10 Incredible 'Dancing With the Stars' Weight-Loss Transformations
One of the best ways to transform your body might be by competing on “Dancing with the Stars’ (at least in Hollywood). We look at the most transformative celebrity bodies thanks to Dancing with the Stars, from Amber Rose to Kelly Osbourne.
Overview
Forget fad diets and fleeting fitness trends. Turns out, at least in Hollywood, one of the best ways to transform your body might be by competing on "Dancing with the Stars.'' And while celebrity contestants may initially sign up for a chance to win the coveted mirrorball trophy and bragging rights, they often leave with much more than just the ability to samba. Certified weight-loss coach Alicia Hunter explains, "Most people burn between 400 and 500 calories per hour while dancing, so it's no surprise that the celebrities we've come to love watching on 'DWTS' are whittling their bodies into excellent form." Curious to see which celebrities successfully shrunk their waistlines and lost the most amount of weight while "Dancing with the Stars?'' Scroll through to find out.
1. Kelly Osbourne
According to The Hollywood Reporter, British star Kelly Osbourne struggled with her weight and her self-esteem for years. But thanks to competing on the show in 2009, she underwent a dramatic transformation when she dropped 20 pounds from her frame and a further 30 in the months that followed. Osbourne initially didn't realize what an incredible impact the show would have on her life and her physique. She told Access Hollywood, "Louis Van Amstel and 'Dancing with the Stars' changed my life, as cheesy and cliché as that sounds." Osbourne was so proud of her new body she posed for the cover of Shape in a swimsuit, a testimony to her incredible weight loss.
Up next: This actor shed 34 pounds while competing on DWTS...
2. Drew Scott
HGTV and 'Property Brothers' star Drew Scott looked lean before he even learned how to foxtrot, but in the first five weeks of the competition, he shed 30 pounds. And by the end, he'd lost a total of 34. He told Us Weekly, "I'm seeing my abs like I've never seen them before." Adding, "I have not been a 32 waist since I was in grade eight."
Weight-loss coach Alicia Hunter says his results are not surprising. "Dancing uses most muscles in our bodies, especially core muscles and glutes, and increase in muscle mass is a sure-fire way to increase calorie burning, even while sedentary.''
Up next: Guess which actress lost a whopping 100 pounds...
3. Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Alley may have come in second place on the 2011 season of "DWTS,'' but she was an absolute winner in the weight-loss department. According to People Magazine, the serial dieter lost a whopping 100 pounds, giving her, quite possibly, the most significant body transformation of all the seasons. And if that wasn't enough, Alley returned for a second run three seasons later.
Between the premier and the finale of her first appearance, she told the magazine that she went from a size 12 to a size 6. In a dramatic move, Alley wore the same dress on her last performance as she did on her first, revealing to the Associated Press that it had to be taken in 38 inches.
Up next: This actress left the show 20 pounds lighter...
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour competed on the dance show back in 2007 <ahref="https: en.wikipedia.org="" wiki="" jane_seymour_(actress)"=""> </ahref="https:>and lost an almost inconceivable 20 pounds from her already svelte frame. "I was 128 lbs before I started which was heavy for me," Seymour told TV Guide. "That's a good seven or eight pounds heavier than I ever like to be." She left the show weighing just 108 pounds and said, "it's all muscle.''
Up next: This actress and singer shed baby weight by competing on DWTS...
5. Tia Carrere
In 2006, Tia Carrere joined Season 2 of the hit show not long after giving birth to her daughter. She praised the total body workouts she endured on "Dancing with the Stars'' for getting her body back in shape. "The waltz works different muscles from the rumba, which works different muscles from the cha-cha, so you're getting a whole-body thing," Carrere told People at the time. "But the twisting through the midsection is quite taxing." Hunter couldn't agree more and says that dancing is an incredible way for most new moms to shed pregnancy weight gain. "It is usually lower impact than many other exercise moves, and there is much focus on core muscles, to help re-tone the abdomen after delivery.''
Up next: Guess which talk show host went from a size 8 to a size 4...
6. Ricki Lake
Ricki Lake starred on the 13th season and shimmied her way to a sleeker body. The former talk show host revealed to Access Hollywood that she began the competition at a size 8 and ended it at a size 4 and that she lost 15 inches and 20 pounds in total. Lake also boasted that the rigorous training meant she was "dropping weight like crazy" and her "pants were falling off."
"Most 'DWTS' participants report that once they start seeing their bodies get into amazing shape, they tend to want to eat healthier to sustain their new form. This was definitely true in Ricki's case." says Hunter. She does caution that it's not uncommon for the dancers to revert back to a more sedentary lifestyle and less than optimal eating habits post competition. If they want to maintain their new physique, they should continue to exercise and eat wisely.
Up next: Guess which singer shed a whopping 45 pounds...
7. Marie Osmond
Marie Osmond may have told People magazine she was "out of breath" during rehearsals at the start of the season, but she was full of energy by the end of the show when she'd shed a whopping 45 pounds. And while Osmond confided to Oprah that she has struggled with her weight her whole life, what's the secret to her current success? According to OK Magazine, "six-hour-a-day practices and a NutriSystem diet.'' Her transformation was so dramatic, she was asked by the weight-loss and nutrition company to become their spokesperson.
"It took eight years to put [the weight] on," she told People magazine. "And four months to take it off." The mother-of-eight may have finished third in the competition but won in the weight-loss department.
Up next: Check out this actress' 37-pound transformation...
8. Sasha Pieterse
Sasha Pieterse's 37-pound weight loss was impressive on its own, but it was even more awe-inspiring because of the physical hardship she'd faced before performing on the 25th season of the show. ''The Pretty Little Liars'' actress had gained 70 pounds in two years because of a hormone condition called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome — a revelation she made on the show. "[It was] one of the hardest things I've ever been through,'' Pieterse said. "I had no idea what was going on, and I didn't have any way of solving it.''
Just before her final performance, according to Just Jared, she opened up to the ''Dancing with the Stars'' cameras and said, "I'm feeling like me again. It's not an easy road, but being able to focus on getting myself healthy again, and the fact that I'm seeing results, getting better is all I can ask for."
Up next: Guess which celebrity shed 10 pounds from her curvaceous frame...
9. Amber Rose
Amber Rose shed 10 pounds from her curvaceous frame in just a matter of weeks, but it wasn't so much the shift on the scales that she was happy about but the muscle she'd gained. According to The Mirror, she revealed on her podcast 'Loveline With Amber Rose' that she could feel a difference. "I feel like I'm getting super toned. I feel like I've lost probably 10 pounds, maybe 8 pounds already. It's serious."
Hunter agrees that feeling strong and healthy is more important than what you see on a scale, adding, "It's not uncommon for a dancer to drop dress sizes yet still weigh close to the same since muscle weighs more than fat." Rose attributes rehearsing for up to five hours a day with her dance partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy for the renewed strength, adding, "People don't understand how much work goes into it."
Up next: This Disney Channel star slimmed down by 18 pounds...
10. Kyle Massey
Kyle Massey, a Disney Channel star, started out the show expecting to see the pounds fall off, and he wasn't disappointed. He told People backstage at "DWTS'' that he had slimmed down by 18 pounds. "It's crazy to think you're going to come into a competition like this and not lose weight with the hours you're going to have to put in,'' he admitted during season 11. "I know I'm going to keep losing weight as long as I'm on this show.''
Lacey Schwimmer, Massey's dance partner, also revealed to the outlet: "He's lost eight inches! He's really loving it. He looks in the mirror all the time.'' Not that he changed his diet though. According to Schwimmer, "He ate a whole pizza today.''
What Do YOU Think?
Have you danced your way to a better body? Do you think celebrities should be bragging about losing so much weight in such a short amount of time? Let us know what you think in the comments section below!