Slow and steady. Ree Drummond gave fans an update on the weight loss journey she started last year — and shared some of the tricks she used along the way.
“One year ago, on a dark and stormy night, I decided it was time for me to change a few dang habits and try to get healthier,” the Pioneer Woman host, 53, began in an Instagram post on Monday, February 7. “My kid was getting married a few months later, and also … I had no spring to my step and really wanted some.”
The Oklahoma native began changing her way of life in January 2021, and within five months, she lost 38 pounds. “No gimmicks at all,” she said in a May 2021 TikTok video about her transformation. “I just cut calories, exercised more, lifted a lot of weights.”
In a blog post on Saturday, February 5, the Food Network personality explained that she decided to give fans another update on her weight loss project after losing nearly 20 more pounds since June 2021.
“With the exception of walking with the dogs, I had pretty much given myself permanent permission ‘not to have time’ to exercise because of work, scheduling issues and any other excuse I could come up with,” she wrote. “While I considered writing an update post last fall, I decided to let myself get to a year and make sure I felt solid about where I am.”
Drummond reiterated that she didn’t follow any specific diet plan or use a personal trainer, instead opting to make smaller changes in several different areas. The University of Southern California graduate ate smaller portions, added more protein and completely cut out alcohol. She also began lifting weights and “doing lunges and squats” to build muscle.
After about five months of strictly monitoring calorie counts, the Charlie the Ranch Dog author allowed herself to relax a bit as she learned what worked for her. Alcohol, for example, was allowed again, but only in drinks that weren’t super sugary or high in calories.
While Drummond initially kept herself to a strict regimen of lean meat and leafy greens, she’s since started eating her favorite foods again with “two big differences” of monitoring her portion sizes and minimizing “wasted calories” in sugary sodas and snack foods.
The lifestyle blogger emphasized that she didn’t set out to create a major “lifestyle change” for herself, but that happened all the same.
“Today I feel stronger, more in balance (both physically and mentally), and I have more spring to my step,” she wrote. “After the experience of the past year, I feel better. I have more energy. I’m more motivated to take on projects and put things on the ol’ calendar. Feeling good bleeds over into all aspects of my life. And that has changed my outlook.”