Precious Has Lost Weight And Looks As Gorgeous As Ever

Jan 20, 2021 by apost team

Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe had never acted in a film before being cast as the lead role in the 2009 movie "Precious." Now 37 years old, the New York native has come a long way in the 11 years since her audition for the film. Yet even as a star in her own right, Sidibe isn't one to let the fame go to her head. The actor had also opened up about her weight loss in 2017 along with the emotional journey that came with it. 

In 2017, Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe opened up about undergoing laparoscopic bariatric surgery as a means to lose weight. In an interview with People magazine at the time, the actor revealed she went under the knife after she and her older brother, Ahmed Sidibe, were diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. Upon receiving the diagnosis, she says she knew she needed to do something to mitigate the anxiety that came with it. 

"I truly didn't want to worry about all the effects that go along with diabetes," Sidibe said. "I genuinely [would] worry all the time about losing my toes."

The actor also expressed her frustration with the public's fixation on her body, size, and health. "What angers me about what people say about my body is that they assume that they care about my health more than I do," she continued. "And that is impossible."

apost.com

Surgery was not an easy choice for her. The decision only came after Sidibe realized she would not be able to lose weight otherwise. "I took a long time to do [the surgery] because I really was trying [to lose weight]," she stressed. For Sidibe, her willingness to go under the knife came only after she learned it would not be her "easy way out" or "cheating" in any way or form. Without it, the actor believes she would have never been able to lose the weight she has. "I spent years trying to lose this much weight, and I didn't do it. I wish I'd done it sooner," Sidibe confessed. 

The actor also touched on how the subject of her weight still takes a toll on her mental wellbeing –– even after the procedure. 

"I still obsess about eating, and I obsess about weight, and I obsess about my body just as much as I did before. I just trust more. Even though I obsess about everything, and I'm scared, and I'm nervous I'm talking about it — it terrifies me. I still am remembering to have faith over fear because my decision is my decision, and it really only affects me."

Sidibe explained that her obsession had become so dire, she began to weigh herself "literally five to six times a day." She would have to work on those issues to slowly unwind her mental fixation and adopt new, healthier habits. "I literally just figured out how to not do that anymore, how to weigh myself once every two weeks or whatever," she said.

Following her surgery, Sidibe had to follow a 17-day-long liquid diet with absolutely no solid foods. She described this period as her "low[sic] point," admitting that she felt "depressed." Since then, she's gone through a complete lifestyle overhaul, adopting a 5-meals-per-day regimen under the supervision of her nutritionist. The 37-year-old revealed she began following a meal plan and started to cook a lot more. However, the key to her success is perhaps the open and constant communication she keeps with her nutritionist to stay on track. "I talk to my nutritionist a lot. I just had an appointment with her on my laptop two days ago. We keep in touch. I tell her all the things I'm worry about. I have all these apps to help me keep a food diary," Sidibe said.

Along with her new diet came a work-out plan as well. With the help of her trainer, Sidibe began working out 3-4 times per week. And when she wasn't working out with her trainer, she'd swim. According to the actor, the apartment in which she stayed while filming Empire featured an indoor pool she'd regularly use for a quick dip. 

"I’m such a nerd: I have a waterproof swim MP3 player that’s filled with all of the songs from the Hamilton soundtrack and the Hamilton Mixtape," Sidibe joked. "So I have a protein shake, I just go down, and I swim for 20 laps, I come back upstairs, I have breakfast, later in the day, I see my trainer for an hour." 

Ultimately, her goal was to incorporate as much physical activity into her day as possible. Her smartwatch helps Sidibe track her daily movements, and she now gets anywhere she can by using her bicycle or tricycle. She even uses her tricycle to ride around the block during her lunch breaks. And that commitment to staying active has definitely paid off. "I’m stronger, and I’m able to move more, and I’m not worried about losing my f—ing toes anymore," the 37-year-old said. "That’s my life now."

Although Sidibe's relationship with her body has improved since then, she admits her weight will always be on her mind.

"I mean, yeah, I have to eat every day. And I still really, really, really love cake. I do! It’s amazing! And I’ll forever, as long as I’m an actor, I’ll have to deal with craft service tables. I have everything in check. I know better, so I do better. As opposed to knowing better but wishing I could do better. I actually can. There’s no reason why I can’t now."

When she is asked about her weight goals, Sidibe declined to answer, instead emphasizing that they are for her only. Nonetheless, she explained that she takes her weight journey one goal at a time. 

"My starting weight and my goal weight, they’re personal, so I’ll keep them to myself because it’s really not for everybody, and the weight I was, the goal weight, the size I wear, all that stuff — it’s got to stay with me because if too many people are involved, I’ll shut down, and I won’t get anything done."

In her 2016 memoir, This is Just my Face, Sidibe got candid about everything from her personal struggles with mental health to getting the surgery. While she shared many intimate details in the book, she insists she only wrote it for herself. The actor was then pleasantly surprised to find out readers could relate to her experiences. 

The outspoken body-positivity-advocate has been the victim of much online abuse, with trolls writing mean comments to Sidibe under the guise of caring about her health. While the attacks would likely be hurtful to virtually anyone, the actor has found her own unique way of dealing with them. 

"I’m not one of those people like, 'My haters are my congratulaters.' No, no, no. You just don’t exist! You have an opinion, but you’re saying that I’m fat because what? Because I don’t have a mirror? Because I don’t know? You think I’m in the dark about this? And you think I’ve not heard worse than this since Kindergarten? You’re unoriginal," she said.

Following her break-out role in "Precious", People magazine included Sidibe in their World's Most Beautiful issue. While she was honored with the compliment, the actor admits she struggled to believe the sincerity of their inclusion of her at first. She explained that, at the time, she doubted anybody outside her tribe could find beauty in her. "Not because I don’t think I’m beautiful — because I do," she stressed. "I’m so beautiful, because I look like my mom, and I look like my dad, and they’re beautiful. So the mask just is there for me to be beautiful," Sidibe added.

She continued by admitting that since she was young, she had become "conditioned to believe that [she] was ugly" by people outside her tribe. That perception was difficult to shake off, even after her feature in the issue. "Like, it’s great that you say that, but I can’t be convinced that you really believe that; for all I know, you just feel like you need to say that to me. You really don’t. Because I got it. I already know. My beauty is like my own secret in this way," Sidibe said.

However, she emphasized that she was happy to see that more and more individuals who challenge society's definition of beauty are being celebrated. "I really, really appreciate people with different bodies, of different skin tones, of different nations, religions — I appreciate the light that they get, especially the beauty spotlight that they get."

Weightloss, surgeries, and internal struggles aside, Sidibe has some simple words of wisdom. In her book, she writes: “My beauty doesn’t come from a mirror. Never has, never will.” And those are words she truly does live by. While many strangers might try to tear her down with their mean comments about her body, the actor doesn't let them knock her confidence down. 

"My confidence, I can’t set it and forget it — I didn’t find confidence one day and I was fine forever: I have to put it on as much as much as I have to put on lipstick. I have to go through this mantra of who I am and my value, and all of that makes me feel confident. My friends, my humor, all of that makes me feel confident. And I have to keep remembering it to stay confident."

What do you think of Gabourey Sidibe's weight loss journey? Let us know in the comments, and make sure you pass this along to your friends and family!