Pictured shooting her latest music video in LA last week, Cheryl Cole stunned onlookers with her washboard abs and super-toned legs. But, while the singer looks in the best shape of her life, Closer can reveal that her killer curves are the result of a strict diet and fitness plan she started a month ago.
A source says: “Cheryl needed something dramatic to give her a shake because she’s been struggling to motivate herself. Her regime is tougher than anything she’s ever done before and she’s completely changed her eating habits.
She used to eat breakfast at around 11am and dinner at 9pm, but now she’s on three small nutritious meals a day and has a strict list of dos and don’ts. There’s zero room for manoeuvre.
“Breakfast is now an omelette made from two egg whites, lunch is grilled chicken and beans, then dinner – which is eaten no later than 6pm – is seafood and salad, a baked potato and one treat from a selection of yoghurts, berries and cereal bars.”
And pals add that Cheryl’s perfectly toned body is also the result of hours spent working out in the gym, as well as making sure she gets nine hours’ sleep a night.
A source says: “Cheryl used to get just five hours’ sleep a night and it left her too tired to do a proper workout. Now, she goes to bed at 9.30pm and wakes up at 6.30am for two-hour workout sessions, only having one day off a week.
She does an hour of cardio that she refers to as the ‘hell hour,’ 300 sit-ups and ab exercises. It’s been so tough, she’d sometimes collapse in pain at the end. She lost 4lbs in the first week.”
Pals say Cheryl is so thrilled with the results, she’s determined to try to maintain her new regime for another two weeks. She’s told friends “getting this body was hell, but it’s been worth it.”
"I have a pair of jeans one size bigger than the other just in case that week I’m a little bit heavier.”
As well as her strict diet and workout regime, pals reveal the star also embarked on a five-week detox, which involved ditching alcohol and taking supplements.
The pal adds: “Cheryl has specially made vitamin and protein supplements, which she had to drink every three hours. She loves a glass of wine when she’s watching TV, but she cut out booze for a few weeks and the effect was amazing.”
Snaps of Cheryl’s trim new look emerged in the same week that the singer revealed all about her battle with her weight. Opening up in an interview, she confessed: “I’m like any other woman, my weight fluctuates. I have a pair of jeans one size bigger than the other just in case that week I’m a little bit heavier.”
And, as well as unveiling her new body last week, Cheryl, 28, also launched a scathing attack on her former fellow X Factor judge and Girls Aloud manager, Louis Walsh.
In an interview, she claimed he failed to manage the band properly, saying: “We never had management. Louis claimed to be our manager but he never did it. He just took the cheque.”
But Louis, 59, was quick to respond to Cheryl’s jibes. He’s said to have told a friend: “As far as I’m concerned, our friendship is over. I won’t stand for anyone criticising me professionally.”