Meghan Markle’s Weight Loss: Shocking 15 lbs Drop After Pregnancy!
Rumors link Meghan Markle’s weight loss to the alleged use of Ozempic. But is it true? Let’s learn about the diet and exercise that led to her transformation.
While many celebrities get accused of using weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Zepbound, Saxenda, etc. without much proof, people also often know little about their actual diets and workout regimes to believe otherwise.
At least when it comes to Meghan Markle’s weight loss, there’s a lot we know to perhaps believe that her surprising physical transformation was indeed a result of hard work and a healthy lifestyle instead of any shortcuts.
Regardless of whether the rumors stand true or not, there’s a lot fans can learn from Markle’s fitness regimen and lead a healthier lifestyle. After all, the Duchess of Sussex has formerly been a lifestyle blogger and likely knows what diet and exercise routine works best for her body.
At least publicly, Markle has never promoted any fad diets or shady weight loss shortcuts to mislead her fans, and in addition, her positive endeavors for public health and wellness must be taken into consideration before forming any judgments. Let’s scroll away to learn more about her journey.
Who Is Meghan Markle?
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Born in 1981, Rachel Meghan Markle, or “Meghan” Markle is the Duchess of Sussex, married to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Before getting married into the British royal family as an American member, Meghan was a successful actress known for playing the part of Rachel Zane in the American legal drama series Suits, which became a rage among fans worldwide!
Read More: Meghan Markle Completes Filming For New Lifestyle Series Ahead Of Brand Launch
She also turned to lifestyle blogging with her website The Tig, and during the same time, the Duchess turned to charity and social work.
However, before stepping into the world of success and fame, Markle started her acting career by playing the small role of a nurse in the soap opera General Hospital.
To support herself financially when looking for acting roles, she worked as a freelance calligrapher and would also teach bookbinding. On the US version of the game show Deal Or No Deal, Markle appeared on several episodes as the “briefcase girl.”
Meghan Markle Profile:
Age: 42
Occupation: Actress and public personality
Birth Date: August 4, 1981
Birth Place: Los Angeles, California
Children: Prince Archie of Sussex and Princess Lilibet of Sussex
How Did Meghan Markle Lose Weight?
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After having two back-to-back pregnancies, with Prince Archie in 2019 and Princess Lilibet in 2021, Markle had put on a slight amount of extra weight for obvious reasons. However, she dropped her baby weight by about 15 pounds in 2023, which surprised her fans immensely.
Markle’s friends turned to the media to share how they were concerned about her sudden weight loss, considering the fact that she doesn’t have much of an appetite when she’s juggling a lot between work.
While she lost her excess water weight pretty soon after giving birth to Archie in 2019, her physical transformation in 2023 has been the most evident, which left some of her fans worried about her health.
However, Markle isn’t someone who would go to extreme ends to lose weight as she finds the word “diet” problematic in itself. And, she has been quite honest and elaborate about her diet and workout routine with media, which helped her stay in shape.
Let’s learn more about Meghan Markle’s diet.
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Meghan Markle’s Diet
Markle identifies as someone who follows a vegan diet 80% of the time, and a pescatarian diet at remaining times. She highly values fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins in her diet and avoids foods that make her feel sluggish.
More than this being an obvious and well-known fact that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is ideal, studies prove that their high consumption reduces the risk of several diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, digestive problems, and some types of cancer (1).
After all, these foods are high in micro-nutrients such as vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidants and phytochemicals that ensure one’s optimal health and well-being (2).
To get to the specifics, the following are some healthy meals that Meghan Markle loves and incorporates extensively in her diet:
1. Acai Bowl:
Acai bowls are among Markle’s favorite breakfast items, and they are a storehouse of health benefits. The exotic super-fruit is rich in poly-phenolic components with impressive antioxidant properties, in addition to anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative properties. They are excellent for detox, low in calories, and taste delicious (3).
She likes to make her acai bowls by blending the berries with bananas and a dash of almond milk, topping them with coconut flakes, more banana slices, and honey.
2. Banana Oatmeal:
On days when she craves more carbohydrate-rich breakfast options, Markle prefers having some oatmeal with banana slices, which according to her get sweeter with the heat of the oatmeal. When shooting for Suits, the actress mentioned that this breakfast kept her full for about 4-6 hours till lunchtime.
3. Avocado And Poached Egg Toast:
For a light lunch, Markle loves having her toast topped with avocados and a poached egg. The multigrain bread toast provides her with complex carbohydrates and fiber, whereas the avocados give a surge of healthy unsaturated fats, and the egg offers some clean, untampered protein (4), (5).
This little meal provides her with all three macros in the right proportion and keeps her full for a long time.
4. Salads Paired with Protein And Goat Cheese:
Markle absolutely loves her salads and believes that why some people don’t like salads is only because they haven’t discovered the right combination of veggies, protein sources, and dressings to pair.
However, Markle very well knows her own favorite salad — baby greens, pickled beets, herbed goat cheese, dried cranberries (craisins), and probably some shaved turkey if she is in the mood for consuming some meat, which she hasn’t entirely quit.
Moreover, she likes beans as a protein source a lot and sometimes alters her classic salad with chopped tomatoes, balsamic, watermelon pieces, basil, etc. For complex carbohydrates, she likes having her salad on a quinoa or brown rice base.
Read More: 15 High Protein Beans That You Can Add to Supercharge Your Meals
5. Green Juice:
Almost on a daily basis, Markle likes consuming a glass of ultra-nutritious green juice. Personally, she doesn’t mind the earthy taste of green veggies in it and enjoys her juice as it helps detox her gut. However, on occasion, she likes to skip her green juice with a more filling, carbohydrate-rich snack, such as brown rice crackers smeared with nut butter.
6. Hummus, Carrots, And Crackers Trifecta:
Another excellent afternoon snack that Meghan loves going back to is a healthy “trifecta” as she calls it, comprising a small bowl of hummus with crunchy carrots and crackers to dip.
Made with chickpeas and tahini, hummus is proven to be a highly nutritious food as it is rich in protein, fiber, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamin B, vitamin E, phosphorous, calcium, potassium, and riboflavin (6).
Moreover, the addition of carrots enhances its nutritional value with a boost of carotenoids, flavonoids, polyphenols, and vitamin A (7).
7. Watermelon with Cinnamon:
To satisfy her sweet cravings, Markle avoids indulging in refined sugar and high-caloric desserts. Instead, she opts for a bowl of freshly chopped watermelon sprinkled with some cinnamon for that added sweet flavor.
8. Sushi/Anything with Fish And Veggies:
As a pescatarian, Markle truly believes in the health benefits of fish protein and incorporates that into her diet. She loves how fish has anti-inflammatory effects on health, which is often her aim with her diet, and also contains protein, omega fatty acids, and antioxidants (8).
In addition to raw fish, Markle also indulges in vegan sushi variants such as avocado and cucumber rolls.
What She Avoids:
The following are some foods that Markle prefers to avoid.
1. Foods That Make Her Sluggish:
In several interviews speaking about her diet, Markle has mentioned how she steers clear of foods that make her sluggish. After all, she has a busy schedule and likes to stay on her toes with responsibilities instead of slacking her days off.
While she wasn’t specific about which foods these would be, it can be derived that she was referring to foods with a high glycemic index and a lot of empty calories without much nutrition.
These can consist of highly processed snacks, salty foods, desserts, white flour, and white rice, too much dairy, vegetable oil and margarine, starchy foods such as potatoes, etc.
2. Too Much Meat And Dairy:
While Markle hasn’t cut these out entirely from her diet as she doesn’t believe in depriving herself of any foods, she has significantly cut back on them, following a mainly plant-based and pescatarian diet.
3. Caffeine:
While she hasn’t revealed much about her relation with caffeine, Markle clearly seems like someone who doesn’t want to depend on her morning coffee to stay on her feet. Hence, she starts her day with a glass of warm water with a slice of lemon and cuts back on caffeine as much as possible.
As someone who doesn’t resort to a very extreme diet and treats herself from time to time, Markle indulges in the following ways.
How She Indulges:
1. Treats over the Weekend:
Markle doesn’t dislike the taste of healthy foods that she has during the week, but if she wishes to indulge a bit, she does so over the weekend. Her treats likely include sweets, dairy, meat, cheese, etc., which she consciously avoids during the week.
2. Some Wine:
Markle also likes her glass of wine from time to time. However, she indulges in alcohol only within reason and doesn’t go overboard.
3. Farm-to-Table Restaurants:
As a devout lover of fresh foods, such as vegetables, fruits, cheeses, beans, and fresh herbs, Markle is an enthusiast of farm-to-table restaurants and believes that their meals are not only immensely healthy but also taste much better.
In addition to maintaining a healthy diet, Markle gives immense importance to her workout routine and likes exercises that engage multiple muscle groups at the same time. The following are some insights we have about her fitness routine.
Meghan Markle’s Exercise Routine
The following are some exercises that help her stay in shape.
1. Yoga:
Markle loves practicing hot yoga, specifically Moksha yoga to increase flexibility, boost blood circulation, feel rejuvenated, and also build some lean muscle. Studies have proven that a regular practice of hot yoga provides numerous health benefits such as a higher range of motion, improved metabolic rate, better blood flow, and mental and emotional rejuvenation (9).
2. Running:
Running is one of Markel’s favorite cardiovascular exercises and gives her immense pleasure. Plus, it is scientifically proven to boost heart health, burn calories, and improve mood and mental well-being (10), (11).
3. Full-body Workouts:
Instead of focusing only on a few muscle groups in one session, Markle likes to engage in full-body workouts to boost her fitness levels and get in shape. With respect to weight loss and overall fitness, without the intention of bulking up, full-body workouts have shown similar benefits as compared to split workouts (12).
Besides, anecdotally, many people find full-body exercises a lot more fulfilling and satisfying compared to split workouts, which get impacted a great deal in case working out any one muscle group gets skipped for whatever reason.
Did Meghan Markle Use Ozempic?
(Image Source: Getty Images)
While the Duchess of Sussex hasn’t given any confirmation on this herself, many critics and fans speculate that she probably went pregnant on Ozempic to prevent her from gaining excess weight. However, this information hasn’t been confirmed and shouldn’t be believed without any evidence.
Social Media’s Response to Meghan Markle’s Weight Loss After Two Consecutive Pregnancies
Fans on social media are not impressed by Markle’s sudden weight loss as they believe she took it too far, and losing that much weight right after pregnancy is not natural or healthy. Others have commented that Markle took to weight loss drugs so that she could be as thin as her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton.
Some royal watchers are convinced that Markle consumes pills or weight loss drugs such as Ozempic. Netizens have gone as far as calling her rude names such as “Ozempic face” without any confirmation on whether she has actually used the drug or not.
Meghan Markle’s Before And After Weight Loss Photos:
Before:
( Image Source: Getty Images)
After:
(Image Source: Getty Images)
Despite the speculations and rumors around Meghan Markle’s weight loss through the use of semaglutide drugs, it cannot be denied that her diet and exercise regime are rather impressive and quite inspiring.
Her plant-based and pescatarian food preferences not only aid in her anti-inflammatory diet but also easily fit in most other diets such as the Mediterranean diet, paleolithic diet, etc., and are likely to be great for people with lactose intolerance, gluten allergies, etc. Moreover, her exercise regime is inclusive of many different activities and not only improves one’s physical health but also their emotional and mental well-being.
All in all, by placing the harsh criticism aside, there are many positives that can be derived from her healthy lifestyle.
Sources:
1. Health benefits of fruit and vegetables are from additive and synergistic combinations of phytochemicals23
https://ajcn.nutrition.org/article/S0002-9165(22)03350-0/fulltext
2. Fruit and Vegetable Intake: Benefits and Progress of Nutrition Education Interventions- Narrative Review Article
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4644575/
3. A Scientific Review On: Acai Berry Fruit (Euterpe Oleracea) A Potential Super Fruit Of World
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/370173259_a_scientific_review_on_acai_berry_fruit_euterpe_oleracea_a_potential_super_fruit_of_world
4. Hass Avocado Composition and Potential Health Effects
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3664913/
5. The Health Benefits of Egg Protein
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9316657/
6. The Benefits of Including Hummus and Hummus Ingredients into the American Diet to Promote Diet Quality and Health: A Comprehensive Review
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7760696/
7. An Analysis of Health Benefits of Carrot
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359863991_An_Analysis_of_Health_Benefits_of_Carrot
8. A critical review on the health benefits of fish consumption and its bioactive constituents
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34455321/
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