Former Pop Idol champion Michelle McManus has opened up about the catalyst behind her dramatic weight loss, discussing her journey on Good Morning Britain with Kate Garraway and Rob Rinder.
In Friday’s episode of the show, the Scottish singer recounted shedding an impressive nine stone. She shared: “In my 20s and 30s I was so focused on going back to Scotland and having a go at this broadcast career and really making myself a success that I didn’t really focus at all on my weight.”
Michelle went on to tell the hosts about meeting her husband in her 40s and starting a family with him.
She continued: “They’re four and two now. When I had my children, it was like a light switch went off because all of a sudden it wasn’t about me anymore.”, reports the Mirror.
The star expressed how the birth of her children led to fears about her mortality, saying: “I just started to have seriously dark thoughts about me passing away and not being there for the kids.”
Now 44, she explained to Garraway and Rinder that her children’s arrival made them her top priority and sparked a desire to be the best version of herself.
Rob, seeking clarity on her weight loss method, asked if she had used Ozempic, which she refuted, noting her type one diabetes.
Michelle disclosed that her attempts to lose weight often backfired, leading to further weight gain.
She concluded: ” I was looking at myself in the mirror and I should be thinking, ‘Look this body has given you these two kids and your career is going great’ but I was really miserable when I looked in the mirror.”
Michelle McManus, the former Pop Idol champion, has candidly shared that her journey to sobriety wasn’t driven by vanity or numbers on a scale but rather a desire for self-acceptance. She confessed, “I wanted to look in the mirror and think ‘I really like you’.”
Exploring every avenue, including the possibility of surgery, Michelle eventually found that a calorie deficit was the right fit for her.
Her transformation began to take shape through weight training, swimming, and a new approach to eating, leading to noticeable changes over time.
Despite not being an avid user, Michelle decided to embrace social media, stating, “I don’t use social media, I’m hopeless on social media and I thought, ‘You know, for the first time in my life I’m going to put myself back out there’.”
She’s historically avoided discussing her weight online due to potential backlash, explaining, “I kind of shy away from anything to do with my weight online because I feel like the repercussions can be quite negative.”
However, after shedding the pounds, Michelle was eager to share her success with Kate and Rob, and the feedback she received was overwhelmingly supportive.
She expressed her delight at the reaction: “It’s been the most joyous experience on social media, people have been so positive and it’s been lovely. I think the message is exactly what you said, it’s body positivity.”
Michelle concluded with a powerful reflection on her transformation: “It’s not because that person before wasn’t beautiful, I just couldn’t connect with that person in the mirror and now I’m in a place where I look at myself and I really like what I see and I’m really happy.”
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am