Bringing Up Bates alum Erin Bates has revealed how she lost 30 pounds after having seven children — and she says GLP-1 medications were not part of her approach.
“For years, I’ve eaten healthy,” Bates, 35, said during the Saturday, October 17, episode of her “Chad and Erin” vlog. However, she explained that her weight eventually plateaued, leaving her “stuck at gaining weight or stuck at the same spot on the scale.”
After experimenting with several diets and finding that “nothing worked,” Bates said she knew she needed to make a change.
According to the former reality star, the breakthrough came from combining two strategies. “For me, it was a mix of carnivore diet and fasting,” she said. “Those things paired together were really the game changer.”
Erin Bates has also addressed speculation about whether she has undergone cosmetic procedures. While answering fan questions on YouTube earlier this month, Bates, 34, discussed topics including skincare, Botox and fillers. “I had so many questions on skin, skincare, Botox, fillers [and] some things I didn’t even know what they were,” she joked.
Bates, who welcomed her seventh child in September 2025, stressed that she did not use injectable weight-loss treatments. “I did not do shots or any GLP-1s,” she said, explaining that she chose to avoid them because of concerns about potential side effects.
Instead, Bates described the carnivore diet as a short-term starting point. She called the plan a “reset” and said she believed it was “super great for your body” as she began her weight-loss effort.
Bates explained that the carnivore diet primarily consists of meat, dairy and eggs. Although she acknowledged that the menu can become “pretty boring,” she said followers can gradually reintroduce other foods over time.
Her breakfasts often included egg soufflés, omelets and boiled eggs. For lunch and dinner, she said she typically ate hamburgers, cheese and cottage cheese.
Erin Bates and Kelly Jo Bates. Courtesy of Erin Bates/Instagram
“I would eat a lot of grilled steak, fish, chicken. Really anything,” Bates said. She added that she generally avoided pork because it did not agree with her stomach.
Bates said the dietary shift changed the way she felt. “When I switched to carnivore, my body started using fat for fuel,” she explained. “I felt full. I felt satisfied.”
The weight-loss effort came after Bates was hospitalized for septic shock in September 2025, following the birth of her youngest child. She said she followed the carnivore plan very strictly at first and “didn’t cheat at all.”
Meanwhile, The Real Housewives of Orange County star Emily Simpson has spoken about changing the way she uses GLP-1 medication. In an exclusive August 14 interview, Simpson, 50, said she still uses a GLP-1, but primarily for weight maintenance rather than active weight loss.
Bates said her version of the plan excluded fruit, vegetables and sugar. For beverages, she drank tea and noted that black coffee was also permitted, despite her dislike of hot coffee.
The strategy began to feel effective for Bates when she combined the carnivore diet with intermittent fasting.
She limited her meals to an eight-hour window, eliminated snacks and ate two or three times a day. Bates said she did not count calories, instead stopping when she felt about 80 percent full.
In addition to the daily eight-hour eating window, Bates incorporated a 24-hour fast once a week.
Chad Paine, Erin Bates and their seven children. Courtesy of Erin Bates/Instagram
She described the fast as eating dinner at 6 p.m. and waiting until 6 p.m. the following day to eat again. “That was one of the key pieces in the puzzle,” she said.
Eventually, Bates progressed to 36-hour fasts. At that stage, she said, it felt as though “the weight was falling off.”
Bates also discussed her supplement routine, saying she keeps it limited. Her preferred supplements include glutathione, vitamin C and magnesium.
She also shared “things to avoid,” saying that seed oils, sugar and white flour are no longer part of her diet.
Bringing Up Bates alum Erin Bates hopes to continue expanding her family with husband Chad Paine despite being hospitalized after welcoming their seventh baby. Bates, 35, was asked in a Wednesday, July 15, Instagram Q&A session whether she plans to have more kids “if [her] health wasn’t a concern.” “Without a doubt, yes!” Bates replied […]
Bates admitted that she “did not work out” when she began losing weight, but she did walk with her two youngest children daily.
“I started working out after I lost most of the weight,” she said, noting that after dropping approximately 25 pounds, she began doing arm, leg, stomach and posture exercises — doing three sets of 10 exercises every day.
Bates explained, “Every day I did girl push ups,” and then she’d add in 30 squats, 30 lunges, 30 wall sits, upping her weights once she needed a new challenge.
“It’s really helped every area in my life in such a big way,” Bates concluded. “It’s not just losing weight. … ‘It’s really about saying, I want to be the healthiest version of myself.’”