Jennifer Hudson: Motherhood Inspired Me To Lose Weight

Grammy and Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson graces Good Housekeeping’s February cover, on newsstands January 10. In the interview, the singer/actress reveals the secrets to her 80-pound weight loss, and opens up about her 2-year-old son David.

On how her son inspired her to get healthy: "Everything changed the day my son, David Jr., was born. Motherhood brought tremendous responsibilities — but none greater than the obligation I felt to get healthy and be there for my son. David deserved to have a mama who could run after him without getting winded or getting tired, to have a role model who could teach him to make healthy food choices. I needed him to grow up with a mama who always would be there for him by caring enough about herself to take control of her health and her eating."

On her former size: “Early on, I remember one of the musical directors telling me that everything about me was too big. My voice, my size, and my personality.” Defiant, J-Hud asked her, “Isn’t that what being a star is? Stars are larger than life!”

On how her son doesn't recognize "old Jennifer": “What’s funny is that he’s never known me overweight. If he sees a clip of the old Jennifer from Dreamgirls, he doesn’t know who it is.”

On her son's affinity for green vegetables: "It's the cutest thing. I'm like, 'Wow, this is really working.'" She laughs about an occasion when the two of them were watching TV, "and all he wanted to do was lie in Mommy's lap and eat cookies. But now he knows his limit. He sees Mommy's example and knows that he's going to get two, not the whole box."

For the full interview with Jennifer and more photos, go to Good Housekeeping...