12 Celebs Who Said They Loved Their Bodies Then Lost… A Lot

It's tough to be a woman with a larger body size in Hollywood. The media and strangers on the Internet feel the need to talk about women with larger bodies all the time. They criticize them for not being smaller. These women are encouraged to lose weight in order to conform to the ridiculous body standards imposed by Western media. They're told that their bodies are ugly and unhealthy. Larger female celebrities have to deal with an insane amount of criticism based solely on how they look.

The media and the Internet are just as cruel, or perhaps even crueler to female celebrities who were thin and then gained weight. Magazine covers are filled with before and after images of female celebrities who gained weight, with headlines that ask how these women could possibly have done this to themselves. These women are shamed for the fact that their bodies changed and are pressured to return to their former weight as soon as possible.

Many female celebrities whose bodies are larger than the norm have spoken out against the way they are treated in the media and on the Internet. They have insisted that there's nothing wrong with having a larger body and that they love their bodies regardless of their size. These celebrities are icons of body positivity and they encourage women to embrace their bodies regardless of what Hollywood says they “should” look like.

However, some of these women who have said they love their larger bodies and have refused to lose weight in order to conform to Hollywood standards, have gone on to lose large amounts of weight.

12 Amber Riley

When Amber Riley first stepped in to the spotlight on “Glee” she was more than happy to speak up for all those women in larger bodies who had been told to hate their bodies. Riley was often denied roles because she didn't look the part, but she refused to lose weight in order to be a star. She knew the right part would come for her and it did when she auditioned for the role of Mercedes on “Glee.” In that role, she had further opportunity to spread her body positive message. Riley seemed adamant that her body was just fine and she didn't need to lose weight.

Then, in 2012, Riley flaunted a noticeably trimmer figure and boasted that she had dropped two dress sizes. The actress insisted that the weight loss had nothing to do with her opinion about her body. She had been experiencing chronic stomach pains and had to adjust her diet in order to recover.

11 Lena Dunham

The creator, writer, and star of HBO's hit show “Girls” has always been a proponent of body acceptance. In a world where only the thinnest and fittest women are nude on the screen, Dunham proudly walked around naked and performed in sex scenes for her show. She seemed unashamed to show off her body, and that's because she was unashamed. She was the topic of a ton of Internet hate and her body was constantly criticized, but she was unfazed. Dunham was proud to have a regular person's body and to show that body on TV so other women could be proud of their regular bodies.

After years of defending her right to have a larger body, Dunham has recently dropped a lot of weight and has come under harsh criticism. People are calling her a hypocrite for promoting body positivity and then losing a lot of weight. Dunham shot back that women just can't win today. She insists that her weight loss had nothing to do with wanting to be skinny or conform to what someone else thought her body should look like.

Dunham has struggled with endometriosis for years and recently changed her diet and exercise regimen to get the disease under control, which led to her drastic weight loss.

10 Rebel Wilson

The “Pitch Perfect” actress literally made a career out of being “the fat one.” In her breakout role in “Pitch Perfect,” Wilson's character is actually calls herself Fat Amy. She does so in order to take the power from other women who are calling her fat. The character, much like Wilson herself, embraces the fact that she's fat and doesn't seem to care at all. She lives her life without caring much about her size.

Rebel Wilson has repeatedly talked about how she loves she size of her body and even considers it an asset in Hollywood. She has said that all the other “skinny” actresses look alike and they aren't distinctive. She considers herself distinctive and therefore unforgettable because of her body and she loves that.

Over the past few years, Wilson has lost a dramatic amount of weight and she's been more than happy to flaunt her trimmer figure on social media. Her body transformation has been one of the most talked about in recent years. She attributes the weight loss to becoming more active.

9 Queen Latifah

Queen Latifah has long been an example of how amazing curves can look on a thick woman. She's also been very vocal about the fact that she's happy with her curvy figure and that she's not the type who wants to be skinny. She's always been a proponent of being healthy rather than striving to be thin like many Hollywood actresses.

Though Queen Latifah had not been one to play the diet game, in 2008 she signed on as a Jenny Craig spokesperson and within six months had lost about ten percent of her total body weight. Latifah said that the goal was to be healthy, not to get skinny, and that she wanted to set a healthy example for her fans. Latifah said that she felt better than ever after having shed the pounds. She was also quick to remind people that she was still representing for the larger women, even though she'd lost a significant amount of weight.

8 Mo'Nique

Mo'Nique rose to fame because of her size, not in spite of it. Her original claim to fame was hosting a show about a beauty pageant for fat girls called “F.A.T. Chance.” She flaunted her size 20 body and she constantly encouraged other larger women, especially the ones on her show, to flaunt their larger bodies. Mo'Nique was the epitome of body positivity. Instead of feeling like she needed to change her body, she embraced it and made it part of her success.

Then, between 2013 and 2014, the actress lost around 80 pounds. She documented her weight loss journey on Twitter so that others would be inspired to use healthy methods instead of surgery to lose weight. Mo'Nique said that her weight loss was inspired by her love for her husband and her son. She wanted to get healthy so she would have many more years with them.

7 Gabourey Sidibe

Gabourey Sidibe has one of the most talked about bodies in Hollywood, and that's not a good thing. When she starred in the movie “Precious,” there was more commentary about the size of her body than her acting (which was superb by the way). Since then, her body has been a frequent topic of conversation in the media and on the Internet. Sidibe has dealt with some of the vilest hate the Internet can dish out for being a large woman.

Sidibe has publicly struggled with her perception of her body. She has admitted to sometimes hating her size, especially when she sees the things people have written about her on the Internet. She has also admitted that she wished she had a different body. But more often than not, Sidibe has said that she loves her large body and that she was unwilling to change just because people thought she should be thinner.

Earlier this year, Sidibe showed off her drastically thinner body and then admitted to having gastric bypass surgery to lose the weight. She was quick to insist that her decision didn't have to do with caving to the pressure to be thinner. She shared that after her brother was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes she became concerned for her health and underwent surgery to reduce her risk of getting the disease.

6 Kelly Clarkson

The former “American Idol” star has experienced many body changes throughout her time un the spotlight. When she won “American Idol,” Clarkson was as thin as any other pop star. When she later gained weight she found out just how cruel the spotlight can be. She became the punchline of many a joke and the media tore her apart for “letting herself go.” She was called fat on the cover of many a magazine and in many Internet headlines.

Clarkson defiantly shot back saying that she didn't care what people thought of her body. She claimed that she was comfortable with her size, even though it had changed drastically over the years. Clarkson said that she refused to lose weight to please others and that she shouldn't have to lose weight to have a successful career.

Last year, Clarkson showed off a much slimmer figure on Instagram and on an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” In that appearance, Clarkson said that her body is always in flux; sometimes she's more fit and sometimes she's less fit. Right now, she's in a fit stage.

5 Melissa McCarthy

Melissa McCarthy is another actress who embodied embracing her body regardless of its size. McCarthy has always made a point of publicly loving her body. Part of her reasoning is that she's a mother and she wants her kids, and other kids to feel good about themselves. McCarthy has said that there's a huge problem in the United States with kids being made to feel bad about their bodies. McCarthy believes this creates unhealthy relationships with their bodies. She believes the cure for this problem is teaching kids to embrace whatever body type they naturally have rather than encouraging them to strive for a body type that's not inherent.

McCarthy has long been an advocate for plus size women. She believes that it's really important to show women of all sizes in the media so that larger women feel represented, not ignored.

Between 2014 and 2016, the actress shed about 75 pounds. Sources close to McCarthy say that the weight loss wasn't even intentional. She had been eating healthier and working out to prepare for her role in “Spy” and the changes just kind of stuck.

4 Beyonce

Beyonce is the Queen of many things, one of them being sending mixed messages about how she feels about her body. The actress has often talked about how she loves being thick; that she loves her butt and thighs. Beyonce talks all the time about how she's proud of her curves. She's said many times that she wants represent all the women out there with real bodies and that she loves her real body.

At the same time, she's famous for going on diets, even unhealthy crash diets. When she was preparing for her role in “Dreamgirls” she famously went on a cleanse which involved ingesting nothing but lemonade with cayenne pepper in it for ten days in a row. Beyonce has been on so many diets that there are articles about trying all the diets she's been on in the past.

Beyonce preaches body positivity while still embedding herself in the diet culture that tells women they need to lose weight in order to be attractive and successful.

3 Jennifer Hudson

Jennifer Hudson's weight was, unfortunately, a topic of conversation from the moment she stepped in to the spotlight. On “American Idol” there was a lot of talk about how Hudson didn't “look the part” of a pop star, which many inferred to mean she didn't have the “right” body type.

Hudson has said that she never really thought she was overweight. She looked like all the other girls and women in her neighborhood back home, so she never thought there was anything wrong with her body type. She often spoke out about how important it is to love the body you have, regardless of what other people think.

In 2015, Hudson became a spokesperson for Weight Watchers and over the next year she lost about 80 pounds. Hudson admits that she's been given many more opportunities since she's lost weight. She said she wasn't aware that she was facing size discrimination previous to her weight loss, but now that's she's smaller, it's clear that she missed opportunities because of her previous weight. Hudson says she's more comfortable with her slimmer body than she was before.

2 Jordin Sparks

Jordin Sparks also rose to fame on the stage of “American Idol.” She has described herself as a “chunky” girl and was never afraid to talk about how much she loved food. For Sparks, her body size didn't seem to be a factor. She was comfortable with her body size and she was just doing her thing, living her life.

In 2010, Sparks faced some health issues which required her to change her eating and exercise habits. Over the next two years, she slowly lost about 50 pounds. Her illness forced her to reevaluate her relationship with food and it forced her to take baby steps with exercise since she was so fatigued. Sparks said that the goal in losing weight was simply not to “take her health for granted anymore.” She says the key to her health is listening to her body and giving it what it needs.

1 Raven Symone

The Disney star who captured our hearts with “That's so Raven” got used to comments about her body from a young age. She was frequently pressured to lose weight and her body was constantly criticized in the media. In spite of all this, Simone was happy to declare that she was “thick and fabulous.” She absolutely refused to lose weight and repeatedly said that she was happy with the size of her body.

Because of her vocal opposition to losing weight, many were surprised in 2011 when she showed off a much thinner body. When asked about her weight loss, Simone replied that she had done it so that people would stop bothering her about her weight. The answer shocked many, who were surprised that the formerly proud to be thick star would cave to Hollywood pressure. Simone admitted that she was tired of hearing people comment about her weight, so she made the decision to slim down to make her career easier.

Female celebrity's bodies are talked about way too much. We judge them for being too fat or too thin. We judge them for gaining weight and we judge them for losing weight. We hold them up to ridiculous standards and we criticize every little change. It's ridiculous that their bodies are such a focus, but the fact is that they are. It should stop, but it won't any time soon.

That's why it's so important for female celebrities with larger bodies to speak out in favor of larger bodies. Body positivity is important and seeing larger women who are proud to be larger women is important. It encourages larger women to love their bodies.

The choice to lose weight is a personal choice, and no celebrity should be judged harshly for making the decision to lose weight. At the same time, saying that you love your larger body and then losing a bunch of weight sends very mixed signals about what it means to be truly body positive. If these celebrities really loved their larger bodies, why did they feel the need to lose weight? For many of them it seems health was a factor, but Raven Simone's story about caving to the pressure to lose weight is telling, as is Jennifer Hudson's story about being given more opportunities once she was thinner.

Touting celebrity weight loss stories as the epitome of success is the opposite of the body positive message these celebs have worked to spread. The true message of body positivity is loving your body no matter what size it is. You don't ever have to lose weight in order to be beautiful or successful or loved.