“This time I’m losing the weight for me"
After losing 10st by following the advice of nutritionist Gillian McKeith on C4’s You Are What You Eat three years ago, Pop Idol winner Michelle felt she needed a break from hardcore dieting, but now she’s back on her quest for a slim figure.
Michelle, who’s 5ft 2 and weighed 23st at her biggest, says: “This time I’m losing the weight for me. I’m 28, and I’ve never been a size 10 in my adult life, so I’m determined to get there – hopefully by Christmas.”
Michelle, who’s currently 13st 5lbs and a size 16, has started a new healthy regime and cut out all alcohol. Her aim is to lose at least 31⁄2st and become a size 10.
She says: “The reason I’m not doing Gillian McKeith’s diet again is because my new plan is easier to stick to. I don’t want to be a yo-yo dieter. But I’ve incorporated lots of Gillian’s tips. She totally re-educated me on nutrition and diet.”
Michelle is also hitting the gym three times a week, and does a two-and-a-half- hour tap dancing lesson every Monday in her native city of Glasgow.
“It’s great,” laughs Michelle. “But my legs ache for days afterwards. In the gym I do 30-40 minutes on the cross trainer and then weights for half an hour. If I’m feeling good, I’ll also do another 10 minutes on the bike.”
Michelle hopes that her planned body transformation will lead to the rebirth of her music career. “I think the fact my career stalled was linked to my size", she admits.
“My music wasn’t successful because of the way I look, simple as that. I always knew I was going to struggle, and I never thought the press or public were wrong for slating me – it’s all about image nowadays.”
Despite having a No1 single after Pop Idol in 2003, and a hit album in 2004, her record label ditched her just a year later. But Michelle thinks that even X Factor winner Leona Lewis would have similar problems had she been larger.
She adds: “Her voice is miles better than mine – but Leona wouldn’t be where she is now if she was 23st, like I was, when she won. The record companies wouldn’t have stood by her. Mine didn’t. It’s hard to market a larger female singer – it’s not as if I could do a calendar in my smalls!
“I do wonder whether things will change when I’m a size 10,” she smiles. “My career could have a new lease of life.”