She has tried every diet under the sun in a bid to lose weight, but now Tina Malone has vowed never to embark on one again.
The Shameless star, who was recently caught taking cocaine backstage at a pantomime show, confessed that her latest no-sugar challenge had been an ‘eye opener’.
Tina, 54, was tasked with cutting out all types of sugar for four weeks as part of Channel 5’s Diet Secrets and How to Lose Weight. She lost 4 lbs, but struggled with the unexpected side effects like a lack of sleep and mood swings.
At the beginning of the challenge Tina – who has shed nearly 13 stone since having a gastric band fitted and several operations to remove excess skin – was told that her fat mass was still higher than the average.
Tina Malone was weighed and measured before she began the challenge and learned that she was still carrying excess fat
The actress said that she felt her sugar addiction was stopping her lose weight and cut it out for the Channel 5 challenge
Tina feared her addiction to sugar was slowly making her bigger again, and grabbed at herself as she complained: ‘I know where that fat is hidden, it’s there on my love handles.’
The size 8 star had to cut out sweet treats like chocolate, biscuits and cake, and was surprised to learn that sugar lurks in savoury food as well.
The fatigued actress moaned that she was finding it hard to cope without a sugar hit.
‘I’ve found it really difficult, I’ve had some sleepless nights,’ she said.
‘I don’t know whether it is my body partly, I never went through this with my [cosmetic surgery] operations, but maybe it’s my body acclimatising to the fact that I’m doing less sugar, which obviously in the long run works for the better.
‘I am not well, I am run-down, I am tired, I am overworked and underpaid, and under sugared.’
After the challenge, Tina admitted she’d been shocked by how difficult she had found it to avoid sugar entirely
Tina has shed nearly 13 stone since getting a gastric band fitted and has had several excess skin ops (pictured here, after shedding the weight, the same week as her cocaine bust)
Despite the unexpected side effects Tina said that she would make a conscious effort to cut down on her sugar intake in the future after it helped her to drop 4 lbs
Despite the mother-of-two having a blip on day 21, scoffing down chocolate in a sugar binge, she remained on the diet until the end and admitted she had seen a positive change.
‘I am gobsmacked that I lost two kilos (4 lbs) of weight, really surprised. I’ve found being on a sugar-free diet harder than I thought, because it’s hidden in every product.
‘It’s been quite an eye opener. I found sugar in savoury snacks, that are lower in fat and lower in salt. The healthy options had sugar in, the lower calorie stuff had sugar in.
She added: ‘I’m not going to do any more diets but I think I’ve learned to lower your sugar intake, I would say that to anyone. You will make healthy changes to your body and more importantly your life.’
Diet Secrets and How to Lose Weight is available to watch online at My5player