Remi Cruz, known for her YouTube channels MissRemiAshten and RemLife, has openly shared her experiences with weight loss, providing insights into the challenges, triumphs, and complexities of her journey. Her story involves various approaches, including weight loss surgery and the use of GLP-1 medications like Mounjaro, alongside significant lifestyle changes.
The Breaking Point
Before opting for weight loss surgery, Remi had already explored numerous avenues to manage her weight. She revealed to Khloe Kardashian that she had been struggling with binge eating for years, attending a six-week intensive binge-eating program and Overeaters Anonymous meetings. She also experimented with Ozempic and other semaglutides, but they proved ineffective for her.
Remi's health was deteriorating, impacting her daily life significantly. “I was in bed for like a month, if I even turned a little I would like scream in pain,” Remi told Khloe Kardashian during the March 26 episode of Khloe in Wonder Land. She experienced a constant period and was warned by her doctor about becoming infertile at 28. Her heart health and cholesterol levels were also declining.
Weight Loss Surgery: A Difficult Road
Ultimately, Remi decided to undergo weight loss surgery, but the aftermath was far from easy. The recovery process was "the worst thing" of Remi’s life, with side effects more severe than anticipated. She experienced projectile vomiting, hair loss, and a deep depression. “I’d gotten into a very, very deep depression, and it was truly the scariest time of my life,” Remi admitted to Self, adding that keeping her procedure a secret made it worse for her. “I couldn’t tell people."
Embracing Mounjaro and Lifestyle Changes
More recently, Remi has openly discussed her two-year experience with Mounjaro, a GLP-1 medication. She emphasized that it's not a magic bullet but a tool that requires significant lifestyle adjustments. “I changed my lifestyle so much. I have built muscle, I have worked out. I eat better, I drink more water, and I take my supplements.”
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Renewed Energy and Physical Activity
One of the most significant benefits Remi noticed was a boost in her energy levels. “My energy is better now,” says Cruz. “I can walk more, I can exercise more, all those things.” Before starting on Mounjaro, Cruz recalls, “I’d eat so much food and then, boom, immediately I’d be like ‘I want to go back to bed.’” Her energy levels are now much more regulated.
A Transformed Relationship with Food
Mounjaro has also helped Remi develop a healthier relationship with food. She now spends less time thinking about food and can better manage her portions. “I never liked doing splitsies with anybody,” she says. “Because I was like, ‘I need my whole meal and then I need more.’ Whereas now, I can just have a bite of someone else’s food and not want to eat their plate and eat them and eat the table.”
The medication has also taught Cruz to be more gentle with herself about food, especially when enjoying big moments like vacation. “Maybe I eat everyone and the table,” she jokes, “and that’s also okay because I’m on vacation!”
Cruz says she has also learned to pay closer attention to her body’s signals. “Even when my medicine wears off and my body’s telling me I’m hungry, I can quickly be like, ‘No, you’re not hungry,’” she says. “ I had never experienced that before.”
Navigating Judgment and Misconceptions
Remi acknowledges that her weight loss has brought both increased confidence and new forms of scrutiny. She finds some of the online conversations around weight loss drugs concerning, particularly the misconception that they offer effortless results. “Ozempic check.’ I’m not offended because obviously I’m on it, and I’m not gonna lie about it,” Cruz explains. But she recognizes the intention behind many of those comments “is to be rude.”
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She worries that negative comments reinforce misconceptions that GLP-1s produce effortless weight loss. “Some people abuse it,” she says, adding that they “just take the medication and eat nothing and don’t take care of themselves. That’s only going to cause you more harm in the future.”
Other Celebrities and Their Weight Loss Journeys
Remi's story is not unique, as many other celebrities have also shared their weight loss experiences, often involving a combination of lifestyle changes, medication, and personal struggles.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey has openly discussed using a medically approved prescription for managing her weight. "The fact that there's a medically approved prescription for managing weight and staying healthier, in my lifetime, feels like relief, like redemption, like a gift, and not something to hide behind and once again be ridiculed for," she explained of adding that particular tool to her arsenal.
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson, informed by doctors that she was pre-diabetic, has focused on listening to her doctor and taking medication to help break down sugar. "I dropped weight because I've been listening to my doctor-a couple years I didn't," the singer explained to People. “Everybody thinks it Ozempic. It's not." Rather, it's another unnamed medicine, she continued, "Something that aids in helping break down the sugar-obviously my body doesn't do it right."
Jelly Roll
Jelly Roll has been open about his decision to use GLP-1s, emphasizing that his success was not dependent on his weight. "I did this publicly for a reason," Jelly Roll said on his wife Bunnie XO's Dumb Blonde. "What I want the world to know and I want the people to see, he continued, "is that I didn't become successful because of my weight, I became successful in spite of it."
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John Goodman
John Goodman has maintained a significant weight loss through a combination of exercise and a Mediterranean diet. "In the old days, I would take three months out, lose 60 or 70 pounds, and then reward myself with a six-pack or whatever and just go back to my old habits," he explained in 2017. "This time I wanted to do it slowly. Move, exercise. His sensible approach-lots of walking and a Mediterranean diet heavy on fish, vegetables and nuts-has helped him maintain a 200-pound weight loss.
Tammy Slaton
Tammy Slaton, from 1000-lb Sisters, has celebrated her weight loss as a significant achievement, allowing her to live a fuller life. "Like being able to buckle a seatbelt and not have to use an extender. It's big for me. Now, continued the reality star, "I'm more or less like giving myself a pat on the back for achieving something and doing it. Getting the weight off and living. That's what I'm doing. I can finally say I'm living life."
Post Malone
Post Malone attributed his weight loss to healthier habits inspired by his daughter. "I've had a lot of people ask me about my weight loss and i'd suppose, performance on stage," he acknowledged in an April 2023 Instagram post. His inspiration, he continued, was the daughter he welcomed in 2022: "i guess dad life kicked in and i decided to kick soda, and start eating better so i can be around for a long time for this little angel. next up is smokes and brews, but i like to consider myself a patient man."
Rebel Wilson
Rebel Wilson has been candid about the challenges of maintaining a healthy weight, especially when dealing with stress. The extra stress leading to extra pounds, "It makes me feel bad about myself," Wilson admitted, "it shouldn’t…but it does."
The Role of Nutritionists and Trainers
Many individuals on a weight loss journey emphasize the importance of working with professionals, such as nutritionists and trainers, to develop a personalized plan.
Sam Asghari
Sam Asghari, for example, credited his nutritionist, Sean Torbati, for guiding him towards a healthier lifestyle. "Sometimes you think you’re doing the right thing but what you actually need is redirection in order to see growth," he wrote. Now, "I’m eating the right food & Hot yoga 1-2 times a week which is so good for my mental & physical state," the dad of three explained.
Body Positivity and Self-Acceptance
While weight loss can be a positive step for some, it's also crucial to embrace body positivity and self-acceptance, regardless of size.
Whitney Way Thore
Whitney Way Thore has consistently promoted body positivity, reminding people that their worth is not defined by their weight. Bottom line, she continued, "Thank you for the compliments, but I really don't like obsessing over my body and I don't like it when others do it either."
Valerie Bertinelli
Valerie Bertinelli has spoken out against unrealistic beauty standards and the pressure to conform to a certain weight. "This is a 150lb body on a 5'4 frame," the Food Network host wrote, sharing a 2014 bikini photo. "I don't weigh myself anymore because this is considered overweight by who's [sic] standards, I don't know. Fully removed from the pressures of dieting, "I now, finally, know that I am a kind, considerate, funny, thoughtful woman," she continued. "So please remember, who you are and what your character is, should never be overshadowed by what size you are or how much you weigh. You are enough. As for anyone that might not agree, she summed up, "F--k ‘em."