My amazing cravings cure

Since undergoing live-streamed gastric bypass more than 25 years ago, Carnie Wilson has often shared what it's like to drop 160 pounds and then roller-coaster her way through life's changes and curveballs.

- ALLISON NEMETZ

She's gained and lost many times. Now, as she hits menopause, is she developing a 'meno belly' like so many of us? “I’m actually down about 40 pounds,” she shares proudly. “I figured out how to adjust my eating habits and satisfy my cravings in a realistic way.” Read on to find out what the “Hold On” singer is doing and how experts say it can help millions of us shrink our waist and improve our health.

Carnie, 57, says her kids (Lola, 20, and Luci, 15) were still young when she first suspected wheat was triggering her intense cravings and making her lifelong GI issues flare. Her doctor ruled out an allergy but agreed she might be sensitive to the grain, suggesting she eliminate it to see if she felt better. But as Carnie started thinking about the many wheat-containing foods that were staples, the experiment seemed overwhelming. So she did what most of us would do: She ignored her symptoms until she couldn't anymore.

Things caught up with her in 2023. “My hands would be so inflamed when I woke up that I couldn’t close them,” she recalls. Arthritis made her hips throb; her GI issues worsened. “It was like, ‘Why I am aching from head to toe? Why am I bloated and always in the bathroom?’” A voice in her head told her wheat was to blame. “It was the catalyst for me to make changes.”

Simple swaps, big benefits

Like Carnie had done so many times in her life, she started cutting back on sugar and aiming for healthy portions. Then she began to avoid wheat. “I never in my life was able to not eat white flour,” she shares. Twinges of arthritis kept her motivated to try.