Melissa McCarthy Lost Almost 100 Pounds and This Is the One Diet She'll "Never Do Again"
Diet brings new meaning to having a love-hate relationship with food. For instance, some of your favorite foods may not work in your diet anymore. But the good news is, you'll find new, healthier alternatives to replace them with. Over time, you may even enjoy them better! The key is finding the diet that works for you and your lifestyle. Dipping her toes into the fad diet scene is nothing new for Melissa McCarthy. There's one diet she tried, hated, and will "never do again."
She Tried An All-Liquid Diet
The actress lost nearly 100 pounds, and it was not without trial and error. In 2003, McCarthy tried a pretty extreme diet, according to PEOPLE. It involved consuming a mere 500 calories a day of just liquid. The diet was supervised by a doctor, and McCarthy dropped 70 pounds in just four months.
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She Consumed a Mere 500 Calories per Day
Women typically need around 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day. Five hundred calories certainly gives meaning to McCarthy's extreme diet.
Although she did lose an impressive amount of weight in a short period of time, dieting in this way is not sustainable for the long-term. Sustainability is key when it comes to losing weight—and keeping it off for the long run. An unsustainable diet will result in gaining back the weight you worked so hard to lose.
She'll "Never Do It Again"
Although the weight loss was successful, it was not a great experience.
"I'd never do that again," McCarthy told PEOPLE. "I felt starved and crazy half the time."
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She "Mellowed Out" After Strict Dieting
McCarthy previously shared her honest thoughts about strict dieting, noting, "14 hours in, you go bat sh*t crazy. So I was like, 'I'm just gonna mellow out [and] give myself a break … After I had kids, I was just like, 'I have to be realistic. It's not gonna go fast. But I mean, I feel great" (via Women's Health).
She Took a Less "Rigid" Approach to Weight Loss
McCarthy learned not to worry so much about her body weight. She told Life & Style, "I truly stopped worrying about it. I think there's something to kinda loosening up and not being so nervous and rigid about it that, bizarrely, has worked."
Losing One to Two Pounds per Week Is a Sustainable Goal
Certain things can't be rushed—and weight loss is one of them. Experts agree that losing one to two pounds per week is a healthy and realistic goal, which can actually take up to 20 weeks to safely lose 20 pounds. You can achieve this by staying hydrated, consuming smaller portion sizes, and boosting physical activity.
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Her New Mindset Led McCarthy to Weight-Loss Success
McCarthy adopted an all-around healthier, more sustainable lifestyle, which involved tweaking her mindset. The celeb previously shared on Instagram, "We have to stop categorizing and judging women based on their bodies. We are teaching young girls to strive for unattainable perfection instead of feeling healthy and happy in their own skin."
For more weight-loss success stories, check out Adele Lost 100 Pounds and Here Are 6 Workout Habits That Transformed Her Body.
