'I'm not willing to work really hard to be skinny': Kelly Clarkson shuns extreme dieting... but admits she lost 18lbs when she 'fell in love'

Many of her contemporaries stick to supremely healthy diets and work out religiously to maintain their svelte figures.
But Kelly Clarkson admits she is no fan of 'working really really hard' to achieve the generic 'skinny' look.
'See, I'm not willing to do that,' the singer tells U.S.Cosmopolitan in their February 2013 issue. 'I'm willing to work a little bit because I want to be a healthy individual - which I always have been. I've put on weight, but that's just what I'm happy with at that moment. That's my life right then.'

Bride-to-be: Kelly Clarkson discusses her love life, lesbian rumours and her weight in the February 2013 issue of Cosmopolitan

Cover girl: The new interview appears in the February edition of Cosmopolitan magazine

Her yo-yo weight has long been an obsession for sections of the media with some reports suggesting she recently lost as much as 40lbs.
But Kelly says she lost 18lbs after making small lifestyle changes and 'falling in love' with her talent manager fiancé Brandon Blackstock.
'I think that happens when you fall in love or date someone,' she says. 'If I'm going to be kissing or messing around, I gotta look good. There's not a fad diet.'
Kelly reveals her weight also dropped from halving her portion sizes for two weeks, stopping late night eating and working out a little more. 
'I literally dropped 18 pounds in a month,' she says. 'I think it happens when you get really busy as well. But when I'm on my off-time - girl, those 18 might come back!'
The American Idol star says she and Brandon enjoy a healthy lifestyle together during her tours, which also helps maintain her weight.
'Brandon and I both have bikes on the back of the bus, and we both love the outdoors,' she says.
'Once your lifestyle becomes more active, obviously you drop weight. I wish people would stop talking about it, but I'm used to it after a decade. And I'm from a small town, so everybody has something to say about everything. I've grown up that way.'

So happy: Kelly and talent manager Brandon Blackstock announced their engagement last month after 18 months of dating

Yo yo weight: Kelly Clarkson, pictured in 2009 says she wants to maintain a healthy weight

Kelly was single for six years before she began dating Brandon back in February 2011 and tells Cosmopolitan she has 'never been truly loved like I am right now.'
However, she almost thought the romance was doomed when they planned their first date on the same day as the death of her singing hero Whitney Houston.
'This is the funniest/worst thing ever,' Kelly recalls. 'One of my superhero idols is Whitney Houston, and the day she died was our first date. I was like "This is a bad omen."
She announced her engagement to the 35-year-old on Twitter late last year, sharing a photograph of her canary yellow engagement ring with her Twitter followers.
''I'm engaged!!!!' she she tweeted. 'I wanted y'all to know!! Happiest night of my life! I am so lucky and am with the greatest man ever.'
Kelly previously called their relationship her 'best accomplishment' after her years of being unlucky in love.

She said: 'I completely fell in love. I did! Welcome to Cheeseville! I don't know. Your priorities kind of shift and you become happier and all that stuff.
'It's probably my best accomplishment because I think, for me, especially, I just didn't think it would happen.'
Kelly hasn't always been so gushing about her relationship and in May she did reveal that her happiness was taking a toll on her career.
She once said: 'It is killing me. I'm trying to write a tough song and it is coming out like butterflies and rainbows.'