Serena Williams has shared her dramatic body transformation, in part, thanks to a weight loss drug.
The seven-time Wimbledon champion, 43, said she struggled to lose weight after having two daughters with her husband and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in 2017 and 2023.
After her second daughter was born in August 2023, she initially lost a bit of weight in the first couple of weeks, but then 'never lost another pound'.
Williams, who retired from professional tennis in 2022, said she 'never was able to get to the weight I needed to be no matter what I did, no matter how much I trained'.
"I just thought, gosh, I don't know if I would ever be able to get back to where I needed to get to," the 23-time Grand Slam champ explained to People.
"It was crazy because I'd never been in a place like that in my life where I worked so hard, ate so healthy and could never get down to where I needed to be at.
"I had never taken shortcuts in my career and always worked really hard. I know what it takes to be the best.
"So it was very frustrating to do all the same things and never be able to change that number on the scale or the way my body looked."
Alongside 'eating healthy and working out', the former athlete said she has been using a GLP-1 medication to help her lose over 31 lbs (2.2 St).
GLP-1 injections help lower blood sugar by boosting insulin and slowing down digestion to make you feel fuller. It's supposed to reduce appetite and aide weight loss as a result.
However, it's mainly used for type 2 diabetes and obesity under medical supervision.
"I feel really good and healthy. I feel light physically and light mentally," she added.
"I just can do more. I'm more active. My joints don't hurt as much.
"I just feel like something as simple as just getting down is a lot easier for me.
"And I do it a lot faster. I feel like I have a lot of energy and it's great. I just feel pretty good about it."
Despite the medication helping Williams 'enhance everything that I was already doing', she warns that 'weight loss should never really change your self image'.
"Women often experience judgment about their bodies at any size, and I'm no stranger to that. So I feel like you should love yourself at any size and any look," she added.
