NeNe Leakes Talks Weight Loss after Shedding 12 Pounds on the Pescatarian Diet

NeNe Leakes is opening up about her new diet: why she’s on the journey, how much weight she’s lost, and the goal she’s still working toward.

NeNe has always been a go-getter, and in the bid to eat healthier and lose weight, she’s no different. The “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star recently told Hollywood Life that she’s now on a pescatarian diet.

WHAT IS A PESCATARIAN DIET?

According to BBC Good Food, the diet “typically includes vegetables, grains, and pulses along with fish and other seafood, but generally excludes meat and sometimes dairy.”

Per Healthline, some of the benefits of a pescatarian diet include a lower risk of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, and reduced weight gain.

THE BIG PUSH FOR NENE

So what led NeNe, 51, to taking the pescatarian route? According to the reality star, her decision had a lot to do with her husband, Gregg Leakes’ recent battle with Stage 3 Colon Cancer.

“We’ve really been trying to do better and eat better and eliminate the junk. I’m not doing anything crazy like doing the elliptical or riding the bike or running. I started being a pescatarian and he was plant-based, so I started there.”

SEEING RESULTS

NeNe revealed that the diet has helped her not only to feel different but to lose “a couple of pounds.” “I’m not a big eater,” she explained further. “But what I started to do was just have small portions. I feel like I eat about four times a day – four, sometimes five – just nibbling on stuff, and I feel really satisfied.”

A BATTLE WITH CRAVINGS

Despite her resolve, NeNe said she still experiences food cravings and has had to come up with a trick to fight it. When she itches for junk food, the boutique owner reveals what she does is eat a little and throw the rest in the bin.

“I always say to myself, ‘I’m not going through the trash can to get it out and eat it,’” she added.

NENE'S 'SLIMMER' GOAL

NeNe has already lost 12 pounds, and you can tell from her recent pictures, but she says her goal is to lose 20 by the time she clocks 52 in December.

“I’ve always been the girl who’s been a size 10, and then when I got bigger I was a 12. …I don’t ever remember being an 8. I would love to be an 8. Some people are like, ‘Oh, you’re too tall to be an 8!’ My birthday is December 13th. Every year around my birthday, I always want to be something! I want to be thin or smaller.”

All the best, NeNe.