Carrie Underwood has slimmed down considerably since her days as an American Idol contestant. Carrie has admitted that she was aware of some of the negative things people said about her weight on the internet, and that she made the choice to slim down as a result.

Carrie Underwood recently shared some of her secrets for staying fit with People magazine: everything in moderation (except maybe cheese) with a lot of cardio. Carrie says when some American Idol viewers were candid in their online postings about her weight, she decided to slim down but didn’t change her diet or fitness routine radically to do so.

“I do work out, but not with a trainer,” she says. “I just do lots of cardio.” And yet, after a whirlwind year (which included lots of awards and a second CD, Carnival Ride), Carrie is in better shape than ever. A longtime vegetarian, she says she watches what she eats but also admits to a weakness for cheese. “I can eat a pound of it,” she says. “It’s a real problem.”

Carrie says she also keeps a snack tucked in her red carpet bags at all times. “I carry [whole-grain] Kashi bars everywhere.”

[From Great American Country]

Underwood also told people that she’s a bit obsessive when it comes to watching what she eats. The way she phrases it (using the word “obsessive) makes it sound like she has some food issues, however when she says she’s “obsessive” she’s referring to writing down everything she eats. Food journaling is a cornerstone of many well-regarded diet plans like Weight Watchers. It serves to remind you what you’ve eaten.

American Idol winner and US chart topper Carrie Underwood’s apparently has a great diet tip – and it involves a pen and paper! “I’m slightly obsessive-compulsive about what I eat, more than I should be. I write down everything I eat,” the 24-year-old singer tells Glamour magazine in its January issue. “I started doing it last year. And the last year is when I’ve gotten more healthy and lost weight.”

[From This Is Nottingham]

To be honest I’d never noticed anything about Carrie’s weight on American Idol. They’ve had a wide variety of body styles over the years, which has been refreshing to see. Simon Cowell’s nasty remarks about contestant’s weight weren’t so great, but it’s good that people of all shapes and sizes were succeeding on the show. There have been some rumblings that Underwood has gotten too thin. Compared to some of the shrinking stars we’ve seen in the last few years, she seems alright. Like anything, the issue is knowing when to stop. She seems to have maintained her current weight for a while now, and is definitely drop-dead gorgeous.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Carrie at the 2005 Country Music Festival about three weeks after she won American Idol. I’m not sure what people were talking about in terms of her weight at the time, though she is definitely much thinner now. Header image at the Conde Nast Media Group Presents “2007 Movie Rocks” on December 2nd. Images thanks to PR Photos.