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Jay Shetty Podcast

LIZZO's Dramatic Body Transformation: The Spiritual & Physical Routine That Changed Everything

Lizzo has been intentionally quiet for the past two years while completely transforming her approach to relationships and self-care.

LizzoguestJay ShettyhostLizzocameo

Apr 7, 20251h 20mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Fame, identity disconnect, and the hidden weight behind a visible transformation
Lizzo opens by describing how the public version of “Lizzo” can feel disconnected from who she really is, and how that gap becomes depressing. She also frames her physical change as part of a broader release—emotional and spiritual—not something that happened overnight.
- •Lizzo says the person the world calls “Lizzo” doesn’t feel like her anymore, and that disconnect is depressing
- •She describes fame turning a real person into a character/brand that no longer belongs to you
- •She references a major scandal and how it affected her mental health, including a panic attack and dark thoughts
- •She explains that her body changes may look sudden, but came from releasing much more than just physical weight
- •She shares that she hasn’t fully expressed herself the way she wanted in the last two years
A sound-bowl reset: turning an emotional crash into vibration-based healing
Jay asks about Lizzo standing in a sound bowl, and she explains it was a Christmas gift from her mom and sister. On a difficult day, she tried it skeptically, kept playing, and felt it shift her state and mood.
- •Lizzo describes receiving a large sound bowl with footprints as a gift and learning you stand inside it
- •She tries it during an intense emotional day, initially feeling like it wasn’t working
- •She keeps playing, starts enjoying it, and says it changed her day
- •She describes physical sensations like itching on her ankles that felt like “awakening”
- •Jay shares his own experiences with outdoor sound healing and how sound affects emotions
Assrams, shared visions, and “science in woo woo” vibration philosophy
Lizzo explains her annual retreats for Black women in her life (“assrams”) and how sound baths play a key role. She also outlines her grounding, semi-scientific framing of vibration and how she believes people can influence their emotional frequency.
- •Lizzo describes hosting annual retreats (“assrams”) as an emotional and spiritual reset
- •She recounts a sound bath experience where multiple people described seeing similar colors/imagery
- •She says she has “too much proof” something is happening guided by vibration
- •She explains vibration in bodily terms—heartbeat, water in the body, and felt sensations
- •She frames vibration as something you can influence, calling it a “cheat code” to existing
Instrumental instincts: how Lizzo approaches sound bowls as an instrument
Jay asks whether playing sound bowls came naturally, and Lizzo connects it to her lifelong relationship with instruments. She lists what she can play and describes how intensely she can make bowls “sing.”
- •Lizzo says she can play anything and treats sound bowls as another instrument
- •She lists instruments she learned across her life (including flute-related instruments, clarinet, piano, and guitar)
- •Jay notes playing bowls is challenging and jokes about not being able to whistle
- •Lizzo describes making bowls resonate so strongly it can feel like a sound inside your head
- •They briefly discuss the idea of opening her retreat experience to more people
Astrology as a growth tool: charts, house years, and building routine into lifestyle
Jay asks about astrology, and Lizzo describes working with astrologer Chani Nicholas and learning to read beyond sun signs. She explains how “house years” shaped her focus—moving from a difficult 12th house year into a 1st house year centered on self, routine, and self-definition, and preparing for a more internal, meticulous phase next.
- •Lizzo says meeting Chani Nicholas expanded her understanding beyond sun signs and “big three”
- •She describes astrology as something you “have,” not something you “are,” making it a tool
- •She explains 2023 as a 12th house year involving hidden enemies and shadow work, which later made sense to her
- •She describes being in a 1st house year since April 2024 and leaning into disciplined practice and self-rediscovery
- •She previews her coming 2nd house year as making external practices internal and turning routine into lifestyle
Protecting peace, being quiet without shame, and explaining the off-cycle reality of music
Lizzo reflects on learning that silence can be healthy rather than a toxic shutdown, and how her “gap year” was misunderstood. She then clarifies the industry concept of being on-cycle/off-cycle and explains her return is tied to finishing her album, not hiding.
- •Lizzo describes a younger pattern of shutting down and not speaking, and how she worked to express herself
- •She reframes quietness as observation and presence rather than reverting to a harmful trait
- •She says her “gap year/protect my peace” post got misinterpreted and made her wish she’d stayed quiet
- •She explains music careers run on album cycles, and she planned to be off-cycle while making the next project
- •She says the album being done is the simple reason she’s back, though the timing overlapped with a scandal
Panic attack, depression, and the moment “love in real life” became real again
Lizzo recounts returning to Los Angeles, experiencing her first panic attack, and entering a dark, fearful depression where she felt she couldn’t trust anyone. A concert outing—terrifying at first—became a turning point when strangers showed her warmth and support, inspiring the album title and its message about validation beyond the internet.
- •Lizzo describes her first panic attack and feeling like her anxiety tools weren’t working
- •She shares thoughts of being hated for something she believed wasn’t true, and feeling crushed by public perception
- •She describes becoming scared of people and withdrawing socially during depression
- •She pushes herself to go to a concert and experiences unexpected, supportive interactions with people in the crowd
- •She concludes that online validation can’t replace community and names the album concept “Love in Real Life”
Messy boundaries, isolation into solitude, and rebuilding from the basics (movement, sunlight, food, phone)
Asked what helped her through the darkness, Lizzo admits she didn’t handle it perfectly and that her defenses strained relationships. Over time, isolation became solitude and introspection, leading her to build stabilizing habits—meditation, exercise, sensory grounding, and stepping away from her phone—to reconnect with herself.
- •Lizzo says she set many boundaries defensively and disappeared into herself, acknowledging it was messy
- •She shares how self-talk became dangerously harsh during the worst moments, and how she fought to live
- •She describes isolation shifting into solitude and finally seeing herself clearly
- •She lists tangible supports she forced herself into: reading, consistent meditation, exercise, fresh air, sun
- •She says she stopped looking at her phone and delegated posting to her team to reduce exposure to online negativity
Fame as “character,” taking back the narrative, and choosing when to speak on causes
Lizzo explains how being fearlessly herself became complicated when fame turned her into a brand others could redefine. She describes the pain of being scrutinized for the very values she stood for and discusses becoming more careful—speaking only when it brings solutions rather than amplifying chaos.
- •Lizzo says even when the public persona began as real, fame can turn it into a character/brand
- •She describes how a false or distorted story about her can crush her sense of self
- •She says the remedy is continuing to be herself and telling her story directly, taking back authorship
- •She talks about advocacy feeling “invalidated” now because opposition is directed at her as the messenger
- •She says she wants to be a “solutionary” and will stay quiet if speaking creates confusion or divisiveness
Relationships after crisis: stop chasing, separate friends from employees, and protect your space
Jay asks about surrounding yourself with the right people, and Lizzo describes no longer bringing many new people into her life. She shares how stopping the chase revealed which relationships were truly reciprocal, and she reflects on the complications of hiring friends and blurring power dynamics.
- •Lizzo says she’s extremely careful now and doesn’t bring many new people into her life
- •She describes always seeing the good in people and previously chasing relationships even after harm
- •She says once she stopped chasing and set boundaries, many relationships naturally fell away
- •She names a smaller circle that remains, including a longtime best friend and her boyfriend
- •She explains why being both boss and friend isn’t fair, and wants friends to be friends and employees to be employees
Letting go of toxicity and channeling pain into the album’s arc (anger, grief, then joy)
Lizzo connects her personal upheaval to the music-making process, describing a period of anger and darkness that produced intense songs. She includes grief—like losing her dog—and explains why making raw work matters, even if not everything is released, before she shifted into creating more uplifting energy aligned with her purpose.
- •Lizzo says the last two years prepared her for something bigger and forced her to let go of what weighed her down
- •She describes a season of anger and darker writing, and choosing to keep some of it to be honest
- •She mentions writing about loss, including her dog Puka, and painful friendship endings
- •She shares an example of writing an “incredible song” during an exhausted mental-breakdown period
- •She says her purpose is to turn pain into “rebellious joy,” giving people something to march and move to
Creative flow: make the song, catch the fish, and keep casting
Lizzo and Jay discuss creativity as an ongoing stream, where the job is to pull the idea out without overjudging it. Lizzo encourages artists to write the weird thing, make the song, and then create the next one—treating creation as a practice rather than a perfection contest.
- •Lizzo says artists should make the song first without assuming it must be released immediately
- •She encourages saying the weird lyric and allowing unconventional ideas to exist
- •She describes creativity as fishing—cast the line, catch the fish, pull it out, then go again
- •Jay reflects on creativity as a universal stream layered with real-life experience
- •They connect this approach to processing emotions and shedding what you’ve been carrying
Love as flow vs. flesh: acceptance, ditching drama, and self-love as social change
Jay asks how her view of love has changed, and Lizzo describes becoming a better lover by returning to “flow” rather than getting stuck in material conditions. She links drama consumption to attracting drama and argues that kindness toward others starts with kindness toward yourself.
- •Lizzo says she sought to understand unconditional love, then realized humans struggle to actively “do” it
- •She contrasts loving in “flow” with loving in “flesh,” where conditions, pettiness, and pain can return
- •She defines love as acceptance and repeats her phrase: “I love and accept you for who you are”
- •She admits she used to be addicted to drama and gossip and now sees it as lowering her waking state
- •She argues self-love can improve how people treat others, because harsh self-talk fuels harshness outward
Public transformation and “weight release”: transparency, body dysmorphia, and careful language
Lizzo discusses how personal growth can feel like loss to others, then addresses her own public change: an intentional “weight release journey.” She explains why it looks sudden online, why “Lizzo skinny” headlines don’t reflect her reality, and why she avoids “weight loss” language in favor of describing what she’s gained and released.
- •Lizzo says some personal relationships simply grow apart as people change
- •She describes being intentional and public about her weight release journey and sharing workouts and food over time
- •She explains the internet effect: not everyone sees everything, so changes look overnight when a clip goes viral
- •She says “skinny” headlines are a disconnect from her lived reality and discusses body dysmorphia during change
- •She explains preferring “release” over “loss,” emphasizing what she’s gained and her responsibility with language for young people watching
Final Five: identity, freedom, gratitude rituals, and designing a fairer world
Jay closes with rapid questions that prompt Lizzo to share concise reflections: the best advice she’s heard, the worst self-advice she’s given, and what this album era represents. She also describes a daily gratitude practice and offers a guiding principle for designing society with empathy for unknown life circumstances.
- •Lizzo’s best advice: “Know who you are and whose you are”
- •Lizzo’s worst advice was self-directed: telling herself to “crash out”
- •She names this chapter of life “Freedom” and hopes listeners feel that in the album
- •She describes waking with a wave of gratitude and a nightly visualization/prayer for loved ones
- •She proposes a guiding “law” of designing the world as if you don’t know what identity or privileges you’ll be born into

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