Lizzo Defends Her 10-Day Smoothie Detox: "I'm Proud of Myself, I'm Proud of My Results"

Lizzo finished JJ Smith's 10-day smoothie cleanse and shared her progress in the TikTok below on Dec. 13. She explained that she did this cleanse because her stomach wasn't feeling great after drinking a lot and eating foods that didn't make her feel good when she was in Mexico. For 10 days, she basically drank green smoothies to give her stomach a break from the gastrointestinal issues she'd been experiencing. But she received a ton of disappointed comments saying she was promoting unhealthy slimming detoxes and diet culture, and that detoxes don't work and can be harmful.

So today, she posted the above response on TikTok, explaining that she normally would be "so afraid and ashamed to post things like this online because I feel, as a big girl, people just expect if you are doing something for health, you're doing it for a dramatic weight loss, and that is not the case."

Lizzo explained that November really stressed her out. She was drinking a lot and eating a lot of spicy foods and foods that messed her stomach up. She just wanted to get her stomach back to feeling good again. There was no mention of doing this cleanse for weight loss.

"I'm proud of myself, I'm proud of my results," Lizzo said. She said she experienced health benefits like improved sleep, inner peace, mental stability, and clearer skin and eyes. Note that smoothie cleanses aren't guaranteed to make you feel better or offer these benefits, but this is what Lizzo personally experienced. "I feel and look like a bad b*tch," she said, adding: "I'm a big girl who did a smoothie detox, and I wanted to share that with you guys. I got exactly what I wanted out of it." The caption on her TikTok said, "Big girls do whatever u want with your bodies!!!"

Later, Lizzo kept the conversation going on Instagram. "I detoxed my body and I'm still fat. I love my body and I'm still fat. I'm beautiful and I'm still fat," she wrote in one post. "These things are not mutually exclusive." She stressed that she was not encouraging her followers to stop eating, nor did she ever starve herself during her cleanse. Lizzo also reminded her followers that you don't have to complete a cleanse "to be beautiful or healthy. That was my way." Her final takeaway: don't let anyone else dictate what you can or can't do with your body.

We just want to reiterate that drinking only juices or smoothies for detox purposes isn't necessary, as your kidney and liver are the best at detoxing your body. Cleanses can also be harmful if you're not consuming enough daily calories, doing it for an extended period of time, or doing it strictly to lose weight — extreme dieting like that will most likely end up with you gaining the weight back once you go back to your normal diet. If you want your body and digestion to feel better, eat plenty of fresh fruits and veggies and limit processed food and sugar. If you want to make a change to your diet, it's important to talk to your doctor or a registered dietitian first to make sure you're doing it in a safe and healthy way.

— Additional reporting by Maggie Ryan