Jo Dee Messina Says She ‘Didn’t Recognize’ Herself Before Her Weight Loss Transformation

Jo Dee Messina is opening up about her weight loss journey.

“I started to see pictures of myself and I didn’t recognize myself,” the singer, 66, said while chatting with Evan Paul on the Thursday, March 13, episode of the “Taste of Country” podcast.“I wouldn’t let people take pictures. I was like, ‘Stop taking pictures of me. I don’t even know who that is. It’s so gross.’”

Messina then explained that she decided to “do something about it” and start changing her habits.

“It’s been two years,” Messina shared. “This isn’t like, ‘Hey, let’s pop a pill and be skinny in a month.’ This is like, ‘Keep going, keep going, keep going.’”

She then pulled off her denim jacket to reveal her toned triceps that she worked out earlier that day.

“I’m like, ‘It’s a perfect day to wear [a] sleeveless [top] because it doesn’t always look this pumped,” she added.

Messina then shared that she had a “goal” going into her weight loss journey.

“It’s been a process. I used to be really shredded and so now I’m gonna start running,” she noted. “I was really lean too. That’s kind of my goal.”

Messina joked that a fan told her that she wants a combination of her arms and Carrie Underwood’s legs. “I love Carrie Underwood’s legs, but she likes leg day,” Messina quipped. “That’s the problem! We couldn’t get along.”

The singer said that one reason she wants to pick up running is that her upcoming songs are “hard” to sing while dancing on stage.

Messina is planning to release her new album, Bridges, this upcoming summer. This is their first album in over a decade.