists. Appreciated and acknowledged by millions, she continues to inspire her fans and admirers for all the right reasons. Not only is she an Emmy award nominee but also the youngest Miss Florida titleholder of the 1970s. Besides her career trajectory, Delta Burke’s weight loss and personal life have been a topic of interest for the media, followers, and critics.
The sitcom star was the subject of several negative remarks and comments on her body frame, weight, and physique, especially in the 1980s and 90s. The consistent public scrutiny and backlash took a toll, making her feel emotionally fragile. Ultimately, the persistent public narratives made her quit acting.
As you read about her professional journey as an actor and producer, you’ll get to know all about her personal life and how she slimmed down over time.
Who Is Delta Burke?
Delta Burke McRaney is an American actress, author, and film producer renowned for her role as “Suzanne Sugarbaker” in Designing Women, a CBS sitcom that aired from 1986 to 1991. Right from winning the Miss Flame and Miss Florida crowns to bagging a role in ABC-TV show Bozo the Clown, she has created her own place in the Hollywood fraternity.
Born on July 30, 1956, she has produced, starred, and made several guest appearances in plenty of made-for-TV movies.
However, her personal life struggles weren’t as fancy as her professional life. She had hypoglycemia and remembered being told that if she wasn't careful, she could develop diabetes.
In the early 1990s, her weight and appearance made headlines. In one of the interviews, she publicly revealed struggling with her weight, depression, and eating disorders. The Hollywood star also tried extreme and dangerous ways to lose weight and tone down her appearance.
Insights Into Delta Burke’s Weight Loss Journey
Delta experienced body-shaming by tabloids, fans, and critics. When she was somewhere in her 20s, she looked for extreme measures to shed pounds. At the age of 67, she finally let the cat out of the bag and disclosed about her then-diet and learnings.
The Designing Women star publicly unveiled that prior to landing on television, she got admission into an acting school in London. There, she was prescribed obscure weight loss pills, and she managed to cut down a few pounds. A study shows that weight management pills containing caffeine, choline, glucomannan, capsinoid, etc., are generally safe when taken as directed. They also demonstrate metabolic health benefits for overweight and obese people (1).
Cut to the times when she was filming for Filthy Rich in the early 1980s; she felt the pressure of appearing more petite. Hence, she visited her doctor for more of the aforementioned pills, which she discovered to be illegal in the US. Off-the-market, the pills were known as “Black Beauties."
The pills were like medicines to her, which she consumed every morning to eat less.
Eventually, Burke built sufficient tolerance, and the pills didn’t bear fruitful results. Later, one of her colleagues recommended she get hands-on methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant and appetite suppressant.
It is one of the powerful stimulants of the central nervous system, which can be ingested orally, through intravenous injection, smoked, as well as snorted. The other terms for it are meth, crystal meth, scootie, yellow powder, spoosh, chalk, redneck cocaine, yellow barn, tina, tick-tick, etc. (2).
During that era, nobody was much aware about crystal meth. It was supposed to be chopped and then snorted. However, Delta didn’t snort it; instead, she added it to her cranberry juice. Post-consumption, she didn’t eat for five days. The drug is known to enhance energy levels, decrease appetite, and create euphoria for 6 to 12 hours (2).
Despite doing all, Burke’s weight-related stories kept occupying space in the newspaper and remained a topic of public discourse. Additionally, she was hounded by fans who constantly asked her if she was pregnant.
Being under the public’s microscope, the comments about her body gradually started to affect her mental health. In 1986, she became emotionally fragile and was hospitalized, too. As a result, in 1991, she left Designing Women while the show continued to run for more than 2 years. By the time she left the show, she weighed an all-time high of 215 pounds.
In a podcast, Delta expressed that she used to struggle to defend herself against lies and that Hollywood messed up her head. Initially, she wanted to gain popularity and rise as a well-respected actress. However, things weren’t as they seemed to appear.
Though she took occasional roles, she strived to step away from Hollywood. With exercise and diet, she did lose some weight, but she soon realized that she also had to change her mindset.
Read More: Tom Hanks’ Weight Loss Saga Is Incredible: Check out His Diet And Workout
Delta Burke’s Weight Loss Diet Plan
Though she didn’t reveal many details about her diet plan, the weight loss pills indeed played the game for her. However, a research study states that low-carbohydrate and low-fat diets promote weight loss (3).
She constantly thought that she was a bad person who just couldn’t shed pounds, but later, she began giving herself credit for maintaining weight. Amidst her own struggles, her mother was diagnosed with cancer.
Delta took her diabetes medication but failed to take care of her diet. Her doctor, too, warned her to get her blood glucose levels under control or else she would end up on insulin. Having said that, she began a stringent eating program and tested her blood more often. When she got her glucose levels under control, she lost 20 pounds.
Blood glucose is produced from the available carbohydrates present in food, mainly simple sugars and starches. Type 2 diabetes develops due to the inability of the body to use the insulin produced by the pancreas effectively to manage the increase in blood glucose levels. It can also be exacerbated by poor diet and cause major health problems (4).
Nonetheless, due to the constant comments and backlash, the joy of acting left her and compelled her to switch off public life. After battling weight gain, Type 2 diabetes, and depression, the actress found victory in being comfortable with her own self. Now, she enjoys living a healthier and happier life.
Details About Delta Burke’s Workout Plan
Delta Burke’s husband, actor Gerald McRaney, helped her through the dark times. He constantly reminded her of what to eat and what not. Delta had never been a fan of exercise. However, she and her husband enjoyed going for walks.
It is vital to note that physical activity and exercise can reduce stress and anxiety, boost happy chemicals, improve self-confidence, and increase brain power (5). Additionally, walking decreases the risk or severity of various health outcomes, such as cardiovascular diseases, and type 2 diabetes, and improves mental well-being, sleep, and longevity (6).
Read More: Paul Wall’s Weight Loss: How He Lost 100 Lbs with Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Delta Burke’s Before And After Weight Loss Images
Before
(Image Source: Getty Images)
After
(Image Source: Getty Images)
The two-time Emmy award nominee has seen various highs and lows right from the initial days of her career. Because of the relentless public ridicule she endured, she kept herself away from the spotlight, and today, she has no complaints. Over the years, she has learned the importance of finding a good and trustworthy doctor to walk down the path of recovery. Delta Burke's weight loss story stands as an inspiration for many who have been struggling to deal with the same struggles as her.
Sources:
1. Dietary Supplements for Weight Management: A Narrative Review of Safety and Metabolic Health Benefits
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9099655/
2. Methamphetamine
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK535356/
3. Diets and drugs for weight loss and health in obesity – An update
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332221005710
4. Blood Glucose
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/blood-glucose
5. Benefits need and importance of daily exercise
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/306118434_Benefits_need_and_importance_of_daily_exercise
6. The multifaceted benefits of walking for healthy aging: from Blue Zones to molecular mechanisms
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