Idol Winner is Shedding the Pounds

Taylor Hicks, 30, has been hard at work shedding the pounds. Hicks' has plenty of reason to dance around shouting soul patrol and showing off his new trim physique. He's lost close to 22 pounds since he's started his new routine. Taylor went from 215 to 193 lbs since he won American Idol last season in May.

You may be wondering how he's done it. Well the answer is quite simple. Hicks' has stopped eating fast food and other unhealthy food such as friend chicken. Now he's eating salads, brown rice, fish and chicken noodle soup. "It's good for your throat," he says. "It's also comforting, but it's light."

Hicks' is currently on a 53 city tour to promote his new album, Taylor Hicks. He sticks to his new diet while on tour but on he says his day off is "kind of like my one sin day. I look for chocolate cake. If you're gonna do it, you might as well do it that way!"

Being on tour takes up a lot of your time and it's hard to find the time to exercise. Hicks' manages to run 45 minutes every other day to keep in shape. "I just take off running, with a hat on," he says. "I've walked through a thousand fans and nobody notices."

Running isn't the only exercise he gets. "I use a lot of the stage as exercise," says Taylor. "I wear jackets, and with those lights, I'm sweating off, like, two lbs. a night!"

Taylor Reuben Hicks (born October 7, 1976) is an American singer and musician. Hicks became a professional musician in his later teens and performed all over the Southeastern United States. He also released two independent albums during this time. He rose to fame after winning the fifth season of American Idol in 2006. After winning the competition he signed with Arista Records and released his first major album on December 12^th 2006. He styles his performances after soul, blues and R&B music. His fans call themselves the "Soul Patrol".

Taylor Hicks was born in Birmingham Alabama on October 7^th, 1976. His hair started turning gray by the age of 13. Hicks would sing to random strangers when he was 5 years old. He bought his first harmonica at 16 for $2 from a flea market and taught himself to play.

Hicks' continues to enjoy success with a number two spot on the Billboard 200 charts and a platinum certification of his album.

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