The evolution of Kelly Clarkson: As the singer finally addresses her dramatic weight loss, FEMAIL charts her WILD physical transformation over the years – from bulimia battles in high school to autoimmune and thyroid issues

Kelly Clarkson‘s stunning transformation has been the subject of speculation in recent months – as the singer’s toned-down physique has sparked fierce rumors that she used weight-loss drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy.

But the 41-year-old recently opened up about how she has achieved her impressive figure, and she insisted it was all natural – crediting walking and cutting down on carbs.

Kelly – who was propelled into the spotlight after winning the first season of American Idol – has long been open about her weight-loss journey, and the pressure she has faced to look a certain way while being compared to other women in the industry.

The Since U Been Gone songstress has even admitted that her body issue images began before she was famous – as she once revealed that she developed an eating disorder after losing out on a part in her high school play.

Kelly suffered from an eating disorder during high school, and when she joined American Idol in 2002, she struggled with being ‘the biggest girl’ on the show

Kelly, who grew up in Burleson, Texas, suffered from an eating disorder when she was a freshman in high school.

She told CosmoGirl magazine in 2007 that she developed bulimia as a freshman after she lost out on a part in her school play.

‘I thought if I came back and I was cuter and thinner, then I’ll get the role,’ she explained.

‘The lesson I took from that was purely superficial, but that’s what I grew up thinking for a long time.’

She said she was bulimic for ‘six months’ before a friend ‘caught on’ and confronted her about it.

‘I just felt so ashamed and embarrassed [when my friend approached me], I literally went cold turkey and snapped out of it,’ she added.

Kelly was skyrocketed into the spotlight after she won American Idol’s first season in 2002.

But she later admitted that immediately after she joined the singing competition show, she was subjected to scrutiny over her size.

‘I was the biggest girl in the [American Idol cast],’ Kelly told Ellen DeGeneres in 2015. ‘And I wasn’t big, but people would call me big… I’ve kind of always gotten that.’

Kelly was propelled into the spotlight after winning the competition, and while she dropped down to her thinnest in the years that followed, she has admitted she was secretly ‘miserable’

After Kelly was crowned as the winner and her career took off, the singer admitted that the pressure to look a certain way only increased – which left her struggling mentally.

She told Attitude magazine that while she dropped down to her thinnest, she was ‘miserable’ in the years following the show.

She said it was such a ‘dark time’ that she even contemplated ending her life – and that it felt like ‘no one cared’ that she was unhappy ‘because aesthetically’ she ‘made sense.’

‘When I was really skinny, I wanted to kill myself,’ she told the publication in 2017. ‘I was miserable, like inside and out, for four years of my life. 

‘But no one cared, because aesthetically you make sense. It was a very dark time for me. I thought the only way out was quitting.

‘I  wrecked my knees and my feet because all I would do [was] run. I was at the gym all the time.’

After the interview was published, Kelly took to Twitter to clarify some of her comments.

She wrote, ‘Just to clear something up. I wasn’t ever miserable because I had to be thin. I said I was miserable and as a result I became thin.

‘I’ve never contemplated suicide because of my weight. I said people had no idea I was unhappy oddly enough because I appeared healthy.’ 

She also told Glamour UK in 2020 that during the early years of her career, she struggled with constantly being compared to other stars.

Kelly said she would be shown magazine covers that featured ‘naked’ models and told ‘this is what you’re competing with.’

‘I felt more pressure from people actually when I was thin,’ she shared. ‘I fought more when I was thinner than I do now, because now I just walk in and I just look at them like, “I dare you to say something. I’m happy in my life. I’ll work on me in my time.”‘

In a 2007 interview, Kelly spoke about being ‘thicker’ than ‘most people in the industry.’

‘I’m definitely thicker than most people in the industry but not in real life,’ she said. ‘When you’re on the red carpet with people who weigh 100 pounds, hell yeah, I’m bigger than most of them.  

‘I’ve got a butt, I’m Greek – I can’t help that. And I think it’s good for people to see normal. I love food far too much.’ 

By 2015, Kelly insisted she was done ‘obsessing over her weight’ and addressed all the body ‘shaming’ that she had been subjected to ‘over the years’ by announcing: ‘When I’m fat, I’m happy’

In 2015, Kelly spoke to Redbook Magazine about the comments she had previously faced regarding her weight, and she insisted that she had finally ‘made peace with her body’ after years of struggling.

‘I don’t obsess about my weight, which is probably one of the reasons why other people have such a problem with it,’ she said at the time.

‘There are just some people who are born skinny and with a great metabolism – that is not me. 

‘I wish I had a better metabolism. But someone else probably wishes they could walk into a room and make friends with everyone like I can. You always want what someone else has.’

While chatting with DailyMail.com in 2017, she reflected on ‘all of the fat jokes’ she had been subjected to ‘over the years.’

‘Too skinny, too fat, too blonde – so much blah. This is who I am and I’m happy,’ she declared at the time. ‘Happy looks different on everyone.

‘The media has always been obsessed with [my size]. And I have felt conflicted over the years. 

‘Do you address it? Do you talk about it? Because then you just add to the noise. But people like me to talk about it, so I don’t really mind carrying that flag.

‘I love that people come up to me and say, “Because you are comfortable in your skin, you have made me more comfortable in mine.” That’s the best compliment ever.’

She added to Redbook in another interview around the same time, ‘[People] shame you for [your weight].

‘But it’s when I’m fat that I’m happy. People think, “Oh, there’s something wrong with her. She’s putting on weight.” For me, when I’m skinny is usually when I’m not doing well.’

Kelly announced that she had started a diet called the Plant Paradox plan in 2018 and was down 37 pounds – but insisted she was only using it to help with her ‘autoimmune disease and a thyroid problem’

In June 2018, Kelly announced that had started a diet known as the Plant Paradox Plan, and revealed that she had already lost 37 pounds on it. 

At the time, she also revealed that she had been secretly been struggling with ‘an autoimmune disease and thyroid problem’ since 2006.

And she insisted that she switched up what she was eating because of her health issues, and not because she wanted to lose weight.

‘I had an autoimmune disease and a thyroid problem that started in 2006. I read this book, it’s called The Plant Paradox [by Steven Gundry], and it might not work for you but it worked wonders for me,’ she said during an appearance on the Today show at the time. ‘I’m, like, 37 pounds lighter.

‘It’s the same stuff you eat – I just use different ingredients. Even like fried chicken – I use cassava flour, tapioca, or almond flour, and you use non-hormone chicken.’

The diet involves cutting out foods that contain large amounts of the protein lectin, which binds to carbohydrates.

Foods high in lectin includes beans, peanuts, lentils, potatoes, wheat and other grains, as well as fruits and vegetables like eggplant and tomatoes.

‘It’s basically about how we cook our food, non-GMO, no pesticides, eating really organic,’ she also told Extra of the diet. 

‘I literally read this book, and I did it for this autoimmune disease that I had, and I had a thyroid issue, and now all my levels are back up. I’m not on medicine anymore because of this book.’ 

A few months later, Kelly joked on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she ‘still hates working out,’ adding, ‘People say it’s good for your heart… But people also say red wine is good for your heart. I mean, I’m just stating facts here people. Who am I to ignore science?!’

In early 2019, she also posted a message to the social media platform shutting down rumors that she was taking diet pills.

‘[There’s] fake news that’s going around about me that I’ve been taking weird pills four weight loss or doing weird fad diets,’ she wrote.

‘All of this is not true. I ain’t got time for all that. I eat the same stuff I always have. It’s all just made with different flours/sugars/ingredients.’

Kelly has continued to slim down in recent months, sparking speculation that she used Ozempic – but she insisted she lost the weight by walking and cutting down carbs

Kelly has continued to slim down in recent months, and her stunning transformation has sparked fierce speculation that she used weight-loss drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy.

Earlier this month, however, she spoke out about the steps she took to drop the weight, and she insisted it was all natural. 

While chatting with People, the Because Of You songstress said it came down to a few major lifestyle changes – like walking more and using a protein-heavy diet.

‘Walking in the city is quite the workout,’ Kelly, who recently moved to New York City, dished. 

Before living in Manhattan, she resided in Los Angeles, where she explained that she drove her car everywhere, limiting her daily steps.

But she told the publication that since relocation, she often takes strolls around her neighborhood with her kids, nine-year-old River Rose and seven-year-old Remington Alexander. 

‘We go walk the dogs a few times at the park. We’ll go for ice cream because my daughter will wear me down. We’ll go make slime and we go to the museum,’ she said. 

She added that she’s ‘really into’ other wellness fads like ‘infrared saunas’ and ‘cold plunges.’

As for what she eats, she explained that she had cut down on carbs and was now focused on a protein-heavy diet.

‘I eat a healthy mix. I dropped weight because I’ve been listening to my doctor – a couple years I didn’t,’ she continued.

‘And 90 per cent of the time, I’m really good at it because a protein diet is good for me anyway. I’m a Texas girl, so I like meat – sorry vegetarians in the world.’