Kim Kardashian has become one of the celebrity weight loss winners of 2016. With 70 pounds lost, the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star isn’t holding back on the secrets of her slim-down success, from her low-carb Atkins diet to her dedication to fitness.
As for who Kim herself looks to as her weight loss and body idol? That idol lives conveniently close, because it’s her sister Khloe Kardashian , reported People .
Khloe has shed 40 pounds, and her older sister admires her focus on fitness.
“She does these workouts with these sauna suits underneath,” Kardashian explained. “And she’s just… I’ve never seen someone so focused.”
Kim describes how she felt when she saw Khloe’s body without clothes.
“I saw her naked two days ago changing,” recalled Kim. “And I was, ‘Oh, my God. You are my body icon.’ She’s never been more on fire.”
Since welcoming her second child in December, Kardashian has been “on fire” herself by combining diet with exercise. But taking off 70 post-pregnancy pounds required was not easy, and Kim admitted that she had previously assumed that if she just focused on her fitness, she could eat whatever she desired. Now, however, the reality TV star has learned that the right diet plays a key role in weight loss success.
“I think dieting is so important to weight loss, whereas, I didn’t really ever think that before,” confessed Kardashian. “I thought, ‘Oh, I can work out, I can just eat whatever I want.’ But you have to work out all the time.”
After the birth of her son, Saint, Kim turned to the Atkins 40 diet plan, which provided her with about 1,800 calories daily. The low-carb weight loss program emphasizes protein, which Kardashian explained helps her to avoid deprivation.
“We eat a lot of fish and turkey,” she shared. “It’s a full modified thing. I worked with them in them sending me their snack stuff.”
Because the Atkins line of products even includes sweet treats, Kim felt that she could enjoy her diet despite the lack of junk food.
“And there would be this trail mix with M&M chocolates with peanuts, so there was stuff that makes it you feel like you can live,” explained the mom of two. “And not like super restricted to anything.”
Any special challenges? Kardashian went off track just one time when she was taking her children to Disneyland. And she learned a lesson from falling off the diet wagon: she felt horrible after consuming junk food.
“I started going to Disneyland and taking my kids and eating Churros and all that really crappy stuff that I love,” she recalled.
“But then you feel so s—– after you eat it, when you’ve been doing so good.”
Since then, Kim has hopped back on her diet and fitness bandwagon, with her focus resulting in about 70 pounds total lost.
For help with her workouts, Kardashian has turned to a daily fitness routine guided by her trainer Don Brooks. The two begin their workout at 6 a.m., reported Cosmopolitan .
Kim consumes 40 grams of net carbs daily on her low-carb Atkins 40 weight loss plan. And she set herself a goal of sticking faithfully to the diet.
“I did a strict Atkin’s diet. Strict, strict, strict,” emphasized Kardashian.
When she compares her diet approach after North was born to her current plan, Kim revealed it is much easier this time.
“It was really hard for me to diet [with the] first baby,” confessed the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star. “This time was so much easier and I realized [it comes down to] the food. I mean, I love to work out and you definitely have to work out to tone up, but so much of it is how you eat. I had to really stay focused.”
Kardashian has been sharing the results of her diet dedication on Instagram.
As for exactly what Kim eats, her diet plan combines protein, healthy fats, and selected carbohydrates that are high in fiber. For example, breakfast could feature two eggs with cheese and spinach, while lunch emphasizes a salad topped with creamy dressing, and dinner includes more salad, broccoli, and chicken breast.
Kardashian usually eats two snacks a day, such as Greek yogurt with blueberries and slivered almonds for one snack and hummus with vegetables for another snack. Her nutritionist Colette Heimowitz, M.Sc., the vice president of nutrition communication and education at Atkins Nutritionals, explained how the plan helps with taking off the pounds.
“The key to success is the carbohydrates are low enough that the body burns fat for fuel,” Heimowitz clarified. “You’re eating five, six times a day, so you’re not hungry. You’re satisfied, you’re satiated, and you’re less tempted to cheat.”
[Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images]