Serena Williams Says Weight Loss Medication Helped Her Lo…

Serena Williams revealed she has been taking a GLP-1 medication as part of her weight loss journey.

In newly published interviews with Today and Vogue, the 43-year-old tennis star opened up about her decision to use the drug, specifically Zepbound, after struggling to return to her pre-pregnancy health.

Speaking to Today, Williams explained she lost 31 pounds since starting the medication about a year ago.

“I was on and off [the medication] and now completely on. It was a really good decision I had to make for my life, you know, I tried everything,” she said.

“This all started after I had my [first] kid,” she continued. “As a woman, you go through different cycles in your life. … No matter what I did — running, walking, I would walk for hours because they say that’s good, I literally was playing a professional sport — and I could never go back to where I needed to be for my health. Then, after my second kid, it just even got harder. So then I was like, OK, I have to try something different.”

Williams noted her blood sugar levels have improved, her joints feel “lighter,” and has not experienced any side effects.

“I had a lot of knee issues … especially after I had my kid [and] was never able to get to my normal levels of weight. And that, quite frankly, definitely had an effect on maybe some wins that I could have had in my career,” Williams recalled.

While the medication helped her feel “like my old self,” Williams told Vogue that she continues to train intensely while maintaining a balanced diet.

“I’m a carb girl,” she said with a laugh, while noting that beans are her main protein source. “Meat isn’t really for me, I’ve been vegan before, I’ve been vegetarian, and now I’m somewhere in the middle.”

The 23-time Grand Slam winner pointed to a statistic that African Americans have an increased risk of diabetes and hopes to combat stigmas about using GLP-1 medications as a “shortcut.”

“I feel like a lot of people have this stigma on GLP-1s and say things like, ‘Oh, lazy people do it,’ or ‘If you’re working hard enough, you don’t need that,’” she said. “I know for a fact from my experience that it’s simply not true. Sometimes you need help. Your story is your story, and it’s okay to make that choice to do it if you want to. I did, and I’m really happy with it.”

“I was putting in the work. I actually think it’s a problem a lot of other women can relate to, that you are in the gym and eating healthy, but just can’t get to the level you want or need to,” she said elsewhere in the interview. “I feel lighter mentally, I feel sexier, I feel more confident.”

Williams joins a growing number of celebrities who have opened up about their use of the drug, including Oprah Winfrey, Fat Joe, Tracy Morgan, Kelly Osbourne, and others.