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Mariah Carey Weight Loss: How the “Shake It Off” Singer Lost 70 Pounds
There are several speculations about Mariah Carey’s weight loss among her fans. Did she resort to Ozempic or any surgery to lose weight? Let’s find out!
Mariah Carey’s weight loss has been a testament to how unreasonable critics can be about one’s appearance if they are in show business. With age and childbirth, it is quite natural that a woman’s body would change significantly. However, women in glamorized jobs, may not have the luxury to embrace this natural change in most cases and may feel the pressure to remain “ageless”. While proper exercise and improvements in diet are always great ways to achieve a healthy lifestyle, whether planning to lose weight or not, let’s explore what strategies Carey adopted to shed those excess pounds.
Who Is Mariah Carey?
Mariah Carey is an American singer and songwriter, who rose to fame in the 1990s for some of her hits such as “Emotions”, “Fantasy”, and “Always Be My Baby”, which were quite in vogue. In the following decade, she took center stage with some more classic hits such as “All I Want for Christmas”, “Shake It Off”, and “Obsessed”, leaving her fans quite obsessed with her music!
Carey is known for her impressive, high-octave vocal range and has been among the major contributors to hip-hop and pop fusion as well as remixes, which shaped the music scene back in the 2000s. As among the best-selling music artists, over 200 million records of her songs have been sold worldwide, and she made it to Rolling Stone in 2023, ranked as the fifth greatest singer of all time.
Mariah Carey’s Weight Loss Plan
After giving birth to twins Moroccan and Monroe Cannon in 2011 (with her spouse Nick Cannon), Mariah Carey has often attributed her dramatic weight loss to an improved diet and exercise.
In the first week of postpartum, she mentioned that she lost about 40 pounds of just water from her body weight. A study published in the National Library of Medicine proves that weight loss caused by diuresis (water loss) may continue for a long time after pregnancy, up to six months (1). Carey further said that she lost another 30 pounds after that and got to a healthier weight overall, which helped her gain back her slim figure.
Mariah Carey’s Weight Loss Diet
In several interviews, Carey has said that a majority of her meals only consist of salmon, capers, and chicken broth. Both salmon and chicken can be excellent sources of lean protein: having a high-protein and low-carbohydrate diet helps reduce one’s appetite by making them feel satiated for longer and aids significantly in weight loss (2).
Capers, on the other hand, are loaded with antioxidants, improve gut function, and effectively fight against metabolic diseases (3). Moreover, she incorporated clean, whole foods in her diet, increased the quantity of vegetables, and cut out bread and refined carbs.
Sources also reveal that Carey has almost completely cut off processed sugars and refined carbohydrates from her diet. She has cut out chocolate and highly processed desserts and replaced them with fresh fruit such as blueberries or mango.
Numerous studies, in addition to this one conducted by the Polish Journal of Food And Nutrition Sciences, show that refined and processed sugar is closely linked to weight gain and obesity, which makes it pivotal to reduce its consumption (4).
Speaking of the Jenny Craig diet program — it comprises a planned diet and support for people who wish to reduce weight and then maintain the same. It offers pre-packaged meals — typically low-calorie ones — and also provides one-on-one consultant services to the clients. Carey’s weight loss diet plan comprised consuming 1,500 calories per day, under the same program.
Read More: Raven-Symoné’s Weight Loss: How She Lost 40 Pounds By Quitting Sugar
Mariah Carey’s Exercise Plan
While Carey’s weight loss was majorly influenced by changes in her diet, exercise too played an important role. After the birth of her twins, she involved light exercise in her routine, such as taking long brisk walks, even if it was on the treadmill.
Eventually, she began dedicating proper exercise to her routine, three times a week. Her workouts involve plenty of aerobics, in addition to cardio and resistance training, and usually last for 60 to 90 minutes.
While Carey hates going to the gym, she loves water aerobics and has heavily relied on it to shed off the baby weight. Aquatic workouts, especially aerobics are low-intensity workouts that boost strength, stabilize blood pressure, and greatly help in achieving weight loss goals (5).
Did Maria Carey Undergo Any Weight Loss Surgery?
After losing about 70 pounds of baby weight, Carey underwent gastric sleeve surgery back in 2017 — a procedure that shrinks the size of the stomach so patients eat less, thereby losing excess pounds.
She went through the surgery after having realized how badly her weight was affecting her stamina, especially during her performance on the tour with Lionel Richie. Through the gastric sleeve procedure, she reportedly lost 30 more pounds of stubborn weight and has opened up in several interviews saying that she feels better than ever in her body.
Fans’ Speculation on Ozempic
Stunned by her rapid weight loss, many fans have also speculated that Mariah Carey used Ozempic to lose weight. Ozempic is a semaglutide drug, popular for treating type-2 diabetes, which also aids in weight loss by reducing blood sugar levels (6).
However, Carey has never mentioned the use of any such drug to reduce weight in her interviews and has attributed her weight loss to dedicated workouts and the Jenny Craig diet.
Read More: Whitney Thore Weight Loss Story: How She Lost Whopping 100 Pounds
Mariah Carey Before And After Pictures:
Before:
After:
Considering our insights about her diet and exercise regime, it is unlikely that Mariah Carey’s weight loss had anything to do with the use of Ozempic or any similar drug — though, there’s no confirmed information on the same. However, one can always learn the importance of a high-protein and low-caloric diet for weight loss from her testament. Another thing that can be learned from Carey’s weight loss is that working out can be fun, and one can try practicing different fun exercises such as dancing, aerobics, yoga, and sports if they don’t like hitting the gym.
Sources:
1. Physiology, Postpartum Changes - StatPearls
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK555904/
2. Clinical Evidence and Mechanisms of High-Protein Diet-Induced Weight Loss
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7539343/#:~:text=In%20conclusion%2C%20many%20clinical%20trials,regain%20following%20initial%20weight%20loss.
3. Caper (Capparis spinosa L.): An Updated Review on Its Phytochemistry, Nutritional Value, Traditional Uses, and Therapeutic Potential
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9353632/
4. The Dose Makes the Poison: Sugar and Obesity in the United States – a Review
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6959843/
5. The effect of 12 weeks of water-aerobics on health status and physical fitness: An ecological approach.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5978883/#:~:text=These%20results%20suggest%20that%2012,cardiorespiratory%20fitness%20and%20lipid%20profiles.
6. Weight Loss Outcomes Associated With Semaglutide Treatment for Patients With Overweight or Obesity
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9486455/
ALSO READ: Camila Cabello’s Weight Loss: How the “Havana” Singer Got Back in Shape
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