Kelly Clarkson is crediting diet and exercise for her recent weight loss transformation – despite critics speculating that she’s joined the long list of celebs using Ozempic to shed the pounds.
“I dropped weight because I’ve been listening to my doctor — a couple years I didn’t,” the Since U Been Gone singer told People in a new cover story interview, as per Page Six.
“And 90 per cent 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!”
Clarkson, 41, also acknowledged that moving to her new home in New York City has helped her stay more active.
“Walking in the city is quite the workout,” she added, after relocating her eponymous talk show to Manhattan last year.
Clarkson’s interview comes amid ongoing online chatter that her slimmed-down figure is due to the results of Ozempic, the controversial diabetes drug that is also being used for rapid weight loss.
Critics first began making the accusations in November 2023 when the American Idol alum showed off her trim figure in a photo of herself enjoying some ice cream.
“Her fans deserve to know the truth of her weight loss,” one follower wrote, while another speculated, “No way she lost that much weight that fast. Medication.”
Another agreed, commenting, “She looks great, but it seems like she lost a lot of weight in like two weeks!”
Clarkson has staunchly denied the accusations, emphasising that she’s achieved weight loss by following the “Plant Paradox Diet” espoused by Dr. Steven R. Gundry – and allowing herself to indulge once in awhile.
“I still splurge. The other night I had a frozen yoghurt with my daughter, and it was magical,” added the Stronger singer, who shares daughter River Rose, 9, and son Remington, 7, with ex-husband Brandon Blackstock, 47.
This isn’t the first time Clarkson has addressed her fluctuating weight over the years, however. Back in 2017, she admitted she was experiencing dark thoughts when she got down to her lowest weight.
“When I was really skinny, I wanted to kill myself. I was miserable, like inside and out, for four years of my life. But no one cared, because aesthetically you make sense,” she told Attitude magazine at the time.
“It was a very dark time for me. I thought the only way out was quitting. I, like, 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.”
The following year, she credited her drastic weight loss to a diet change-up, including organic and non-GMO foods.
“I literally read this book, and I did it for this auto-immune disease that I had and I had a thyroid issue, and now all my levels are back up,” she told Extra at the time.
Last November, Clarkson chatted about weight loss and being a chubby child with Jenna Bush Hager and her twin, Barbara Bush, when they appeared on Clarkson’s talk show.
Clarkson said that she loves losing weight, but admitted that “jeans are so hard when you have a butt and a smaller waist.”
Clarkson’s new lifestyle regime also comes after a tumultuous time in the singer’s personal life.
She settled her contentious divorce from Blackstock in March 2022 following a bitter custody battle over their children and shared Montana ranch.
Blackstock – who used to manage Clarkson – was ordered to return millions of dollars in overcharged commissions to his ex-wife in November.
A California labour commissioner ruled that Blackstock overcharged the Grammy winner by $US2,641,374 when he represented her — a decision he is reportedly planning to appeal.
This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission