Whitney Way Thore's Inspiring Weight Loss Journey: Debunking Rumors & Celebrating Body Positivity

Whitney Way Thore, the star of TLC's "My Big Fat Fabulous Life," has been in the public eye for years, navigating career challenges and relationship snafus with her vivacious personality, a sense of humor and an abundance of courage. Known for her body positivity advocacy, Whitney has always been candid about her weight and health journey. In recent months, fans have noticed a change in Whitney's appearance, leading to speculation about how she lost weight. This article delves into Whitney's statements about her weight loss, addressing rumors of weight loss surgery and Ozempic use, and highlighting her commitment to body positivity.

Recent Weight Loss and Addressing Speculation

After revealing that she recently lost 100 pounds, Whitney Way Thore made the announcement on Instagram in a post celebrating her dad’s birthday, but she also made it clear that she’s uncomfortable with people making comments about her body. The body positivity advocate has spoken publicly about her weight in the past. The 40-year-old reality TV personality set the record straight in a September 2023 interview with ET. “I think it's obvious that I have lost some weight and that is true," she said. In a recent Instagram post, Whitney addressed the questions surrounding her weight loss, stating, “I hate addressing this, but no, I have not had medical intervention to lose weight." She clarified that her weight loss was primarily due to grief following the death of her mother, Barbara “Babs” Thore, in December 2022.

The Role of Grief in Weight Loss

Whitney's mother, Barbara “Babs” Thore died in December 2022 after being diagnosed with cerebral amyloid angiopathy, a progressive condition that can cause brain bleeding, strokes, and dementia, per Deadline. Whitney explained that the emotional toll of her mother's illness and subsequent passing significantly impacted her weight. “In 2015 (season 1), I weighed 385 pounds. In 2018, I lost 50 pounds. When my mom got sick and eventually died, I lost 50 more. I weigh 285 pounds and I have been this weight for almost a year now.”

Setting the Record Straight: No Weight Loss Surgery or Ozempic

In response to online chatter and direct inquiries, Whitney has been adamant that her weight loss is not the result of weight loss surgery. "I see a lot of chatter online and people have asked me, 'Have you had weight loss surgery?' or something like that. No I haven't," Whitney continued. She reiterated this point in an interview with ET, stating, "And people say, like, 'Is it surgery?' and I'm like, 'No, it's grief, but thanks.'"

With the rise in popularity of medications like Ozempic for weight loss, Whitney has also faced questions about whether she has used such drugs. In July, Whitney told Us Weekly that her weight loss wasn’t due to medication like Ozempic, although she’s not ruling out trying the drug in the future. “I’m not saying that I wouldn’t necessarily, I don’t know,” she said. “It’s not something that I’ve really thought about or have felt the medical need for, but it’s not something that I would say, ‘I would never do.’”Whitney said that she gets asked a lot if she’s taken weight-loss medications. “With the Ozempic craze and everything like that, I got questioned a lot,” she said.

Whitney has emphasized that she does not judge anyone who chooses to use medications like Ozempic for weight loss. By the way, Whitney has no judgement about taking Ozempic or similar medications. “I think people have the right to do whatever they want to do with their own bodies,” she said. “And as a fat person who’s been fat my entire adult life, I would never shame or criticize another fat person for choosing to do something that makes their life easier.”

Managing PCOS and Body Image

Whitney also revealed that she weighs herself to keep tabs on her polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a condition that’s linked to weight gain, infertility, and missed periods. She weighs herself to manage PCOS symptoms. “I’ve just now started getting a cycle,” she told Us Weekly. “[I] just recently went up 10 pounds, and then I got my period the next day, and it was all gone the next day. I kind of track based on that. … It’s just a habit, really, [and] it’s not for any reason. It doesn’t make me feel any kind of way.”

Despite the public's interest in her weight, Whitney has consistently expressed her discomfort with people obsessing over her body. She doesn’t like commenting on her body. In Whitney's IG post, she shared that she's "been this weight for almost a year now" and this is the second time she’s lost 100 pounds in her life. But she quickly acknowledged that she's not one to keep tabs on her weight. “I’m still very fat. 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 💜,” she said.

Embracing an Active Lifestyle

Whitney loves to work out-on her terms. Whitney is co-founder of No BS Active, a fitness and lifestyle app designed for people of all sizes. The program features workouts geared toward meeting the needs of both beginners and experienced athletes because No BS Active "makes workouts work for you by providing multiple modifications with clear instructions for all levels," according to the app's description.Whitney is also super active and regularly posts photos and videos of herself exercising with the No BS Active program. "I’m Whitney. 39, never married, no kids. Likes working out and drinking Coke. I’m so ~~multifaceted~~ 💁🏻‍♀️,” she joked in one post. In another, she totally owned the dance floor: And then there was this sweet video of Whitney and her dad working out in the pool: Go Whitney, go!

Celebrity Body Positivity

Of course, Whitney isn't the only celebrity to candidly address fans' comments about her appearance. Keep reading to see all of the ways other stars have embraced their bodies and shared empowering messages.

Read also: Whitney Thore surgery speculation

Chrissy Teigen: "I think, in a way, we've forgotten what a regular body looks like. There are people out there who are struggling, and I'm struggling, and it's okay to come to terms with realizing it's going to be a bit of a journey. I'm not blind: I see my body, I see the difference in shape, I see that I gained weight. But I also see with those same eyes that I have a beautiful baby boy, and an amazing little girl, and I am very happy."
Jonah Hill: "I don't think I ever took my shirt off in a pool until I was in my mid 30s even in front of family and friends," he wrote. "Probably would have happened sooner if my childhood insecurities weren't exacerbated by years of public mockery about my body by press and interviewers. So the idea that the media tries to play me by stalking me while surfing and printing photos like this and it can't phase me anymore is dope."
Demi Lovato: "Stretch marks and extra fat…And yet I still love myself," the singer, who battled bulimia for years, wrote on Instagram in 2018.
Cindy Crawford: "See? Even I don't wake up looking like Cindy Crawford."-keeping it all the way real about the power of a good glam squad
Kate Winslet: "As a child, I never heard one woman say to me, 'I love my body.' Not my mother, my elder sister, my best friend. No one woman has ever said, 'I am so proud of my body.' I make sure to say it to [my daughter] Mia, because a positive physical outlook has to start at an early age."
Mindy Kaling: "IDK who needs to hear this but…WEAR A BIKINI IF YOU WANT TO WEAR A BIKINI. You don't have to be a size 0."
Gabourey Sidibe: "People always ask me, 'You have so much confidence. Where did that come from?' It came from me. One day I decided that I was beautiful, and so I carried out my life as if I was a beautiful girl. I wear colors that I really like, I wear makeup that makes me feel pretty, and it really helps. It doesn't have anything to do with how the world perceives you. What matters is what you see. Your body is your temple, it's your home, and you must decorate it."
Lena Dunham: "I feel I've made it pretty clear over the years that I don't give even the tiniest of s--ts what anyone else feels about my body. I've gone on red carpets in couture as a size 14. I've done sex scenes days after surgery, mottled with scars. I've accepted that my body is an ever changing organism, not a fixed entity-what goes up must come down and vice versa. I smile just as wide no matter my current size because I'm proud of what this body has seen and done and represented."
Emma Stone: "No matter how things look from the outside, we can all be super critical of ourselves and of our image in the mirror. I've seen articles or comments that have addressed my weight, or 'caving to pressure to be thin.' Keeping weight on is a struggle for me-especially when I'm under stress, and especially as I've gotten older….I remind myself to be kind to myself, and as slightly ridiculous as it may sound, to treat myself in the same gentle way I'd want to treat a daughter of mine. It really helps."
Meryl Streep: "For young women, I would say, don't worry so much about your weight. Girls spend way too much time thinking about that, and there are better things. For young men, and women, too, what makes you different or weird, that's your strength. Everyone tries to look a cookie-cutter kind of way and actually the people who look different are the ones who get picked up. I used to hate my nose. Now I don't. It's okay."-on the advice she'd give aspiring actors
Viola Davis: "I truly believe that the privilege of a lifetime is being who you are, and I just recently embraced that at 51. I think my strongest power is that at ten o'clock every Thursday night, I want you to come into my world. I am not going to come into yours. You come into my world and you sit with me, my size, my hue, my age, and you sit, and you experience."
Lizzo: "When people look at my body and be like, 'Oh my God, she's so brave,' it's like, 'No, I'm not.' I'm just fine. I'm just me. I'm just sexy. If you saw Anne Hathaway in a bikini on a billboard, you wouldn't call her brave. I just think there's a double standard when it comes to women….I don't like it when people think it's hard for me to see myself as beautiful. I don't like it when people are shocked that I'm doing it."-on being annoyed that people are surprised by her confidence
Zendaya: "There is no such thing as ugly. That's a word that doesn't really enter my vocabulary. If there's any definition to being perfect, you're perfect at being yourself. No other person can be you 100 percent; no one has your fingerprint; no one has your DNA. You are you 120 percent, through and through. Whether it is through my social media or whatever, I want anyone who looks up to me to know that I go through the same problems. I have to be confident in who I am."
Jennifer Lawrence: "You have to look past it-you look how you look, and be comfortable. What are you going to do? Be hungry every single day to make other people happy? That's just dumb."-on why she refuses to diet
Serena Williams: "I love that I'm a full woman and I am strong, and I'm powerful, and I'm beautiful at the same time. And there's nothing wrong like that. It's so important to look at the positives; if I get caught up looking at the negatives, it can really bring you down. I don't have time to be brought down, I've got too many things to do. I have Grand Slams to win, I have people to inspire, and that's what I'm here for."
Isla Fisher: "I don't even own a scale. I have two young girls, and I wouldn't want them to see me weighing myself all the time. I don't think it sends the right message….For me, so much about life is acceptance. You can look in the mirror and find a million things wrong with yourself. Or you can look in the mirror and think, I feel good, I have my health, and I'm so blessed. That's the way I choose to look at it. I don't need to be perfect. I'm doing just fine."
Amy Adams: "Being pregnant finally helped me understand what my true relationship was with my body-meaning that it wasn't put on this earth to look good in a swimsuit. I was like, 'Look, I can carry a baby! I'm gaining weight right, everything's going well.' And I've had that relationship ever since."
Camila Mendes: "When did being thin become more important than being healthy? I recently went to a naturopath for the first time in my life. I told her about my anxiety around food and my obsession with dieting. She phrased a pivotal question in such a way that struck a chord with me: what other things could you be thinking about if you didn't spend all your time thinking about your diet? I suddenly remembered all the activities I love that used to occupy my time. At some point in my life, I allowed my obsession with being thin to consume me, and I refused to make room in my mind for any other concerns….I'm done believing in the idea that there's a thinner, happier version of me on the other side of all the tireless effort. Your body type is subject to genetics, and while eating nutrient-dense foods and exercising regularly will make you healthier, it will not necessarily make you thinner."
Lady Gaga: "I heard my body is a topic of conversation so I wanted to say, I'm proud of my body and you should be proud of yours too. No matter who you are or what you do. I could give you a million reasons why you don't need to cater to anyone or anything to succeed. Be you, and be relentlessly you. That's the stuff of champions."-responding to chatter about her Super Bowl appearance
Sam Smith: "Yesterday I decided to fight the f--k back, reclaim my body and stop trying to change this chest and these hips and these curves that my mum and dad made and love so unconditionally. Some may take this as narcissistic and showing off but if you knew how much courage it took to do this and the body trauma I have experienced as a kid you wouldn't think those things."
Ashley Graham: "I look at myself naked in the mirror and say, 'You know what, awkward butt shape? You're not gonna get higher or rounder but it's OK, because I've got Spanx for you.' Your words have so much power."

tags: #whitney #my #fat #fabulous #life #weight