Gabourey Sidibe’s weight loss journey is certainly an inspiring one for people who intend to undertake a similar ride without resorting to any drastic measures.
The 39-year-old Sidibe made her screen debut in the 2009 film Precious where she played Clareece “Precious” Jones. The role and the performance bagged her the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, followed by nominations for the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Actress. Precious also managed to earn numerous accolades at the Cannes and Sundance Film Festivals.
Sidibe would go on to star in numerous movies as well as TV shows, including Tower Heist, Antebellum, Come As You Are, American Horror Story, Empire, and Difficult People, to name a few. Besides a successful and promising career, the Precious star’s weight loss surgery continues to be a subject that has fascinated people.
Why and how did she lose weight?
Before losing weight, Sidibe weighed 300 pounds and had type-2 diabetes. Sidibe managed to lose a whopping 150 pounds and is known for sticking to rigid rules concerning her diet. This has helped her lessen the adverse effects of diabetes and overcome other health concerns like stress, anxiety, and bulimia.
Sidibe imentioned on numerous occasions that her weight failed to meet the ideal standards of beauty demanded from a female celebrity. Matters worsened when she was reminded of the same and suggested to quit the image-conscious industry by fellow celebrities of the industry. Amongst those bombarding a string of comments include eminent radio and television personality Howard Stern who called her “fat, black, chic, Gabourey Sidibe”. He even called Oprah Winfrey a “filthy liar [for] telling an enormous woman the size of a planet that she’s going to have a career” referencing Sidibe.
Setting aside the comments on her weight, the Precious star stated that the source of her decision to undergo weight loss surgery was to get rid of the diabetes which had started to take a severe toll on her physical health. In 2017, Sidibe successfully underwent laparoscopic bariatric surgery to quickly shed some pounds. During the surgery, Sidebe’s doctor Bradley Schwack, a bariatric surgeon, removed 80 percent of her stomach fat which led to a shrinking appetite.
Weight loss tips
Following her successful surgery, Sidibe further embarked on the journey of prioritizing a good physique and advocating healthy eating habits. Here are some of the health tips that the actress has begun to follow religiously.
Avoiding soda
Unlike her childhood days when she consumed tons of soda, Sidibe has completely avoided its intake and has replaced it with lemon and cold water that helps her stay hydrated and discharges the toxins from her body.
No junk food
Sidibe has also bid adieu to some of the popular favorites like pizza, fries, and burgers. Instead, she has taken to clean eating with vegetables, fruits, and hummus.
Eating at the right time
Commitment to staying healthy is not limited to eating fresh. In addition to making changes in her dietary habits, Sidibe makes sure to consume food at the right time. This consists of a heavy breakfast followed by a mid-sized lunch and a light dinner.
Minimizing sugar consumption
Once a big fan of cupcakes and Oreos, Sidibe made it a point to mitigate her consumption of food containing processed sugar after she was diagnosed with diabetes. Following her weight loss, avoiding the consumption of processed sugar has become her mantra.