Lizzo Says She Tried Ozempic & Reveals the Diet Change That Actually Helped Her Lose Weight

Lizzo is feeling “Good as Hell” these days, and she’s not shy about sharing how she’s lost weight. In a wide-ranging interview with podcaster Trisha Paytas on the Just Trish podcast episode that dropped Thursday (June 19), the star opened up about the various ways she’s tried to get in shape — including weight-loss drugs.

“Wooooooohoooooo! I feel like I worked really really hard, and was intentional with what I did with my body,” the singer said when Paytas asked her how she felt about her weight loss. “So when I get compliments … I really receive it. … I don’t take it any weird way because I tried to do this.”

When the podcaster noted that she thinks Ozempic would be the only way she herself could lose weight, Lizzo confirmed that she has tried the drug. “I’ve tried everything,” the four-time Grammy winner shared. “It’s just the science for me. Calories in vs. calories out. Ozempic works because you eat less food — it makes you feel full. So if you can just do that on your own and get mind over matter, it’s the same!”

But ultimately, it wasn’t Ozempic — which is a diabetes medication used off-label to help with weight loss — that helped Lizzo lose weight. It was changing her diet. “What did it for me was … well, actually, was not being vegan, ’cause when I was vegan, I was consuming a lot of fake meats,” she shared. “I was eating a lot of bread. I was eating a lot of rice, and I had to eat a lot of it to stay full, but really I was consuming, like, 3,000 to 5,000 calories a day.”

The star — who has been open about her weight-loss journey and has shared videos of herself working out and eating healthy — explained that she was vegetarian for about 10 years, and moved on to a vegan diet in 2020, before giving it up in 2023. “So for me, when I started actually eating whole foods and eating, like, beef and chicken and fish, like, I was actually full and not expanding my stomach by putting a lot of fake things in there that wasn’t actually filling me up,” she shared.

Lizzo continued by noting that it was a trip to Japan that had her start to eat meat again. “I heard the Japanese diet is the healthiest diet in the world, so I was there and I was like, ‘I’m going to try the food here,’ and my body was so happy. My body was like, ‘More, more please!’”

While adding meat back to her diet helped Lizzo on her weight-loss journey, she emphasized that just because it worked for her, doesn’t mean it’ll work for everyone. “I don’t like to tell people too much about releasing weight, like what I did. I don’t want people to do what I did and it doesn’t work for them. Everybody’s body’s different!” she said. “I don’t know what your bloodwork is like. I don’t know how your body breaks down food, sugar. I don’t know. But I know for me, I just had to start eating meat again.”

Watch Lizzo’s interview on the Just Trish podcast above. The discussion about weight loss begins a little after six minutes in.