She has been admirably open about her weight struggles in the past. And now a more confident Gemma Collins has been wowing fans with her slimmed down figure – having lost an impressive two stone after changing her lifestyle.
The 35-year-old TOWIE glamourpuss is reportedly taking care of herself after helping her mum recover from a crippling bout of rheumatoid arthritis.
Gem was inspired to lose weight after seeing her mum suffer from the condition – which is more common among smokers and heavy drinkers, while excessive red meat consumption is also believed to be a contributing cause.
The reality star has now ditched alcohol and changed her diet in solidarity with her mum, Joan's new lifestyle.
"Gemma lost nearly 2st by cutting out alcohol and eating healthily," a source close to the star told Star magazine.
"She’s taking time to look after herself now that her mum Joan is doing better," the source added.
And Gemma hasn’t been keeping her new figure secret as she has been flooding her Instagram feed with slimmed down snaps of herself over the past few weeks.
Fans of the reality star – who uses her social media feed to highlight her own fashion line – have been stunned by her new look, flooding her comments feed with words of encouragement.
"I hadn’t seen pics of you for ages, you’ve lost so much weight!" said one congratulatory fan – while others remarked that she looks "fierce", “stunning”, and "fantastic".
Gemma has been incredibly open about her weight issues in the past.
In her 2013 autobiography, Basically… My Life as a Real Essex Girl, she explained how food had offered her comfort when she was insecure – with her binge eating 3,000 calories per day back when she was a size 10.
"Food became my friend. I would use it as an emotional crutch. Some people have a blanket or a teddy – for me, when I was eating I felt safe," she wrote.
She also detailed a humiliating experience where a magazine offered her a cash deal to lose weight – but rescinded on the deal after she failed to drop below a size 12, leading the star to question if she should quit the limelight.
"I was livid and for the first time I began to question whether I really wanted to be involved in an industry that treated people the way I had been treated," she said.
More recently, Gemma opened up about a decision she regretted where she would exploit her own weight issues for money.
"I can remember it all, them telling me ‘you need to go over to the park in gym wear’ and them saying ‘we want to get some terrible shots of you but then you will get £15,000 for the pictures’," she confessed on Channel 5’s In Therapy in June.
"Looking back now, I would never ever have gone down the route of the weight gain and weight loss but it was just a fast way to a quick bit of money," she said.
We’re glad Gem’s current regime is leaving her looking healthy and happy!
What do you think of Gemma’s incredible weight loss? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter (@CloserOnline).
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