But tipping the scales at nearly 18st, the former Australia’s Biggest Loser presenter has since put most of the weight back on – a danger she warns Brit weight-loss star Josie Gibson is risking.
‘I think Josie will put the weight on again,’ she has told a UK magazine.
'She'll do anything to maintain her body as it's whats making her money'
She added: ‘I can imagine there’s quite a lot of pressure on her because once you lose so much weight there’s a lot of opportunities to become a professional weight loss machine and that’s dangerous.
‘She’ll be doing anything to maintain her body as it’s what’s making her money,’
Asked what advice she’d give Josie, 44 year-old Ajay said: ‘I’d tell her to get therapy to make sure that she has the tools to stay healthy.’
Ajay lost weight to ensure she would be around to see her son Kai, now 13, grow up, and her weight-loss diary became a best-selling book.
But when she began hosting the TV weight-loss show, Ajay started ‘starving during the day and binge eating at night’ to keep the weight off, and her size began to yo-yo.
'I want to be thinner but I don't want to have to starve to do it'
When her newfound fame brought with it nasty comments posted online, Ajay became obsessed with her size.
‘I was miserable,’ she said.
Asked why she regained all the weight, Ajay said: ‘I gave up on myself and on life – I binged for years and nearly died many times.’
After ballooning to a dangerous 17st 13lb by eating 4000 – 5000 calories a day ‘on a constant binge,’ Ajay has vowed to lose weight again without falling back her yo-yoing habits.
‘I don’t want it to be all or nothing in my life any more – If I’m not bingeing, I’m usually starving myself to death. That’s simply no way to live.’
‘I want to be thinner but I don’t want to have to starve to do it.’ I just want to be alive,’ she added.