21 'Dancing With The Stars' Contestants Who Lost Weight on the Show
- 1/22
21 'Dancing With The Stars' Contestants Who Lost Weight on the Show
Most celebs sign up for Dancing With the Stars with one very sparkly goal in mind: the coveted Mirrorball Trophy. However, thanks to the rigorous training involved in learning new dance routines week after week, many contestants wind up waltzing their way to major weight loss along the way. These 23 celebrities saw major changes in their bodies during their time competing on the show.
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Kate Flannery
The Office star has proven her quick comedic timing translates into fancy footwork and graceful routines on the dance floor. Her many hours of rehearsal has resulted in an estimated 15-pound weight loss just one month into filming Season 28. “I lost a little weight, which is fantastic,” she told Us Weekly. “I think it’s about 15, maybe a little under that. Maybe like 12.” Kate added a joke, “and it’s none of your business what I weighed before!”
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Lauren Alaina
The country singer and American Idol alum has danced her way to serious weight loss. She’s one of the top-scoring stars competing on the show, and is leading the way in pounds lost, too. “I’ve lost, like, 25 pounds since July,” Lauren told People. “None of my clothes fit!” Her pro partner Gleb Savchenko added, “You’re welcome.”
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Sean Spicer
The former White House press secretary has dropped 17 pounds so far keeping up with pro partner Lindsay Arnold’s routines during Season 28. “She’s relentless. We don’t waste a moment, and it’s the cardio workout of the century,” he told Us Weekly. He’s smiled his way through his performances in spite of low scores from the judges.
“I’m seeing it on the scale. Every week, they're taking in my outfits, especially the pants,” Sean told USA Today. “I can see it in my face. It’s not just a show, it’s a weight-loss program. I’d love to go down another 10 or 15 pounds. This is the lowest I have weighed since I got off active [Navy Reserves] duty in 2011.”
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Ginger Zee
The Good Morning America chief meteorologist started training two months after delivering her son via C-section. Ginger had to actively think about contracting her abs during every movement, she previously told Women's Health.
The training helped her get stronger and shed a few pounds, too. “I hadn’t weighed myself all season, but I knew my clothes fit better. I thought I’d be 20 lbs. lighter,” she told People. “But I only weighed 2 lbs. less. That was it! Apparently I’m just supposed to be 138 lbs., and that’s good.”
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Amber Rose
It didn't take long for the model to notice the physical benefits of joining the DWTS cast during season 21 in 2016. “I feel like I’m getting super toned,” she explained on her Loveline With Amber Rose podcast. “I feel like I’ve lost probably 10 lbs., maybe 8 lbs. already. It’s serious.” Amber says she worked with her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy four to five hours a day.
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Mr. T
The retired wrestler started dropping weight during rehearsals before the premiere of season 24. He tweeted: “This Dancing is really making Me Sweat off the Lbs. I've already lost 12! I am Lean, Mean and 219. I am Agile, Mobile and Hostile. Grrr!”
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Jennie Garth
The former 90210 star lost 10 pounds on season five, but noted her physical change in inches and dress sizes. “We rehearse a lot… I’ve lost inches and dropped a few dress sizes,” she told US Weekly. For the mom of three, dancing was more effective than her previous post-baby workout routine. "I did Pilates three days a week and cardio twice. I hated it, but it helped. Once I started dancing, things changed faster than when I was just working out."
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Melissa Gilbert
The former Little House on the Prairie star dropped several dress sizes while competing in DWTS season 14 in 2012. Melissa and her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy danced for eight weeks. “I don't know pounds [lost] but I went from a size 6 to a 2,” she told US Weekly. “I have a 26-inch waist now.”
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Ricki Lake
The former talk show host dropped more than 20 pounds and lost 15 inches on DWTS season 13 in 2011. “I’m dropping weight like crazy,” she told Access Hollywood. “My pants are falling off.” The weight loss trumped the trophy for Ricki. “If we don’t win, I really will be OK," she added. "I feel like I’ve won thus far. I’ve come further than I thought I would."
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Kyle Massey
The former That’s So Raven star worked hard throughout season 11 in 2010 and lost 18 pounds in the process. "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 told People. Kyle dropped the pounds despite some indulgent food choices. “He ate a whole pizza today,” his partner Lacey Schwimmer told the publication.
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Jane Seymour
The former Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman says she lost 20 pounds and gained muscle dancing on season five in 2007. “I was 128 before I started, which was heavy for me,” she told TV Guide. “That's a good seven or eight pounds heavier than I ever like to be. Now I'm 108. And it's all muscle.”
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Kelly Osbourne
The reality star lost 20 pounds while competing on season 9 with her partner Louis van Amstel in 2009. “Louis van Amstel and Dancing With the Stars changed my life, as cheesy and cliché as that sounds,” she told Access Hollywood.
In the very beginning, it wasn't easy. "I kept getting sick during rehearsals because I was eating such terrible, fatty food and feeling so exhausted," Kelly told Shape. Louis helped her find nutritious foods to fuel her dancing practice. "He made me eat turkey burgers and salads and explained to me that a high-protein, low-carb diet would keep me energized," she told the publication. "Then I started losing weight and realized, 'Oh, it's true what they say: Diet and exercise really work!'"
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Lil’ Kim
The rapper's dance rehearsals helped her lose around 20 pounds as she competed for the mirrorball trophy during season eight in 2009. In addition to 20 hours of weekly rehearsals, she also followed a healthier diet and exercised outside the studio, CBS News reported.
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Wanya Morris
The Boyz II Men member says he lost 22 lbs. after more than a month of his DWTS journey. It's not just about the number on the scale for him, though. “I feel great. I have a lot of energy,” he told People. “I’m able to continue and persevere in rehearsal. Even when I’m tired, I still feel the energy to continue, and I think I can attribute that to losing weight.”
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Drew Scott
The Property Brothers star is best known for his real estate deals while his brother Jonathan Scott oversees the big transformations on their HGTV show. However, on Dancing With the Stars, Drew experienced a personal transformation.
He lost 30 pounds competing on season 25 in 2017. “I’m seeing my abs like I’ve never seen them before,” he told Us Weekly. “I have not been a 32 waist since I was in grade eight. I was still active [before], but I just haven’t done cardio like this since I was a teenager.”
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Marie Osmond
The singer sashayed her way through the fifth season in 2007 and lost 45 pounds in four months with a new diet and exercise routine. "We can lose weight for many reasons—we can do it to look good or to get in those tiny little jeans," she told Oprah Magazine. "But I'm telling you, health is the only way. Not only health physically, but health mentally."
When she left the ballroom, her healthier habits and weight loss continued. She followed the Nutrisystem diet and became a spokesperson for the brand.
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Gladys Knight
The 67-year-old Motown singer was already losing weight before she arrived for DWTS season 14 in 2012. By the time she was eliminated in the middle of the season, she'd dropped 60 pounds. Her dancing pro Tristan McManus was key to her weight loss, and she didn't want to leave him. “[Tristan] helped [by] wearing me out,” Gladys told reporters backstage after she was eliminated, per People. She also followed Freshology’s Getslim with the Stars program to lose weight. “You’ve got to eat healthy and you’ve got to put a little movement into it,” she says.
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Tia Carrere
The Hawaiian actress (best known for her role as Cassandra in Wayne's World) competed on season two a few months after giving birth. Tia cha-cha-ed her way to post-baby weight loss.
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Chaz Bono
Chaz Bono received lots of criticism during his time on Dancing With the Stars, but he came out on top with partner Lacey Schwimmer. She said at rehearsals that her partner was losing up to a pound a day, per People. "He says he’s not eating any differently, he’s just dancing,” Lacey added.
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Kirstie Alley
The Cheers star had double the weight loss opportunity with her second-place finish on Dancing with the Stars season 12 and return for All-Stars season 15. Kirstie lost 100 pounds in 2011 while competing on season 12.
Her weight loss on the show and as a Jenny Craig ambassador spurred surgery rumors, E News reported. "NO surgery, NO flippin lasers, NO barfing, NO starving...Jeez...my products, organic food, dance," she tweeted a few months after her second-place finish on the show's 12th season.
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Tonya Harding
At 47, the former Olympic figure skater danced her way to the season 26 finale in 2018. She lost the Mirrorball Trophy, but also lost a few pounds. Tonya didn't reveal a specific number, she doesn't "think that's anybody's business. You can tell that I've lost a lot," she told Newsweek. "I found myself again knowing that I can achieve such greatness doing something that I love to do," she said. "You don't ever give up on yourself. I always keep going no matter what it is."
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One star dropped 100 pounds.