Caroline Manzo, known from The Real Housewives of New Jersey and Manzo'd With Children, has openly discussed her weight loss journey and the lifestyle changes that contributed to her success. Her approach emphasizes a plant-based diet, regular physical activity, and a shift in mindset away from restrictive dieting.
Embracing a Plant-Based Diet
One of the primary factors in Caroline Manzo's weight loss is her adoption of a plant-based diet. She credits this dietary change with helping her slim down. She confirmed at a BravoCon event that the diet had helped her lose weight. In an interview with Life & Style Magazine, she shared, “Pretty much a plant-based diet. Fruits and vegetables and I walk about eight to 10 miles a day.”
Manzo started this dietary change in January 2019 and has experienced positive results since then. Her emphasis on "fruits and vegetables" aligns with the core principles of a plant-based diet, which is known for its numerous health benefits. Plant-based diets are known to help chronic inflammation, heart health, allergies, gut health and more!
Manzo is one of many celebrities crediting a plant-based diet with her weight loss and healthy lifestyle. Kelly Ripa spoke out about how a plant-based diet has helped her stay fit. Kim Kardashian West also shared about how she uses a plant-based diet to ease her psoriasis.
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The Motivation Behind the Change
Manzo credits her granddaughter with inspiring her to focus on living a healthier life. She told Life& Style, “Because you love ‘em so much and I was playing with her one day and I said, ‘I gotta be around long enough for her to remember me and to know how much I love her.’ So that’s why I took everything and changed everything I did, the way I eat and live and everything else. For my baby.” This heartwarming motivation underscores the importance of having a personal reason to commit to lifestyle changes.
Eliminating the "Diet" Mentality
Caroline Manzo emphasizes the importance of shifting away from the restrictive mindset often associated with dieting. She may have found the key to successful weight loss: eliminating the word “diet” from her vocabulary entirely. “I feel like I finally have created a routine that allows me to [lose weight] without feeling the pressure of ‘dieting.’ I prefer to say that I’ve changed my lifestyle. I’m not dieting; I’m doing what’s best for my body, and that can never be a bad thing,” she writes on her blog for Woman’s Day.
Establishing New Habits and Routines
Caroline revealed that she has lost almost twenty pounds with her new routine, which involves frequent meals. Sharing some tips that have helped her along the way, Caroline writes, “I’ve developed the habit of eating something every three hours, starting with breakfast (a meal I never ate) within an hour-and-a-half of waking each morning.” The reality star has also eliminated coffee from her diet, opting for hot water with lemon or green tea instead. As for cold beverages, she only drinks water or iced tea.
Maintaining Consistency While Traveling
The real challenge came recently when Caroline and husband Albert went away on a trip to Florida and Caroline proudly revealed that she didn’t stray from her routine. “For the first time I didn’t feel like I was challenged in my meal choices and food intake while eating out. Eating healthy has officially become a way of life, and I like it,” she writes. This demonstrates the importance of establishing sustainable habits that can be maintained even when facing external challenges or changes in environment.
The Positive Ripple Effects
And the mom of three, who will be watching her only daughter Lauren get married this year, is reaping the rewards of her hard work. “It’s nice to feel my energy level grow, and notice the changes in my body," she adds. These positive changes extend beyond just the number on the scale.
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More than Just Weight Loss
Manzo said her re-sized body hasn't had any noticeable effect on the series, which gives an inside look at the intimate and sometimes combative relationships between four highly complicated women, including Manzo, Jacqueline Laurita, Terese Guidice, and Danielle Staub. But the weight loss has given her the confidence to amp up her wardrobe a bit. "Now I wear things that are a little funkier," she said. "I used to wear only my diamond stud earrings because I had this huge face. Now I wear big hoop earrings. My hair is a little longer.
A Lifelong Journey
Weight had never been a problem for Manzo. In the early years of her marriage, she weighed less than 100 pounds. Of her eating habits in her early thirties, Manzo said, "I would eat huge sub sandwiches and drink soda and then go to bed. But at 40, the wheels started to fall off. She got up to about 141 pounds but didn't do anything about the extra weight until two years ago when her husband opted to treat his own weight problem by undergoing lap band surgery. Watching him eat less encouraged her to do the same. "In the beginning, it was very difficult," she said. Now she says she has trouble eating big portions. "I can't eat a whole sandwich or a whole piece of cake," she said. Along with eating less, Manzo started exercising more and now tries to fit in 45 minutes on the treadmill every day. "It has tons of hidden calories, and if it takes paint off a car, imagine what it does to your stomach," she said. "I was the worst person in the world about giving water to. I hated it. But that is all I drink now. Well, not all the time. Manzo admits she loves the occasional mojito. And she's not about to give up sumptuous meals altogether. "If I am out with the girls, and I feel like having a steak or a potato, I am going to have it.
Addressing Additional Procedures
Losing 20 pounds caused the skin under Caroline's neck to droop, which she said "just freaked [her] out," so she admitted to getting a facelift and she is thrilled with the results. Manzo said, "Since having it done, and this coincides with the weight loss, my whole entire outlook on life has changed and I could cry thinking about it.
The Manzo’d With Children alum previously revealed she underwent a facelift after losing weight in 2019. “I just decided that I am going to stop eating bread and pasta and meat and soda and cake and all that kind of stuff,” she explained during an April 2019 episode of son Albie Manzo‘s “Dear Albie” podcast. “I’m basically vegetarian. Not completely, but basically. A side effect of the weight loss, however, was loose skin around her neck. “It just freaked me out,” she explained, adding that her surgery mostly involved her neck rather than her face. “It’s not a matter of, you know what, let me bring my youth back.
Avoiding Weight Loss Drugs
Caroline’s latest comments about her body come in the midst of a widespread debate about the use of Ozempic, a medication used to treat diabetes that is now popular as an off-label weight loss drug. Earlier this month, Dolores Catania revealed that she’s taking Mounjaro, which she described as being “another part” of the Ozempic world. Her costar Jackie Goldschneider, meanwhile, has said that she gets “fired up” by the discussion surrounding the drug. The reality star has been open about her own struggle with anorexia, but she said her recovery has been affected by the Ozempic craze. “From a selfish standpoint, I wanted to come back into a world where everyone around me was eating and loving food and enjoying life,” she explained. “I wanted to come back to that and I didn’t because a lot of people in the Housewives world are on Ozempic. RHONJ newbie Jennifer Fessler, for her part, hinted that she’s also used Ozempic for its off-label benefits. “I took peptides, and I don’t know if you’ve heard of medications associated with that that help people lose weight,” Fessler, 52, said during a March appearance on WWHL. When host Andy Cohen asked whether she meant Ozempic, the F Major founder replied, “You said it, I didn’t. Earlier this year, plastic surgeon Dr. Thomas Su broke down the controversial weight loss trend in an exclusive interview with Us. “The drug was never meant to be for people who are near their ideal weight. It’s not even approved by the FDA for casual weight loss,” the Artistic LipoSculpting Center owner explained in March. “It’s not a good idea for someone who hopes to keep it off because one thing that we know is when you stop the medication, whether it be a few months down the road or a year later, your weight will come back pretty rapidly.
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