A mum-of-three who won Stars in Their Eyes as Alison Moyet has opened up about her battle with eating.
Jacquii Cann, 55, from Hellesdon, won TV show Stars in Their Eyes back in 1993 for her performance as the singer behind hits including All Cried Out and Is this Love?
After winning the TV show, Ms Cann went on to sing around the UK, both as Alison Moyet and herself. But fans never knew the personal battle she was going through with her weight.
She would eat a whole tin of Quality Street in one sitting, and wake up at 2am and buy a tub of ice-cream.
Her diet consisted of fry-ups for breakfast, multi-packs of crisps for lunch and two or three Chinese takeways for supper, washed down with pints of lager and lime. At her heaviest she weighed 26 stone.
“I was addicted to food, I got so large, I couldn’t bend down to tie up my shoelaces, I felt physically sick when I looked at myself in the mirror,” she said. “I used to feel I was shunned, men never opened the door for me, I felt I was a disappointment.”
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After “trying every diet”, Ms Cann finally had a gastric band fitted. But after it caused her health problems with ulcers and gallstones, she realised the bingeing had to stop.
After reducing her portion sizes, buying an exercise bike and working on her mental health, Ms Cann has lost an incredible eight stone.
She still wants to lose a further six stone but is happy in herself and now works as an online vocal training coach while she can’t perform during the pandemic.
Ms Cann now wants to help others in their battle to lose weight – and has launched Fat2Health, which sees her post on social media and keep a video diary on YouTube about her personal journey. It’s attracted hundreds of followers from around the world.
“I suddenly had a light bulb moment, my weight would just yo-yo and I was fed up with the diets that made you feel so guilty if you ate something ‘naughty’,” she said.
“So what I do now is eat what I want but much smaller portions. If I want a burger and fries, I’ll have it and enjoy it but I won’t have a starter, a dessert or snack. The weight is coming off really well but I still have a long way to go. I feel free, like the chains have come off my body.
“People used to say I had no willpower but one day I thought, I have got willpower, I get up every morning to sing, I run my own business, so I can do it.”
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