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Jessie Wallace: How I lost two stone in six weeks
Updated 08:27am on 7 Jul 2009A "life-changing" diet and exercise regime helped ex-EastEnders star Jessie Wallace lose two stone in six weeks, the actress said.
From looking like a "butch Barbara Cartland" on last year's Strictly Come Dancing, this summer sees her brave enough to pose in a swimming costume and figure-hugging dresses for a magazine photoshoot.
Before and after: Jessie Wallace says she has transformed from being a 'butch Barbara Cartland'
Inspired to slim down after watching herself on the BBC celebrity dance show, personal trainers Paul Ellis and Tom Stockwell promised improvements if she took their advice.
The 5ft 2ins actress, 37, rose to the challenge and went from 10 stone to 8 stone, dropping from a size 16 to size 10.
She said she noticed results after a fortnight of following the plan, which involved cutting out wheat, dairy and alcohol, eating more fruit, vegetables, fish, nuts and seeds as well as going to the gym and running.
Wallace, who played Kat Slater in the BBC soap, told Reveal magazine: "They said: 'We can change you in six weeks' and I thought it was such a great opportunity that I'd give it a go. They explained the training programme and the diet and I just got cracking and because I've loved the food and started to see real results after just two weeks, it's been easy to stick to it. It really has changed my life."
The actress, who has a four-year-old daughter, Tallulah, said she initially found it hard to give up alcohol and chocolate and struggled to lose baby weight around her tummy.
"But now I'm actually beginning to see a little bit of a six pack coming through instead of a beer barrel," she added, saying the programme has changed her attitude to food and exercise.
Wallace, who left Albert Square in 2005, told the magazine that when she watched Strictly Come Dancing she looked like a "big bear", wearing dresses that accentuated her "big back".
She said: "I thought blimey it looks like a coffee table! The final dress that I wore for Strictly... made me look like a butch Barbara Cartland!"
With gym visits three times a week plus jogging near her Essex home and having successfully turned her back on the "buttery toast, cheese and pizza" she used to love, Wallace said she could not imagine going back to how she was.
"I'm just so full of energy and it's the best feeling ever," she added. "I used to look 20 stone, now I look in my 20s!"
:: The full interview appears in the latest edition of Reveal magazine, on sale today.
Reader views (17)
all i can say is well done!!! she looks amazing, this is my second week on her plan i have aleady lost 7lbs ,and i feel fantastic,on the inside and out.i am the same height as Jessie and was the same dress size.,but ive now dropped one dress size already It doesn't matter if she is "a has been" as you put it, she still achieved what she wanted and that is to improve her life and change it,and now she's motivating me to do the same! , i say good on you you look fantastic!!!!!!
Fast results.... fast work out...Fantastic!!!!
- Vicki Kinsley, hitchin Herts, 15/04/2010 18:24
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I think she as achieved an amazing result. i now she had a personel trainer and I supose someone to cook her food, which we would all like, but at the end of the day if your mind is not in the right place you would not achieve these results, so I have to say well done for all the hard work.. I have had a really bad 3 years myself , broke my leg and would love the eating plan she was given to get this success.#
Thanks
Andrea
- Andrea Jones, barry, vale of glamorgan., 20/02/2010 22:10
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Don't hate - appreciate!
- Nice Person, London, England, 03/01/2010 21:10
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Jessie looks amazing, it takes hard work, focus and determination to achieve this look, albeit she had the help of professionals to keep her motivated, still well done! The rest of us will have to be content with her dvd and a lot of willpower!!
Good luck to anyone who's thinking about changing how they look!
- Elaine Murray, Aberdeen, 30/12/2009 09:21
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I have met this woman in the flesh and there was never much of it to start with so I'm sure 2 stone would make a big difference to her. But this does smack of scraping the bottom of the barrel for attention. Just another pathetic, boozy, washed up actress who never did anything worth writing home about to start with.
- Sarah Bradshaw, Enfield, Middx, 30/12/2009 08:21
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What a bitchy crowd.
- John, East Grinstead, UK, 30/12/2009 08:21
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I think she looks better with a bit of meat on her. She wasn't fat to start with and now she looks like a lollipop kid. Plus stop putting women in those horrible shoes. They make their legs look short and dumpy when they're not.
- S-M Hearmon, London, UK, 30/12/2009 08:21
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What a delciate litte bruiser. Unfortunately she has the aura of a frumpy chav no matter what she weighs. Someone find her a shift as a dinner lady.
- Amy, London, 30/12/2009 08:21
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Val Daniels - if you believe the only measure of success in life can be measured through celebrity style antics then I feel sorry for you.
- Sarah Bradshaw, Enfield, Middx, 30/12/2009 08:21
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she went on a diet. Nothing special, just a regular normal diet, hardly life changing...
move on, nothing to see here...
- Joanna Carling, london, 30/12/2009 08:21
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Jessie if you are reading this you give us size 14 mums hope, if you need someone for a dvd contact me xxx
- Sonia Ellis, Washington, Tyne and Wear, 30/12/2009 08:21
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Wow, she looks incredible! I've never seen her look so slim and toned before.
- Sam, uk, 30/12/2009 08:21
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Joanna, did you forget to drink your saucer of milk this morning?
- Lee, London, 30/12/2009 08:21
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My wife lost a similar amount of weight in a much shorter time, though to be fair it was when she lost a leg in an industrial accident.
- Keith, King's Cross, London, 30/12/2009 08:21
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I think she looks lovely. She looks fresh faced and happy. What's not to like?
- Kim, Lancing, West Sussex, 30/12/2009 08:21
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All i can say is well done Jessie! I do think she was lovely before the weight loss, but she looks fantastic now! All the catty coments must be from jealous people!
- Debbie, wickford,essex, 30/12/2009 08:21
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# joanna carling
# sarah bradshaw
Sorry, did I miss the news about your personal achievements, or the time when you were voted the most popular TV personality?
- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa, Spain, 30/12/2009 08:21
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