Gabourey Sidibe Weight Loss Secret (Diet Plan & Exercise Routine)

Want to know Gabourey Sidibe Weight Loss secret?

How did Gabourey Sidibe lose weight?

Gabourey Sidibe, the Precious star, was born on May 6, 1983. She is an American actress who made her acting debut in the movie “Precious” in 2009. Her role in this movie earned her the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. She was nominated for the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Actress. She featured in movies like Tower Heist in 2011, White Bird in a Blizzard 2014 and Grimsby in 2016.

Sidibe was also starred on the television series American Horror Story: Freak Show as the character of Regina Ross.

Sidibe was born and brought up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York and later in Harlem. Alice Tan Ridley, her mother, is a gospel singer. She also appeared on the season 5 of America’s Got Talent. Ibnou Sidibe, her father, belongs from Senegal and is a cab driver. Sidibe lived with her feminist activist aunt Dorothy Pitman Hughes.

Sidibe holds an associate’s degree from Borough of Manhattan Community College. She attended City College of New York but dropped out. Before she pursued her acting career she worked at The Fresh Air Fund’s office as a receptionist.

Sidibe revealed in 2017 that she has been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and after that, she went under bariatric surgery to manage her weight. Gabourey Sidibe weight loss journey has been an inspiration and today we will take a look at it.

Gabourey Sidibe’s Weight Issues

Sidibe got more dolled up and she recently showed up and out on the red carpet dazzling in an afro, royal blue gown, rocking those sexy curves. She has lost a lot of pounds over the last few years and is now so thinner. But it’s ‘the weirdest thing in the world’ for her getting compliments over her weight loss transformation.

Sidibe unbelievably shed from 300 pounds to 179 pounds in a couple of years.

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Gabourey aka Gabby struggled with weight problems since her early life. She reveals that her mother would force-feed her and used to treat her to McDonald’s trips frequently. This got her indulged in junk food, soda, sweets etc resulting in an unhealthy lifestyle.

Here is a video from Entertainment Tonight

Later on, she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which became another reason for her huge bulky body. After this diagnosis, she decided to undergo Bariatric surgery (1). A study shows that people who go through this surgery are less likely to die with Type 2 diabetes linked complications(2). So, the surgery was a good option for Sidibe. It also helped her lose weight faster. The surgery cut out some of her belly fat, lowering the ability of overeating and limiting hunger.

Criticism for Her Weight and Body Shaming

Sidibe recalls an encounter with one of her Hollywood role models who said to her, “Oh honey, you should really quit this business, it’s so image-conscious.”

Sidibe has always been criticized for her body right from her early life. She was bullied in school and college. She tells about criticism by David Edelstein who reviewed Precious for New York magazine, he said, “Sidibe’s head is a balloon on the body of Zeppelin, her cheeks are so inflated that they squash her eyes into slits. Her expression is either surly or unreadable. Even with her voice-over narration, you are just meant to stare at her ebony face and see nothing.”

Susan Powter, nutritionist, motivational speaker, and trainer released a video in March 2010 saying, “Gabby… your weight is going to affect everything in your life.” She has also been called “The most enormous, fat black chick I’ve ever seen” by Howard Stern.

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This was a difficult phase in Gabourey Sidibe Weight Loss journey. To all these criticisms she responded adding, “It’s all Public opinion, the upside is that I’ve never felt more powerful. And I’m strong. And I’m amazing. ”

To a magazine, she quoted, “I was born to stand out to the world, I don’t care whether or not people will find me attractive on the screen. ”

Gabby turned down all the body shames and criticism by her powerful words and confidence. Something so special in her, that we can all learn.

What Inspired Her for Weight Loss?

Gabourey Sidibe’s weight loss is not a few months dream but its year’s long journey of body positivity. She has been bullied for years about her huge body and appearance. She struggled really hard to lose the weight naturally.

Sidibe said, “Some people show they care for me more than myself and that angers me. And that is impossible actually. You don’t care. You only care that you a voice and a big mouth to speak, and then you say something about me. But I care more than anybody really knows. It’s been my body whole life and I didn’t want to be afraid anymore, about it. And I felt that all the time.”

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Sidibe’s entire life, she has had been conditioned to believe that she was ugly. She adds to this, “It’s really really hard to live 26 years being told that everything about you is wrong. It’s so hard to tear that down with just 9 years of acting career.

Sidibe has always been conscious of her weight issues. After the surgery, she lost a significant amount of weight and she started using a diet plan along with some workouts to shed more of those extra pounds. She was self-inspired and self-motivated this entire journey. Well! It’s something so difficult.

Diet Plan

Gabourey finally decided she wanted to lose one pound per week back in 2013. That means she would lose approximately 50 pounds by the end of the year. She decided that to lose such amount of weight she had to eliminate 500 calories of daily calorie from her diet. Sidibe didn’t share the exact diet plan as to what she ate on a whole day but she revealed her lifestyle changes. She took the following 4 steps to eat healthily:

1. Stopped Drinking Soda

Gabby was obsessed with soda before she took this diet plan. She uses to have gallons of sodas on a daily basis. She replaced the glass of soda with ice cold water with a slice of lemon in it. This step changed her health dramatically. It reduced her sugar intake and her insulin levels also stabilized.

2. Got Rid of Processed Foods

Oreo cookies, cupcakes, potato chips, and burgers were her favorite as if they were the only food in the world. She replaced these with hummus and crackers, vegetable chips, fruits etc. Her body reduced gradually by a low amount of sugar and salt intake.

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3. Timing and Sizing the meals

She started eating a large size breakfast, mid-size lunch, and a light dinner. Gabourey timed her meals to three hours apart and used to snack on healthier options whenever she felt hungry. She drank one glass of cold water before her meals to get her tummy full.

4. Eating on a Smaller Plate

Gabby replaced her larger plate to a smaller and compact one, just to make sure she doesn’t do overeating. Eating less contributes to cutting calories and helps in weight loss

She included fish oil and avocado for healthier fats. She also took the famous weight loss supplements Garcinia Cambogia supplements.

Exercise Routine

Gabby soon started feeling more energetic after a month of eating right. She got rid of lethargy and sluggishness. This all was when she decided to start an exercise regimen. She hired a personal trainer and had a gym membership.

Due to her huge weight, Gabby had to have such a weight loss program that was easy on her joints. Her trainer created a low impact and low-pressure exercise routine that she could do in an easy way. This helped her burn off the calories.

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A cardiovascular program was created for her, which consisted of:

1. Walking on treadmill
2. Stair stepper exercises
3. Versa climber
4. A core program was created that she did three times a week for 30 minutes:
5. Lunges
6. Squats
7. Plank Poses
8. Leg presses
9. Barbell curl
10. Lat pull down

Apart from the above routine exercises, she also did swimming. She genuinely performed these exercises along with her trainer, which helped her to go 179 pounds from 300 pounds.

Sidibe’s Message

After this transformation she was asked about her weight loss journey, to which she says, “I still obsess about eating, I obsess about weight and I obsess about my body just as much I did before. I trust more, even though I obsess about everything, and I’m scared and I’m nervous talking about it. It is so terrifying. I still remember having faith over fear because my decision is my decision and it really will affect only me.”

She says, “After all these, my life has changed – I eat about five times a day, I use meal plans that are really good and healthy. I cook a lot more. I talk to my nutritionist a lot. We keep in touch and I tell her all the things I am worried about. I have my own food diary.”

Sidibe’s story of her weight loss journey is really inspiring. She never led herself down after all those harsh criticism she got. Sidibe gave them a befitting reply by transforming her. She says, “Mind your own body.” The thing was she wanted to be recognized for her talent, her voice, and her work and not for her curves.

Her story teaches us so much, more than just having a slimmer body, having a beautiful soul.