'I was out of control': Chanelle Hayes reveals how 10 years of taking laxatives and eating 'a tin of tomatoes' sparked food addiction which saw her weight creep to 17 stone
Chanelle Hayes took laxatives for 10 years and would only eat a tin of tomatoes in a bid to look 'skinny like Victoria Beckham' during her battle with yo-yo dieting.
The 33-year-old, whose weight has fluctuated over the years, catapulted into the spotlight on Big Brother 2007 and soon signed lucrative contracts showing off her size six figure in lads' magazines.
But as the deals dried up, Chanelle found her weight creep up to 17stone 4lbs at her heaviest, after bingeing on Domino's pizza, doughnuts and Coca Cola.
Story: Chanelle Hayes has revealed how 10 years of taking laxatives sparked food addiction that saw her weigh 17 stone (pictured left after gastric sleeve surgery, right 17st in 2019)
Now in an interview with The Sun, the mother-of-two has shared how gastric sleeve surgery helped her curb her compulsive eating habits and develop a healthy relationship with food.
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Reflecting on how fame exasperated her desire to be 'skinny', Chanelle recalled: 'My life post Big Brother, my eating habits got worse, everyone I hung out with in London was even smaller than me, so I felt so big. They all took drugs, which I guess explains why they were thin, but that was not something I was into.
'I was living in hotels and would not eat anything all day, if I got absolutely starving I would eat a tin of tomatoes with hot sauce, then take laxatives, I thought I was setting myself up for this amazing life but in truth I was always on my own and it was so lonely.'
Shocking: Chanelle took laxatives for 10 years and would only eat a tin of tomatoes in a bid to look like Victoria Beckham during her battle with yo-yo dieting (pictured in 2007)
Yo-yo: The television personality found herself in a vicious cycle of overindulging and then trying to compensate for her actions by taking laxatives (left in 2019, right after surgery)
Weight loss: By 2013, Chanelle's weighed 13.5 stone and was offered a chance to lose weight with a slimming pill company, and lost 5st in four months (pictured 2014)
At 8.5 stone, Chanelle moved up north to Wakefield to live near family but found she had begun to binge on food when she fell pregnant with son Blakely, now 11.
The television personality found herself in a vicious cycle of overindulging on takeaways, feeling guilty and then trying to compensate for her actions by taking laxatives and overexercising.
By 2013, Chanelle's weighed 13.5 stone and was offered a chance to lose weight and make money by signing a contract with a slimming pill company, and lost 5st in four months.
Feeling fab: The gastric sleeve surgery has given the BB star a new lease of life. Now weighing 9.5 stone Chanelle says she is the 'happiest I've ever been both physically and mentally'
Yet three years later, a failed relationship and now a single mum to two boys, Chanelle found her food addiction 'totally out of control' and weighing 14.5stone.
'People just thought I was greedy but I was beyond the point of control and my addiction was really taking hold. I decided to have gastric sleeve surgery in 2020 after going up to 17st 4lb,' Chanelle said.
Before undergoing the procedure, the reality stars said 'lived like a hermit for a year' as she felt 'so ashamed' of her weight.
But the gastric sleeve surgery has given the BB star a new lease of life. Now weighing 9.5 stone Chanelle says she is the 'happiest I've ever been both physically and mentally'.
The television personality admits while she would love to remove her 34F breast implant and 'doesn't love her loose skin' but is trying to 'embrace her body'.
Chanelle said the surgery was a last resort and she had it because 'I was an addict and felt powerless', and that having it can 'save your life'.
Lifestyle change: The television personality admits while she would love to remove her 34F breast implant and 'doesn't love her loose skin' but is trying to 'embrace her body'
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