Jessica Simpson’s Weight Loss Journey: Everything She’s Said About Her Health

Jessica Simpson has been open about her body acceptance journey.

She first made her mark in Hollywood as a singer with her debut album, Sweet Kisses, in 1999. Over the next decade, she released six studio albums, including her 2008 country album Do You Know, which hit the top of the Billboard charts. At the same time, Simpson transitioned into acting, starring in The Dukes of Hazzard, That ’70s Show and The Love Guru.

Behind the scenes, though, she recalled feeling pressured to maintain a certain look. “’Be sexier,’ ” she recounted being told on The Drew Barrymore Show in April 2021. “‘You always have to look that way. You have to remain in that body, forever.’ “

In her 2020 memoir, Open Book, the multi-hyphenate revealed that despite initially trying to conform to the demands, she ultimately chose self-acceptance and created a size-inclusive clothing line called The Jessica Simpson Collection.

“It’s very important for me to let every woman feel included. If I make a shirt, I’m going to make sure every size is available,” she told CBS Sunday Morning in August 2017.

Now, the singer has returned to the stage. After releasing her album Nashville Canyon, Part 1 in March 2025 with new songs like “Use My Heart Against Me,” and performing on TV for the first time in 15 years on American Idol in May 2025, she has more work to share in a Part 2 album with an evolved sense of confidence.

Here’s everything Jessica Simpson has said about her weight loss journey over the years.

She felt that her character Daisy Duke had a lasting impact on her career

In 2005, Simpson played Daisy Duke in the action comedy movie The Dukes of Hazzard. Decades after the actress appeared on-screen in denim, cutoff shorts, she revealed that it came to define her image in Hollywood.

“It created a gold standard Jessica, the ‘before’ for every ‘Is she fat or is she thin?’ story for the rest of my career,” Simpson wrote in her memoir.

Simpson overcame public scrutiny about her weight

In 2009, Simpson performed at the 99.9 Kiss Country 24th Annual Chili Cook Off in Florida. She wore high-waisted mom jeans, a black top and a leopard belt, accessorized with gold earrings and bangle bracelets.

Afterward, Simpson became the subject of headlines, and the commentary about her body stuck with her for years. The singer later shared that she was only 120 pounds and a size 4 at the time, but the effect was devastating.

“I don’t think people always realized that there was a human being, a beating heart and working eyes with actual feelings behind those headlines and that words can hurt and stay with you for a lifetime,” she told PEOPLE in March 2021.

“It ruined the stage for me,” she added while speaking to Glamour in February 2020. “The stage was my home. It broke my home.”

When Simpson eventually opened up about the topic in her book, she appreciated how it was received.

“There is a wonderful movement for body positivity now and the response to that portion of my story has been overwhelmingly supportive,” she told PEOPLE.

She embraced how pregnancy affected her body

Simpson has three children with former NFL football player Eric Johnson: daughter Maxwell, born in 2012, son Ace, born in 2013, and daughter Birdie, born in 2019.

A few months after welcoming her third child, Simpson got candid about how it affected her physically.

“When you’re pregnant, you gain a lot,” she told PEOPLE in September 2019. “Apparently, that’s just the way God made me, very hungry and pregnant. … After having kids, I don’t think that your hips really ever go completely back. Your body changes!”

Explaining that she’s been “every size,” she later told PEOPLE in April 2022 that she was thrilled with the growing body positivity movement.

“It’s hard to not see your flaws first, [but] I think that, as a society, things are changing. And that’s great because every body’s being celebrated,” Simpson said.

Simpson lost 100 lbs. through nutrition and exercise

In 2021, Simpson quit drinking alcohol, writing in her memoir that it had a negative impact on her life, especially when it came to showing up as her best self for her family. The actress also revealed that it left her bloated.

Simpson began working with trainer Harley Pasternak, who encouraged her to walk daily. She started at 6,000 steps a day before gradually increasing to 12,000. Simpson also started weight training and following a nutrition plan that included healthier versions of her favorite foods.

“It’s three meals and two snacks a day, and each meal has protein, fiber and fat, and snacks are protein and fiber or protein and fat, ” Pasternak told PEOPLE in September 2019.

That same month, the trainer revealed on Instagram that Simpson lost 100 lbs. over a decade of them working together.

She “threw out” her scale

While weight seemed to be a constant subject, Simpson didn’t let it get to her, she wrote in a 2021 essay for Amazon Original Stories.

“The truth is I don’t know, because I threw out my scale,” the singer penned. “Not knowing my weight to the pound is something I couldn’t imagine in my teens.”

“I never work with scales,” Pasternak also told PEOPLE. “My work with her is more about the habits she’s created and kept up. She’s hit her step goal, she’s eaten well, she’s balanced her responsibilities — so she can go to bed with a sense of fulfillment, and that’s everything.”

Read the original article on People