Weight loss is a touchy subject. Body acceptance is a huge discussion right now, as is representation of different body types in the media. Should it be? No. In an ideal world, we’d have all bodies and abilities shown in the modeling and media sector. However, that’s not the case. There’s still a fixation of the media on who’s lost what weight, who’s changing themselves, and who’s got the hottest body. Articles will forever be written on the superhero quality of Kim K’s post-baby transformation, and how Jennifer Lopez doesn’t seem to age. While it might be weird, we all love seeing dramatic changes. The important thing here is the change-- Not the actual weight loss itself. Take a look at these people who decided to make a change in their lives and the amazing results. They don’t even look the same after, in some cases. Whether it was for acting roles or personal reasons, these folks are shocking and rocking with their new bods!
15 Snooki: From Guidette To Mom
This guidette mom had a big change after giving birth to her baby. While many moms struggle with shedding baby weight after carrying a pregnancy to term, some of them are more successful than others. Many famous moms lose the weight quickly, while others stay in their post-baby-bod for a while and put up with the inevitable backlash from the media. In Snooki’s case, her weight had always been under scrutiny by the media (as with most of the people on this list). She managed to pull herself back up to meet the media’s standards though, even though she’s adamant that she did it for herself. She does seem happier, and she’s stoked to be back at a weight that was even better than her immediate pre-baby weight. Her smile says it all, we think: her change is dramatic not because of the amount of weight she lost, but what it did for her. She looks way more confident, grown up, and like a total power Mom. Wow!
14 Perez Hilton: What's The Skinny?
What the heck happened here. Not only is this a weird starting place for Perez, it ends up even weirder. Okay, his transformation is amazing. Yes. But how the heck did he start at such a high weight?! Perez might have been big, but we never really saw him so physically at large. His controversial work in celebrity gossip has done everything from riling people up to making them forget about their own problems. Whether you love him or hate him, he’s the patron saint of the paparazzi. He gets down to business though, as seen by this dramatic transformation. Once a weird, rainbow-hair colored blob, Perez birthed into a beautiful, chiseled man… Who now has a new baby! It’s great to see him really take life in stride, and become the celebrities that he so gossips about.
13 Kelly Osbourne: Fashion Police
Kelly Osbourne, daughter of the great Ozzy Osbourne, has had a huge transformation over the last couple years. Having been addicted to many a substance, Kelly had finally gone (and stuck) to rehab. While she might have taken after her Dad in the substance category, she never seemed to take after him in the looks. Ozzy’s always been able to pull off that weird, almost-starving-rock-god look, in order to best fit his metal band image. Kelly, on the other hand, never seemed to have that luxury. She was ridiculed and tormented every day of her in-public life for her weight. There’s a good quote from her that talks about how she was never given as much backlash and critique for her three stints of time in rehab as she was given for the fact that she was overweight. Isn’t it funny how the media fixated on that instead? She’s certainly shown them though with this covergirl level body transformation. Wowza!
12 Mama June: A Total Glow Up
This once-doughy babe brought about a ginormous change. And we’re not just talking about her hair! While this is one of those cases where one change results in another change, it’s also a case where one change sparked these huge amounts of changes. She most likely would never have lost the weight if she hadn’t started this whole Honey Boo Boo thing, and she definitely would never have gotten the self-compassion and self-confidence that the weight loss has given her. She’s got the clothes, the makeup, and the hair to go along with her new body, and man oh man is she looking like a star. Here comes Honey Mama June, with one of the most shocking transformations we’ve seen. While she might not be movie star hot yet, she’s definitely well on her way there… If that’s what she’s going for. Her gastric bypass was possibly just a step in her journey for self-acceptance, and less likely to be a cosmetic choice… Who knows! We trust that Mama knows best.
11 America Ferrera: Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants
While she’s always seemingly embraced her body, apparently this might not have been the case. As a role model for young women, she publicly stated on her Instagram that she was tired of her personal judgments on her body, and how she seemed to not stand by her body. At just over 30 years of age, she’s made a promise to herself to support and love herself, no matter what. We’re very happy that she’s said this, as it’s a definite step in the right, body-acceptance direction. She seems so much happier now, and it shows. She’s turned her outlook inside out and has stuck to her decision to be happy and healthy. Plus, she’s looking gorgeous. Have you seen her Instagram?! Flip through for many more inspiring pictures of this lady looking all naturally lovely.
10 Sam Smith: Fried Food Cravings
Never have we heard of any freaky gossip about Sam Smith. In this day and age, that’s rare. While there might be the odd drunk story flying around out there about him, we’ve never heard of him cheating, stealing, or getting caught in any legal trouble. Maybe he has a really good publicist who keeps it all hidden, or maybe he’s just a great guy. Our other theory? He’s too busy cuddling up with fried chicken and cheese. He admitted that the hardest part about dropping his almost 50 pounds was the fact that he had to control his fried food cravings… If that’s his worst addiction, he’s doing much better than some of the other stars out there. It certainly was a struggle for him to get off the food though. He says that it’s a battle of always being on top of what he’s eating; maybe that’s why we haven’t heard much music from him lately.
9 Raven-Symone: That's So Raven
That’s so Raven, indeed. That’s also so cool, even if we’re not sure how she did it. Raven had a battle with weight loss for much of her life, talking about diets and food and body image for many years… Even on her TV show! Now that she’s lost 70 lbs, what’s her secret? Well, she might not tell us. She says that she attributes losing the weight to no longer worrying about the weight. While for some of us mere mortals, not thinking about food means we overeat. But for Raven, it seems to have worked out in her favor. She’s gotten the food monkey off her back and has subsequently seemed happier and more at home in herself. It’s been a few years now, and she’s kept most of the weight off too. Obviously, the long-term effects are good!
8 Jennifer Hudson: Big Points For You
Some people really aren’t impressed with Weight Watchers. While the points system might seem confusing to some, other people really like it. We’re not entirely sure how it works, but our understanding is that there’s different allotments of different foods you can eat each day. Maybe this fancy spokeswoman will be able to explain it better? Jennifer Hudson lost over 80 lbs. While she did do a lot of it on her own, she thanks Weight Watchers for keeping her on track. And now she’s their spokeswoman! It’s surprising how much she’s changed, and how she looks so much more confident and happy than during her American Idol days. This transformation definitely transformed her inside out. It’s not just her body that looks great, but her heart as well. While it’s not enough to convince us to join Weight Watchers, we support her support.
7 Khloe Kardashian: No Longer An Ugly Duckling
We did a whole article on Khloe’s transformation throughout the years. It’s difficult when you’ve had the media tell you your whole life that you’re the ugly one, the fat one, and the disappointing one. Khloe will forever pale in comparison to her sister, Kim, and likely will never have the same sort of proportions that she does. What she does, however, have, is the height, drive, and leg power to get lean and mean. Post-breakup was a tough time for Khloe. While some sites speculated that her body was a revenge body (you know, when people make themselves hot in order to show their ex what they let go), Khloe is adamant that the change was as much about her and her own perception of self as it was about the breakup. She’s much happier now, and it looks like her relationship with her sisters is better. She’s taken charge and has gotten back at all those silly people who called her ugly and fat growing up. Good for you, Khloe!
6 Graham Elliot: You Be The Judge
This Masterchef judge (and a big name in the food world) was publicly going through the process of losing weight. When you’re judging food competitions for a living, it makes sense that you might have a bit of a battle with your belly. But Graham Elliot had a bit more than a battle. He ended up transforming himself while still working on television, dropping over a hundred pounds and totally changing himself. He’s outspoken about the fact that he’s happier and healthier now, and feeling better for himself. He feels that he has a better quality of life ahead of him, and it makes us happy to know he’s happy. And look at his transformation! He’s totally different now, right down to the hair and glasses. It’s a shock that just by making one change he seems to have made a bunch of other changes. Maybe that’s what happens when you start to change yourself… The rest of the pieces don’t seem to fit anymore.
5 Josie Gibson: Not So Big Brother
Not sure who Josie Gibson is? You should be. This Big Brother winner is gorgeous, and a bit of a bada$$. She might be British, but she totally deserves a spot on this list. Just take a look at the before and after photos to see why! Not only did she win one of the weirdest reality competitions out there, but she also has claimed to fame from all the weight she’s lost. This lady dropped 7 stones-- And we don’t mean doing construction. For our Canadian and American readers, that’s 98 pounds! She’s been outspoken about the how and why of her weight loss, saying that she finally got the body she wanted. All it took was a bit of work and some conscientious eating. Her next battle? The excess skin. She’s released photos that show off exactly how much excess skin she has. While it’s not necessarily attractive by media standards, it’s admirable. The proof of her battle is still there, and her next steps are to get rid of it. Imagine how much more weight she’ll lose then!
4 Star Jones: What's Your View?
If you’re not sure who Star Jones is, you might recognize her from her time on The View. As a lawyer, diversity activist, and talk show host, you can imagine that she’s got a lot of opinions. This outspoken, take-charge woman took charge of her life and body. After having a bypass operation, she lost over 160 lbs. Not right away, but you can see her progress over the course of 3 years on the show. While she originally attributed her weight loss to diet and exercise, it was officially stated that she got a gastric bypass operation. She’s much happier now, and despite lying about her weight loss and supposedly alienating viewers (because of the lying) she comes back to The View every now and then. She’s just too strong to give up, and we’re happy for her.
3 Christian Bale: Doing It For His Craft
This dramatic weight loss and gain was all done as a tactical career move. And no, we don’t mean like the way Mama June’s was or the way Khloe’s was. Christian Bale is a serious actor, which means he’s devoting his time, effort, energy, and body to his craft. For his roles over the years he’s done everything from gain weight to lose dangerous amounts, and nothing seems to quite be able to give him a break. His body is at the mercy of whatever the character calls for, and though he’s not happy about it, he’ll put up with it. He’s okay to do the body-devoting work of giving over his weight to his craft, as long as he gets the part. And man does it ever show how committed he is. We’re in awe of Christian Bale, even if his body is a little worse for wear. It’s worth it to be such a big, talented star!
2 Jared Leto: For The Role
Surprised why you haven’t seen more Jared Leto around? It might be because you didn’t recognize him. While we all think of Leto as the Joker now, before he had that role he was given other, more weight-oriented ones. Jared Leto, believe it or not, played John Lennon’s killer in the movie Chapter 27. If you’ve seen the images, or the movie itself, you know that the killer looks like two Jared Letos put together. He had to gain over 60 lbs for the role, and it took him more than a year to get back to normal. We had to include this one because of the wild ride his body went through. Even though he only gained the weight for a short amount of time, he was afflicted with things that often affect people of a higher weight. He complained about gout and discomfort and vows to never gain weight for a role again. We don’t blame him… It sounds like a rough time, and it looks even worse!
1 Kirstie Alley: A True Queen
While you might recognize her from Cheers, Star Trek, or the show Scream Queens, you probably wouldn’t guess that she had such a big transformation. This 66-year-old super-cool woman says that after her Dancing With the Stars stint, she lost 100 lbs. Whether that’s because of her increase in activity or her sudden decision to take charge of her body and food, we don’t know. She’s got the looks to back it up though, and we’d never guess that she was close to 70 years old! It’s amazing how keeping your body in shape can increase the longevity of life… And your looks! We don’t know what her secret is, but she’s had one of the biggest transformations, we think. While Snooki was happier and Perez was wilder, Kristie just looks more like herself. We’re impressed and shocked, and hope that one day we look this good!
