Chanelle Hayes, 33, the 2007 Big Brother Favorite, has shown off her noticeably slimmer figure in before and after pictures following her 7-stone (44 kg) weight loss.
She underwent a gastric sleeve operation in August 2020 after her “addiction to food” ended up “spiraling” during the first lockdown.
Chanelle, who now weighs just over 10 stone (63 kg), took the opportunity to tell her fans, the top things she’s learned from having weight loss surgery.
“It does not change my relationship with food,” she wrote on Instagram. “Bariatric surgery is only a tool, if I don’t use it consistently and correctly it will fail. Addressing abnormal relationships with food is so important if I want to become healthier physically and mentally.”
She also mentioned that: “not everyone will understand my choice and that’s ok”.
“Believe me, it is not easy (wish it was!) and it was not an option I took lightly,” she explained. “But it has been the best decision I’ve made in terms of my health.”
She also added that “exercise is different now” and that “I’ve always enjoyed working out”.
“I actually feel proud to exercise and improve my body after all the junk I’ve been feeding it all these years. It’s my way of saying “hey body, I’m sorry for abusing you…here’s an olive branch” (or a dumbbell)”.
The Big Brother favorite has shared how much she enjoys this year’s heat with her new look.
She posted before and after pictures on Instagram with a caption: “I have definitely enjoyed the hot weather much more this year.”
In the photo, she posed in a sports bra and pants for both pics and got her arms raised in front of her.
“Losing so much body fat has made the heat enjoyable instead of unbearable.”
“Plus, this summer I can actually fit down the treehouse slide which Frankie has loved because I can actually play with him this year. (Blakely still maintains I am uncool and embarrassing regardless of whether I can fit down the slide or not lol).”
“No holidays abroad for us this year anymore, but Costa del Yorkshire is good enough for us. We had Turkey and Mexico canceled… what about you guys? 🤷🏻♀🤷🏻♀🤷🏻♀ The diff in weight between these pics is 106lbs and dress sizes are 18 and 10”
Chanelle is a mother to two sons, Blakley, 10, and Frankie, 3.
She was first discovered on Channel 4’s Big Brother in 2007 when she was just 19 and sported an incredibly slender figure.
The star stated that it was in her second pregnancy that she noticed her weight escalate, in addition to the stress of transferring home. The reality star strived to get on top of her bad habits and saw the pounds pile on.
Chanelle says she was obliged to face the truth when her blood pressure increased, and she suffered a rising heart rate.
Chanelle previously told how she weighed over 17 stones at her biggest.
She shared impressive before and after photos as she announced the news. The mother of two captioned it with: “So I hit a personal goal recently and now weigh back inside the 9 stones! But not everything is about what it says on the scales…”
“In the first pic on the left, I didn’t even know my weight because I didn’t want to… Although I know it was around 17 stone as I had surgery not too long from that pic (I took that picture to use as inspiration to get healthy again).”
“What I do know is that I couldn’t walk up the stairs that day and opted for the escalator on that trip. I also had to put talc under my boobs, in between my thighs, and under my upper arms to stop the rashes I would get from chafing.”
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“I avoided every mirror or reflection and generally did not care about or like myself very much,” she wrote.point 105 | “On the right pic, I still get nervous around my reflection in case I see the person I was before who was so desperately unhappy and I still get under boob chafes, but I feel so proud to post myself looking and feeling confident and healthy again”.point 315 | 1
“My weight and addiction to food have held me back for so many years I have to pinch myself when I remember I am healthy again and can fit into normal-sized clothes without a crying episode in the changing rooms.”