'Food's like a drug' Chanelle Hayes opens up about her 3st weight gain and how she battles her unhealthy eating habits

She is the former Big Brother star who became a lads’ mag favourite.
But nowadays Chanelle Hayes is reluctant to strip off after putting on 3st, taking her to a size 14.
Speaking to Now magazine, the 25-year-old said: ‘I don’t feel comfortable in my clothes anymore.’

Curvy: Now a size 14, Chanelle says she aims to lose weight through sensible dieting and exercise

She explains that she went from being a svelte 9st at the start of the year to 11st 7lb.
Chanelle, who is mother to a three-year-old son by her footballer ex Matthew Bates, explained that after having her son, her weight dropped to 8st 7lb, but then her lifestyle as a stay-at-home mum meant that she developed bad eating habits.

She said: ‘Because I was a full-time mum I didn’t go out of an evening and so I’d eat and eat. The thing with me is that I’d eat out of boredom. I sit there and eat, so I end up fatter than I want to be.’

 

In her slimmer days: Chanelle is seen looking super-svelte in 2007

Four years ago she became addicted to liposuction in a bid to slim down to a size zero, but she reveals that motherhood has had a positive effect on her body image.
She said that salmon, prawns and crabs are the favourite foods of her youngster. 
She added: I need to be healthy for my boy. Eating disorders are on the rise in boys too and I don’t want him to head down that path.’
In the past she suffered from polycystic ovaries and depression, explaining that her medication gave her water retention and increased her appetite, resulting in her ‘eating out of habit as opposed to necessity’. 
She reached a crisis point last November on her 25th birthday when she was on a break from her boyfriend Jack Tweed, 26, and her weight reached 12st 10lb.
Just before Christmas the star eliminated processed foods from her diet and began eating chicken, fish and green veg, losing more than 3st.
She blames pizza for her weight gain, explaining: ‘Food can be an abused substance, especially carbs and processed foods. It’s addictive, especially when you’re depressed. Some people take drugs to get a high – it’s the same for me with food. I was getting a temporary high and then afterwards I’d feel worse.’
But luckily for the star she explains that her boyfriend Jack likes her weight ‘either way.’
Nowadays, Chanelle, who runs a cake shop, Love Cake Love Me, says she plans to lose weight by eating and exercising sensibly.