'People used to come up to me thinking was pregnant'

Chantelle Houghton has shown off the results of her incredible weight loss of almost 4st - and she tells us she's feeling better than ever after overhauling her life 16 months ago.
The former Celebrity Big Brother winner, 39, oozed confidence in a white bikini as she hit the beach during a holiday to Tenerife last week.
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Speaking exclusively to new, Chantelle says, "I feel amazing. I can't tell you how great I feel. Not just in myself, but even my skin, hair and nails are better. I'm so happy. I have a spring in my step and I'm ready for summer." Chantelle now weighs 9st 6lbs and is celebrating being back in size 8 clothes after she hit just over 13st in 2021. "I'm 3lbs shy of reaching a total weight loss goal of 4st. I'm very happy with where I am, but I want to lose those 3lbs," she explains.
The star adds that she's not on a strict diet, telling us that healthier choices have become part of her lifestyle. "It hasn't been brutally hard - it's just the way I live my life now," she says. "Over the years I've put on weight, lost the weight on a diet, then put the weight back on - it's been like a yo-yo.
"And when I wasn't on a diet, I wasn't eating properly. I'd skip breakfast and lunch, then I'd get to the point where I was so hungry I'd just eat rubbish, like McDonald's. Or I'd have a bag of crisps, a chocolate bar and a can of coke.
"Now, I've completely changed my diet and it's sustainable. I don't eat processed foods and I don't eat sugary stuff. I just eat natural sugars, like fruit. I love food so much. I eat a lot, but now it's healthy."
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Taking us through her daily diet, Chantelle says, "For breakfast I might have a couple of rice cakes with smashed avocado and a yogurt. If I was going to snack mid-morning, I'd maybe have some raspberries and blueberries or some cucumber. I also eat a lot of monkey nuts. For lunch I might have miso soup or sushi. And for dinner I have something like a tofu stir-fry or a big salad with steamed asparagus, broccoli, chia seeds and pine nuts. I've been vegan for the past five years, but I love vegetables and I absolutely love cooking so I don't find it hard at all."
When it comes to her exercise regime, Chantelle says she enjoys going for walks outdoors. "I don't do workouts, but I do walk a lot with my dog. That's really the only exercise I do," she says. "I'm always on the go, I'm not someone who just sits at home, but I do absolutely love walking. I probably go on three walks a week. I don't set myself any goals, I just walk until I don't want to walk any more. I just love being outside in nature."
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Chantelle who married Ordinary Boys singer Preston in 2006, but split 10 months later - first started her weight-loss journey in a bid to focus. on herself after breaking up with fiancé Michael Strutt in 2021.
"The break-up didn't affect me, to be honest. We were friends before and we knew each other for many years. Of course no break-up is nice, but it was one of the best break-ups I've had," she says. "It's more that I wanted to start concentrating on me and my life. I felt like I was surviving in my life and I realised I needed to look after myself and focus on my health and wellbeing."
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The mum-of-one knew she had to make a change when strangers mistakenly thought she was pregnant. "My tummy has always been my problem area. My limbs are like sticks...