Serena Williams has opened up a couple of well being journey that has reshaped each her physique and her outlook on life.

The 43-year-old tennis icon revealed that she turned to a GLP-1 remedy to assist her weight reduction targets after years of frustration postpartum.

Now down 31 kilos, she says she feels lighter, more healthy, and extra assured than ever.

For a lady who constructed her legacy on self-discipline, grit, and pushing her physique to the boundaries, Serena Williams was stunned by how tough weight administration grew to become after childbirth.

Following the beginning of her first daughter, Alexis Olympia, in 2017, her physique not responded the best way it used to.

“I by no means was capable of get to the burden I wanted to be it doesn’t matter what I did, regardless of how a lot I skilled,” she defined in a chat with PEOPLE Journal.

Regardless of her tireless efforts, the outcomes refused to return. For the 23-time Grand Slam champion, this was overseas territory.

She shared, “I had by no means taken shortcuts in my profession and at all times labored actually arduous. I do know what it takes to be one of the best. So it was irritating to do the identical issues and see no change on the size or the best way my physique regarded.”

When she gave beginning to her second daughter, Adira River, in 2023, historical past repeated itself.

She initially shed weight rapidly, however then progress stalled.

“I by no means misplaced one other pound,” she quipped, admitting she felt caught and uncertain if she may ever return to a spot the place she felt snug in her physique.

Decided to discover a new method, Williams determined to discover medical choices.

She partnered with Ro, a direct-to-patient healthcare firm, to strive a GLP-1 therapy. GLP-1 medicines, which embrace broadly recognized manufacturers like Ozempic and Mounjaro, assist regulate urge for food and satiety by working within the mind.

Nonetheless, the choice wasn’t simple. “I did lots of analysis on it. I used to be like, ‘is that this a shortcut? What are the advantages? What aren’t the advantages?’ I actually wished to dive into it earlier than I simply did it,” she admitted.

Her hesitations mirrored these of many individuals contemplating the remedy, given its controversy.

Finally, Williams consulted with a physician and started weekly injections in early 2024, after she completed breastfeeding.

“They have been tremendous supportive and it was simple to get the remedy,” she mentioned. “I misplaced over 31 kilos utilizing my GLP-1 and I used to be actually enthusiastic about that weight reduction.”

Past the quantity on the size, Williams says the largest change has been how her physique feels.

“I simply can do extra. I’m extra lively. My joints don’t harm as a lot,” she defined.

Even easy duties grew to become simpler, as she shared, “One thing so simple as simply getting down is so much simpler for me. And I do it so much quicker. I really feel like I’ve lots of power and it is nice. I simply really feel fairly good about it.”

Her weight reduction, she emphasised, didn’t substitute the wholesome way of life she has at all times maintained. As a substitute, it complemented it.

“GLP-1 helped me improve every little thing I used to be already doing—maintaining a healthy diet and figuring out, whether or not as an expert athlete on the prime degree of tennis or simply going to the gymnasium on daily basis,” she famous.

Transparency has at all times been Williams’ model, each on and off the court docket, and she or he wished her followers to listen to her story straight.

“So I believe that it’s essential for everybody to listen to my story. And I really feel like there’s lots of people that may relate,” Williams mentioned, including that asking for assist doesn’t imply taking a shortcut.

Regardless of the transformation, Serena Williams insists her confidence has by no means hinged on the quantity on the size.

“Weight reduction ought to by no means actually change your self picture,” she pressured.

She additionally acknowledged that ladies typically face judgment, no matter their dimension, a actuality she has skilled firsthand all through her public life.

“I at all times felt snug at any dimension, whether or not I used to be heavier or not,” she mentioned. Nonetheless, she additionally admitted her physique struggled with the additional kilos after being pregnant. “I had ache in my joints and ache in several areas due to the additional weight that I am not used to carrying since I had kids.”

Williams clarified that there was “nothing improper” with the scale she was earlier than, however emphasised that she wished to be the place she personally felt finest. “I simply knew that I wished to be the place I felt snug.”

As a mom of two younger daughters, instructing physique positivity is equally essential to her.