The Diet Secrets

Do you remember that beefy girl with the big voice back in Season 5 of American Idol?  Mandisa, that girl Simon didn’t particularly like because she was “a little too big for the stage”,  is back with a new album and, apparently, a new body.  What’s up with all these American Idols losing weight?

Mandisa lost a total of 75 pounds, about 25 pounds short of her intended weight loss goal.  However, I doubt she’s complaining.

According to Mandisa, her weight was the result of an eating addiction developed since she was young.  A victim of sexual molestation and rape,  the 32 year old turned to food to repress the hurt, ballooning up to the Mandisa we saw on the show three years ago.

Things changed for the singer last summer, who decided to lose the weight after being unable to walk to the viewpoint at Mount Rushmore due to being too out-of-shape.  She vowed to work towards losing 100 pounds by March 24th - the release of her upcoming Christian album - and hasn’t looked back since.

To achieve the weight loss, Mandisa engages in cardio workouts 5 days a week, apart from changing her diet to consist mainly of salads, lean protein and fiber.   She’s also getting counseling to help deal with her childhood issues, which have contributed to her past obesity.

Let’s wish Mandisa the best!

If you’ve been watching the new season of American Idol, you would have noticed less and less of Simon’s once prominent eyesore of man boobs busting through his fitting shirts.  The change seemed to have started back in the 2007 season and continues to this day.

According to reports at the time, Simon had a male boob job, most likely a laser-assisted liposculpting procedure.  Simon has denied it, though, and claimed that the noticeable reduction in his chest area has been a result of losing weight from controlling what he eats.  Personally, I don’t think it was surgery either.

In fact, Simon has long discarded cookies, cakes and chocolates from his eating habits, adding that he hasn’t eaten a single cookie since he turned 40 (almost a decade ago).  However, shedding the extra fat that made the man-boobs prominent took a long time since Simon never really focused on a strict diet regimen.

The music mogul, to this day, continues to feast on his favorite meals, which are spaghetti bolognese, Sunday roast and chicken curry.  He also continues to drink Coca-Cola, but has cut down considerably on other fattening junk food to make up for it.  See, even a small change - like banishing decadent sweets - can make a difference.  Of course, results won’t come fast but should arrive eventually - or leave, in the case of Simon’s male mammaries.

Sometimes, dieting isn’t the answer to everything.  In fact, being happy with your current figure might be what you need.

Such is the case for Jordin Sparks, the youngest American Idol winner in the history of the show and now a certified hitmaker, with a number of charting songs under her belt.  At nearly six feet tall, the size 12 Jordin is one big girl who doesn’t let the issue of weight affect her the least bit.  In fact, she embraces her curves completely.

A year before she joined Idol, Jordin won Torrid’s Next Plus Size Model competition for sizes 12 and up (she was a size 13 then), winning an ad spread in Seventeen Magazine among other things.  According to her mom, her daughter just naturally developed confidence in herself, even if she isn’t the size 2 that Hollywood so blatantly glorifies.

It was a little over a year ago when obesity expert Meme Roth chastised the teen star for being a fat and unhealthy example for America’s youth.  In turn, Jordin has admitted she has tried losing weight in the past but has been unsuccessful due to her desire to enjoy food.  Instead of being depressed about it, like many are wont to do, Sparks began taking pride in her curves, knowing full well you can be beautiful without being skin and bones.

Exercise

While she doesn’t diet (and doesn’t seem interested in doing so anytime soon), Jordin does burn good amount of calories from exercise.  In fact, during the lead-up to the American Idol finals, she was doing one hour workouts four times a week.   She also hikes up mountains when she has the time and takes spin classes.

Have you seen the original American Idol Kelly Clarkson’s latest music video, My Life Would Suck With You?  While she  definitely wasn’t much to look at during the show, she has been looking hotter and hotter over the past couple of years.

This time, she takes everyone by surprise again, looking way fitter than she’s ever been.  Already, we’ve been hearing reports of Kelly losing around 20 pounds over the last few months.  Judging from the pictures of her last appearances before now, that seems to be right.

According to OK Magazine, though, an insider in the Grammy winner’s camp has confided that Kelly only lost around 7 or so pounds.  Maybe she replaced the fat with muscle weight because her figure definitely looks like it experienced some major changes that’s definitely way more than just losing 10 pounds.  Either way, her new body’s a hit, just like many past idols - from Carrie Underwood to Jennifer Hudson - seem to have been showing off lately.

The same source also gave some clues about changes Kelly has done to achieve the new bod.  These include hitting the gym for a good amount of cardio work on machines along with a new diet.  As of now, Kelly has withdrawn carbs, processed sugar and alcohol completely from her food and beverage intake, a big change considering she spent many a nights during the past year engaging in late night snacks along with a couple of beers.