Lizzo Claps Back at “Fat Joke” With Bikini Photo & Empowering Reminder

Lizzo simply figured it was about damn time to start feeling better.

So, though part of her platinum-selling, Grammy-and-Emmy-winning Big Grrrl brand was being proud AF of how she looked, sounded and moved through the world exactly as she was, the artist born Melissa Jefferson, who's turning 38 on April 27, knew she had to make some adjustments to improve her health, from head to toe.

“Body positivity has nothing to do with staying the same,” she explained to Women's Health last summer. “Body positivity is the radical act of daring to exist loudly and proudly in a society that told you you shouldn’t exist.”

And even when it's hard, Lizzo noted, "I’ve never regretted a workout. After, I always feel better. I work out for mental health first. Exercise is the best mood enhancer.”

As she explained in a May 2023 TikTok, “Once I started working out for mental health, to have balanced mental health or endorphins, so that I don't look at myself in the mirror and feel ashamed of myself, and feel disgusted with myself, exercise has helped me shift my mind, not my body.”

Nowadays her get-moving mantra comprises a wide array of activities, including thrice-weekly training sessions, daily cardio, playing pickleball, hiking and walking on the beach.

And knowing that what goes into her body is even more consequential than how much she exercises, Lizzo noted that she had cut out potato chips, sugary Starbucks beverages and soda while cutting down on alcohol ("I earned it!" she explained of why she didn't abstain entirely) and—after being vegan for years—eating more protein, including eggs, tuna and poultry.

More recently, she cut out alcohol altogether, sharing on her Instagram Stories April 2 that she was two months sober.

“So I’ve been working out consistently for the last five years, and it may come as a surprise for some of y’all that I’m not working out to have your ideal body type,” she said in a June 2020 TikTok. “I’m working out to have my ideal body type. And you know what type that is? None of your f--king business.”

However, as her star rose ever higher, Lizzo became painfully aware that scrutiny—of her body and her business—was unavoidable.

But Lizzo eventually got a little tired of having to carry that weight. “I’m not going to lie and say I love my body every day,” she told the New York Times in March 2024. “The bottom line is, the way you feel about your body changes every single day. There are some days I adore my body, and others when I don’t feel completely positive.”

Which is why, she explained, she felt that “body neutrality” was a more modern approach to being happy in one’s skin.

“I’m taking the time every day to put some love into my body,” she added.

 "The weight that is no longer on me is not just fat or physical," she told Shetty. "I released so much to get to this point and I think people can see that and I don't want to describe anything as loss. People aren't going to understand this right now, but it's the most body-positive way to experience what I'm going through. I don't want to use any negative terms."

Since then, however, she has "far surpassed" her goal weight and her back no longer hurts when she does her hair toss.

“I couldn’t wear heels for an extended amount of time anymore,” she told Women's Health. “Now, baby, I wear heels to the grocery store!”

See Lizzo's transformation in photos: