Loose Women: Michelle McManus details weight loss
Michelle McManus shared a poignant revelation about her dramatic nine stone weight loss journey on Thursday.
The 44-year-old Pop Idol legend graced the Loose Women panel, where Coleen Nolan remarked: "I mean, you look fabulous, you've lost nine stone?" to which Michelle confirmed with gratitude: "Yeah, thank you!
"I had gained a lot of weight in Covid, I had my two babies back to back, I gained a lot of weight. I think you can be beautiful at any size, that's not what it's about, but I think for me, honestly, I just got to the stage where I was looking in the mirror and crying."
She continued, expressing her internal conflict: "I'm like: 'I should love my body, I've just had these two babies in my 40s' and I was really proud of that but I was just looking at myself going: 'I feel miserable'. Then I just decided, I got this amazing life coach, just cut my calories, started going to the gym!"
Michelle proudly stated: "I'm wearing a size 18 jumpsuit, which I never thought I'd actually say, but you know I'm a size 18. For a lot of people, that's where they start their journey, but for me I've got to 16-18 and I'm like: 'I'm so happy here, this is where I'm happy', I do", she added in a four-word statement: "I feel really content!"
Rising to fame after clinching the Pop Idol title in 2003, Michelle appeared on Channel 4's diet show You Are What You Eat in 2005. Following her TV stint, the spirited Scot released a book and DVD focusing on weight loss, reports the Mirror.
The Feeling Good sensation opened up to celebrity nutritionist Gillian McKeith about her indulgent evenings that included burgers, chips and eight whiskey and cokes in a single night.
Yet, under Gillian's guidance and a strict new diet plan, Michelle ceased drinking for five months, leading to an astonishing nine-stone weight loss from her initial 23 stone during her Pop Idol days.
Michelle made the life-changing decision to quit alcohol permanently six years ago upon discovering she was expecting her first child. She candidly shared on the Why Aren't You Drinking podcast how alcohol had been her crutch for battling low self-esteem and by her mid-30s she became worried about her safety after she would 'black out' after a night out.
The Glasgow-born vocalist revealed: "I stopped drinking in 2019 on the day I got my positive pregnancy test and it was a blessing for so many reasons.
"Falling pregnant helped me make the massive decision to give up alcohol which I had been too scared to make. I didn't really know who I was without alcohol, not because I felt really that I was dependent on it, but it had been such a huge part of my life and my persona."
Reflecting on her past, she added: "It was a form of escapism when I maybe wasn't reading such nice things about me or I didn't feel as confident as I do now. Alcohol was a way for me to go 'Goodbye world'."
Loose Women continues on weekdays at 12:30pm on both ITV and ITV X.
