She’s one of Australia’s most beloved stars, bursting onto our screens with her powerhouse voice in Australian Idol and winning hearts after her turn on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!
But growing up in the public eye was never easy for Casey, who was constantly criticised for her weight.
“I’ve always been a confident, curvy woman, no matter what my size,” she told HELLO! exclusively.
“I’ve always had the confidence, and there’s always been someone there to dampen that. And that has been quite difficult to understand and to learn over the last 21 years.”
A winding road
Casey embarked on her weight loss journey in 2017 despite the public scrutiny, at one point sharing that she had weighed in at under 100 kilograms for the first time in years.
However, her road has been filled with obstacles from day one, with her weight fluctuating depending on the diet or program she was on. That is, until she learned to banish her pride and ask for help.
“I feel like in the last 10 years, I’ve just been trying to help myself and just falling. And it’s been really hard, and removing that shame and guilt…there’s no shame in asking,” she admitted.
© Getty Images for John Foreman’sThe musical star has partnered with Juniper, a weight loss program that combines GLP-1 medications with holistic health practices to support her on her journey.
GLP-1 medications are a class of drug used to help regulate appetite, with Ozempic and Mounjaro being the most well-known brands.
She shared that her experience with these medications had been “fantastic”, and instrumental in silencing the constant “food noise” that had held her back in the past.
Silencing the noise
© Getty Images“All of my life, I’ve just thought about food,” she explained. “Even when I’m not hungry, I’ve just been programmed to kind of go, ‘I’m hungry, I need to eat. What am I going to eat?’ And stand at the fridge, waiting for something to jump out at me. I don’t have that anymore.”
However, her relationship with food is not about restriction, but balance. “It’s not about cutting anything out. It’s about understanding it,” Casey said.
“And with these medical treatments, you’re very much able to kind of see quite clear when it comes to food now. It’s not about constantly arguing with yourself.”
© WireImageThe medications offered a reprieve from constant fluctuations in her weight loss journey. “There comes a time in life where you just get tired of trying and falling and getting up and dusting off,” she said. “You just become exhausted with what the world, or what you think the world sees of you.”
And she isn’t just embarking on this journey to change her appearance; for Casey, she wants to set herself up for a healthy and energetic future.
Fighting for the future
© WireImage“The long run for me is I want to be healthy, and I want to do the preventative care that by the time I’m older, I’m not sitting in a hospital bed being hooked up to machines with cardiovascular disease or diabetes,” the 36-year-old shared.
For Casey, the most important piece of advice she has for those looking to start changing their lives and follow in her footsteps is to interrogate the reason behind wanting to lose weight.
“Give it a month and see how you feel. And if you feel amazing, then you’re doing something great. And if not, try something else,” she said.
She added that “Knowing that you are enough, no matter what shape, size you are,” was the most important thing to remember along the way. “Ask yourself, do I want a healthy outcome in life?
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