The Empire star Gabourey Sidibes weight loss journey has been a long but fruitful journey for her. The American actress has had an amazing transformation over the years. Learn all about Gabourey Sidibes weight loss journey and her weight loss secrets.
For those of you who are unaware, Gabourey Sidibe is an American actress. She was born on May 6, 1983, in Brooklyn, New York. Her mother, Alice Tan Ridley, is a gospel and American R&B singer, and her father, Ibnou Sidibe, is a cab driver. She grew up with her aunt. Before stepping into the world of acting, she worked as a receptionist at the Fresh Air Fund.
Prior to that, Gabourey went to City College of New York and Mercy College, and she started pursuing her only passion at the time, which was acting. Within the blink of an eye, she landed an audition in Precious. It was previously named Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire. The story of the movie revolves arounda young woman struggling with poverty and physical and sexual abuse.
Gaby made her acting debut with the 2009 film Precious, where she played the role of Claireece Precious Jones. Her performance in the film bagged her the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. Along with this, she also earned nominations for the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Actress. The film was very well received by the end of the viewers as well as critics.
The movie Precious ended up bagging many accolades at the Cannes Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival. At that point in time, the movie did not have a distributor, but the American talk show host Oprah Winfrey came forward and she helped with the promotion of the movie, and it was released via Lionsgate Entertainment. The name of the movie was changed to prevent confusion with the action drama,Push.
To date, the 39-year-old actress has been a part of several films includingTower Heist (2011), Yelling to the Sky (2011), White Bird in a Blizzard(2014),Grimsby (2016), Come As You Are (2019), and Antebellum (2020). She has also starred in many shows such as The Big C, American Horror Story: Coven, American Horror Story: Freak Show, Empire, and Difficult People.
Gabourey has lost a whopping 150 pounds! Before starting her weight loss journey, Sidibes weight was nearly around 300 pounds and at the time she also had type 2 diabetes. Let us tell you her weight loss journey has been more than just a physical journey.
Losing those extra kilos has helped Sidibe reduce the adverse effects of type 2 diabetes, bulimia, anxiety, and depression. Many women worldwide go through similar issues soit is important to talk about Gabys weight loss.
When you are a woman in the public eye, you are expected to fit those ideal standards of beauty. You are supposed to be in a particular size and shape. But with times things are changing but at a snails pace. Gaby was once even told by a popular actor that she should quit the field of entertainment as it is so image-conscious!
Gabourey started taking her health pretty seriously when she got to know that she had type 2 diabetes. She was frightened when she learned that her life was at risk, and it was then that she decided to lose weight.
As soon as Gabourey got wind of the fact that she had type 2 diabetes, she wasted no time and consulted her doctor Dr. Bradley Schwack, a bariatric surgeon, and she decided to undergo weight loss surgery.
During the surgery, her doctor removed nearly 80% percent of her stomach to reduce its capacity. As a result of the surgery, Sidibe did not feel much hungry and felt full soon.
At that time, Gabourey confirmed that she underwent the surgery, and said, The surgery wasnt the easy way out. I wasnt cheating by getting it done. I wouldnt have been able to lose as much as Ive lost without it. She also made many efforts to make this expensive surgery successful.
Following are the tips that Gaby follows to keep from gaining the excess flab back:
In her childhood days, Gabourey used to consume a lot of soda on various occasions. Not just that, she would frequently also eat burgers and fries. These unhealthy eating habits were the reasons for her weight gain.
When Sidibe decided that she is ready to lose those extra kilos for achieving good health, the very first thing she did was cut soda from her diet completely. In place of soda, she began having ice-cold water with a few lemon slices. This keeps her body hydrated and it also flushes out all the toxins from her body.
The second step taken by Gaby to get rid of the excess weight was to remove all the junk food from her diet. Her childhood days were filled with junk food, and she would eat Oreos and fries.
Sidibe cut down on burgers, pizza, fries, and other processed foods, which helped her reduce her salt and trans fats intake. Whenever she felt hungry, she would munch on vegetable chips, hummus, and saltine crackers.
In addition to making changes in her eating habits, consuming food at the right time is something of utmost importance as well and Gaby makes sure to eat food at the correct time.
She kickstarted eating 5 to 6 meals in a day that consisted of a heavy breakfast, a mid-sized lunch, and a light dinner. She drinks water nearly 20 minutes before every meal so that helps her to stay hydrated and prevents her from overeating.
When you are trying to lose weight, keeping a track of the portion size of the food is very essential. Because it doesnt matter how healthy you eat, if you overeat, you will automatically still gain weight.
Gabourey even reached out to a nutritionist and talked to her personal trainer and started consuming the right amounts of good carbs (veggies, fruits, and grains), protein, and healthy fats (olive oil, avocado, seeds, and nuts).
The best way to control the portion of the food is to use smaller plates while eating food. When you eat food on a smaller plate, then your brain tricks you into assuming the small quantity of food to be a large quantity of food. As a result of this, you think you have eaten too much but thats not the truth.
For those of you who are unversed, let us tell you Gaby loves Oreos and cupcakes and she use to binge on them whenever she felt hungry but since the time she learned about her diagnosis with type 2 diabetes she made a big decision to give up on them too.
The level of sugar in these kinds of food is very high and when you are diabetic, you have to control the amount of sugar you consume. So, she just gave up on some of her favorite food items for the betterment of her body and to help treat type 2 diabetes.
Do you think controlling your eating habits is enough to lose weight? Of course, not. Heres what Gaby did nearly a month after following her clean eating lifestyle.
Soon after, Sidibe started eating healthy, she began feeling more energetic and active. And she knew the route to quicken the process of weight loss. She went on to hire a professional trainer who would help her slowly get back in shape. Keep reading to catch a crystal clear understanding of her exercise routine.
Gaby began working out with low-impact exercises such as slowwalks on the treadmill, stair stepper, and Versaclimber to put minimal pressure on her joints. When she started doing cardio, it helped her a lot to burn calories effectively, and that too at a faster rate. Then, she would go on to do other exercises for 30 minutes, three days per week.
The actress did quite a few exercises like leg presses, lunges, squats, lat pull down, and barbell curl to enhance her body composition and most importantly lose her weight. In June of 2017, she also dropped a stunning picture of herself doing aerial yoga.
We must say, so far she has really worked hard to shed those extra kilos and we can see that it has certainly paid off in her latest pictures. Many fans of the star all over the world have been very curious to learn Gabourey Sidibes weight loss secrets since the star lost 150 pounds. It was previously stated she underwent bariatric surgery which involved eighty percent of her stomach being taken out of action.
The surgery is considered a safe alternative for people with morbid obesity and related health concerns to lose weight. Over the last couple of years, it has become a very common surgery. Being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes taught Gaby that her life was at risk and she directed all her focus toward adopting a healthier lifestyle in life. Since she went under the knife, she has been avoiding soda, eating healthy, and hitting the gym to keep the weight off.
In her new memoir,This Is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare, the White Bird in a Blizzard star spilled the beans on her incredible weight loss journey. She talked about her struggles with anxiety, depression, and bulimia, as well as her decision to undergo weight-loss surgery.
Sidibe stated that for more than a decade she had been trying to lose weight naturally but she made the decision to undergo laparoscopic bariatric surgery in May 2016 after she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
During an interview with the People magazine, Gabourey said, I truly didnt want to worry about all the effects that go along with diabetes. I genuinely [would] worry all the time about losing my toes.
The Hollywood actress also told the magazine, that the surgeon told her that the procedure would cut her stomach in half, which would lead to a reduction in her hunger and capacity to eat, but Sidibe was adamant about the fact that this wasnt just an easy way out.
Sidibe went on to say, I wasnt cheating by getting it done. I wouldnt have been able to lose as much as Ive lost without it. Since 10 months after the operation, she turned her lifestyle upside down for the better. She took the guidance of a nutritionist to bring out a change in her eating habits and work out by swimming and riding a tricycle around the Empireset under the guidance of a trainer.
In her memoir, she claimed that she has reached her first weight goal and she plans to decide on her new goal. She made one thing clear about her surgery and why she got it done in her book and wrote, I did not get this surgery to be beautiful. I did it so I can walk around comfortably in heels. I want to do a cartwheel. I want not to be in pain every time I walk up a flight of stairs.
What are your best tips to lose weight? Did the weight loss journey of Gabourey Sidibe inspire you in any way? If yes, then make sure you let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
We must say Gabourey Sidibe has inspired so many people who must be in a similar spot as hers. Kudos to her for not giving up on herself and accomplishing her targets. Dont forget to stay tuned with us for the latest updates from the world of showbiz.
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Gabourey Sidibe's Weight Loss: A Look at her Transformation - TheTealMango
