Mariah Carey Lost 70 Pounds With Prepped Meals—and No Longer Steps on a Scale
Jenny Craig’s grab-and-go meals were key to Carey's success
Five-time Grammy Award-winning artist Mariah Carey is widely considered a living legend. But outside of her storied music career, the groundbreaking singer has been open about her personal life, including her marriages, her twin children Monroe and Moroccan and even her journey with postpartum weight loss. Here we reveal the diet that helped her shed 70 pounds.
Carey dealt with edema during pregnancy
In November 2011, about seven months after the birth of her children, Carey made an appearance on The Rosie Show on OWN to talk about her challenges during pregnancy and her weight loss, as reported by People. “I had a really tough pregnancy,” Carey said. “I was supposed to be on bed rest, but it was so bad that even bed hurt. I learned a lot being pregnant, watching my body change.”
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Some of Carey’s discomfort while pregnant was due to swelling and water retention. “In the beginning, when I first had the babies, I had so much edema … water and swelling,” said Carey. “Most pregnant women have that just in their feet. One day I was doing my thank-you notes and I noticed it started rising up the leg, so I had edema … I didn’t think I would ever be the same person.”
Mariah Carey’s 70-lb weight loss with Jenny Craig
According to People, after Carey finished breastfeeding her twins in July, she began the Jenny Craig diet plan, which included prepackaged, portion-controlled meals and snacks. In the interview, Carey shared that the water retention she experienced during pregnancy not only led to discomfort, but also contributed to the 70 pounds she would eventually lose.
“The first week, I lost 40 pounds. … of just water,” Carey said. “It was just water, initially. When I started with the program, I lost at least 30 pounds of weight that needed to be lost.”
Experts agree that post-pregnancy weight loss involves other contributing factors.
“It is common and normal for women to lose weight after birth. Right after delivery, 10 to 13 pounds of weight loss is lost between the baby, placenta and amniotic fluid,” says Michael Aziz, MD, author of The Ageless Revolution. “After birth, the body loses more water, which is another five to eight pounds. The total weight loss is about 15 to 20 pounds after the first few weeks postpartum.”
At first, Carey said she’d often be so busy that she would forget to eat and keep her body fueled, which is essential for healthy weight loss. Being able to eat without a lot of preparation through the Jenny Craig diet plan was a win for her, she said, noting she was “able to just grab something.”
“I like the soup a lot. It’s 50 calories. I gotta say, I like the snacks too,” Carey continued.
She added exercise too
In addition to following the Jenny Craig diet plan, Carey jump-started her weight loss with water workouts (which are especially gentle on the joints) and exercising with her dog once she was cleared for physical activity following her C-section, according to People.
Why Carey doesn’t use the scale
While a scale can provide a helpful source of accountability for some people on a weight loss journey, for others, it does more harm than good. Carey shared that she opts out of using one. “I never weighed myself,” Carey said. “People will think I’m a liar, but it’s true. This is another cliché phrase, I’m a big boned girl, I’m tall and so I always weigh more.”
Carey said she used how she felt and looked as her metric for weight loss rather than relying on the scale. “I would tend to go, ‘Does this size dress fit me that I wore three years ago?” Carey said. “I’m good, let’s go.’ I would go by what it looked like, how I felt.”
Experts agree that not getting too caught up in numbers can be a helpful mindset.
“Relying on how non-stretchy clothes fit can be a much more holistic and effective way of gauging progress,” says Meghan Garcia-Webb, MD, a triple board-certified doctor in internal medicine, lifestyle medicine and obesity medicine. “The number on the scale can go up and down depending on so many factors, and it can really make or break someone’s day. I’m much more in favor of assessing weight loss via clothes.”
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