(Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Comedienne and actress Mo’Nique’s Oscar-winning performance in 2009’s “Precious” put her on the map in Hollywood, after she spent her career embracing her big girl status, often saying bigger is better. But its what her husband said to her that Mo’Nique revealed on Arsenio that helped change her mind to begin losing weight.

“When my husband asked me my weight, I answered and he said ‘…That’s too much weight. I want you around for a lifetime and that’s not healthy.’ It was at that moment that  I went through guilt, I went through shame, because of my size.  Because I never felt love like that before.”

That’s when Mo’Nique said she decided to “save her life.”

Now, she’s using her star power to inspire her fans to lose weight.

“For a long time I was a child in my way of thinking. I thought that I could eat what I wanted, do
what I wanted, and was reckless in the sense of abusing my body. That’s when I was younger. I think that the journey I have to take now is that I have babies. I have a son who is 23, but I also have a son who is nine. And we have twins who are seven. I want to meet their children. I want to be able to play with their children. I don’t want to be a burden on my family due to self-neglect….I was fortunate to watch my grandmother play with my children. I want to be in the same position.”

Two other reasons for her change of heart for her health is being diagnosed with high blood pressure and topping out at 262 pounds.

“My husband said ‘That’s too much baby. I want you for a lifetime. I love you so much that I can’t lie to you,” Mo’Nique remembered. “I had never felt that type of love before.”

Currently, the star is down to 217, and has gone from a size 20 to a size 14. She says that she’s not done yet, and that her goal is to get down to 180lbs.

How Mo’Nique Lost The Weight

In addition to working out with a personal trainer five times a week, Mo’Nique’s weight loss strategy consisted of:

•   Drinking a gallon of water a day

•   Avoiding fried foods

•   Eating raw fruits and vegetables and fresh fish

Giving up red meat

Read more about Mo’Nique’s weight loss and her inspiration at BlackDoctor.Org.
Watch Kevin Hart in a new episode of Real Husbands of Hollywood every Tuesday, 10P/9C.

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