Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb have opened up about what it was like to weigh themselves on national television, with the former first daughter admitting she has been ‘delusional’ about her size postpartum.
The Today hosts each stepped on the scale on Monday morning’s show, with Jenna, 37, weighing 171.6 pounds and Hoda, 55, clocking in at 157.6 pounds. Neither of them was happy about their weight going into their first full day of intermittent fasting.
‘I was reminded why I don’t weigh myself yesterday because I was playing with my kids, and I kept having that one number in my head,’ Jenna told her co-host and fasting partner on Tuesday.
Reflection: Hoda Kotb (L) and Jenna Bush Hager (R) opened up about what it was like to weigh themselves on the Today show and learn they’re 157.6 pounds and 171.6 pounds, respectively
Keeping it real: Hoda, 55, and Jenna, 37, shared that earlier in the day the Today show stylists pulled three dresses for each of them to wear on the broadcast and none of them fit
New diet: The hosts, who were on their first day of intermittent fasting, had their first meal of the day at on the show at 10 a.m. after 16 hours of not eating
‘And I’m like, ‘You know what? No, no, no, no.’ I don’t want life to be controlled by a scale,’ she added.
‘A number. I agree,’ Hoda chimed in, though she noted they are still going to weigh themselves while intermittent fasting.
As part of the 16:8 plan, they will voluntarily fast for 16 hours, from 6 p.m. to 10 a.m
‘We’re going to weigh ourselves periodically — we don’t know when — but I think just to keep track,’ Hoda explained. ‘I think it is good every now and then even though I hate standing on the scale to find out, like, where you are just to get a benchmark.’
‘I needed it because I think I’ve been delusional,’ Jenna said after previously admitting she had been telling people she was 40 pounds lighter.
‘We’re not saying we need to be some sort of number to be us. We’re happy with us. We just want us a little svelter,’ she joked.
Motivated: After weighing herself on Monday’s show, Hoda shared a video on her Instagram Story that shows her working up a sweat on a step machine
Hoda went on to say that earlier in the day the show’s stylists pulled out three different dresses for her that would complement her co-anchor Savannah Guthrie’s ensemble.
‘I tried on all three,’ she said ‘And none of them fit.’
‘Guess how many dresses I tried on, too?’ Jenna responded. ‘Three. Lucky number four worked.’
Hoda insisted that ‘things are going to be different coming up in a month,’ but it seemed like Jenna was ready to cheat when it came to their new eating plan.
‘It’s going to be hard. I wonder if we should do our first bite at 9:55,’ she said.
‘No, no, 10. I think it has to be straight up,’ Hoda insisted.
Feeling brave: The intermittent fasting partners weighed themselves live on air on the Today show on Monday morning
Miscalculation: Jenna said she has been ‘delusional’ for not realizing she weighed 40 pounds more than she thought she did following the birth of her third child in August
Stunned: ‘I weight 20 pounds more than you,’ Jenna told Hoda, who was just as shocked by the numbers on the scale
The anchor has also been having some trouble with will-power. After Monday’s show, she shared a video on her Instagram Story that shows her working up a sweat on a step machine, writing: ‘Buh-bye 158.’
However, while adding the clip on her feed, she noted in her post that she ate an Oreo cookie after.
Hoda and Jenna have been commended for their bravery for stepping on the scale on live television on Monday when neither of them was looking forward to it.
‘Okay, I haven’t done this in a long time. It’ll be fine, Jenna said as she tried to psyche herself up. ‘It’s like jumping off a cliff.’
Hoda, who had her co-star hold her hand, had to take a moment before they counted down to three and stepped on their individual scales.
‘Whoa!’ Jenna yelled, ‘I weigh 20 pounds more than you.’
‘I don’t think these are right,’ Hoda said when she learned she weighed nearly 158 pounds. ‘Is that true? I’ll do it again. I don’t believe it.’
Reminder: While Jenna was also a bit upset about her weight, Hoda was quick to remind her that she ‘just had a baby’
Just saying: ‘I think I weigh twice as much as my sister. Like two Barbara’s could fit in me,’ Jenna said of her fraternal twin, who joined her on the Today show last week
Families: Jenna and her husband Henry Hager are parents to Mila, Poppy, and baby Hal (L), while Hoda has two adopted daughters, Haley Joy and Hope Catherine (R)
‘I think it’s true,’ Jenna told her.
For their second time weighing themselves, Hoda had them switch scales to see if the numbers were accurate — which they were.
‘Y’all I probably weight more than my boyfriend in high school did!’ Jenna said of being 171 pounds. ‘This is why I don’t weigh myself.’
‘I think I weigh twice as much as my sister. Like two Barbara’s could fit in me,’ she added. ‘It’s okay.’
Jenna admitted that she was also way off when it came to her weight.
‘Y’all know what’s plugged into my Fitbit for real? 130 pounds,’ she told the audience. ‘I weigh 40 more pounds than I tell everyone I do.’
While Jenna was also a bit upset about the number on the scale, Hoda was quick to remind her that she ‘just had a baby.’
Jenna and her husband, Henry Hager, welcomed their third child, a baby boy named Hal, in August.