Josie Gibson:
After dropping three dress sizes in just six months, new mum Josie Gibson says that despite a painful relationship split, she’s starting to feel like herself again
“I’ve lost over 2st and got my confidence back”
Posing in a bikini just six months after giving birth isn’t easy, so it’s no wonder Josie Gibson – who has lost over 2st and two to three dress sizes – is smiling. The 5ft 11 Big Brother star, who is mum to baby Reggie, has dropped from 16st 2lbs to 14st and gone from a size 18 to a size 12-14.
“I was feeling so sluggish and unfit, and it’s a lot easier being 2st lighter,” she smiles. “I put on so much weight during pregnancy and felt very un-sexy. It’s only now that I’m starting to feel a little bit more put together; it’s amazing to feel your confidence coming back. The other day I went out to Raver Tots [a daytime child-friendly rave], which sums up what my life is like now! And I thought, ‘Ooh, I do feel a little bit good.’”
Josie has been following Musclefood’s Do The Unthinkable plan – a personalised meal delivery service based on calorie- controlled healthy eating, alongside at-home workouts. Typically, breakfast is pancakes or porridge, while lunch is a microwave meal like Thai curry and rice, or Mexican bean salad, and dinner tends to be a stir-fry, or peri-peri chicken with vegetables.
HEALTH FEARS
But Josie, 34, admits that her weight loss regime, which she started in November when she’d stopped breastfeeding, was mostly sparked by fears for her health.
“My joints were hurting and I was so tired all the time. I knew I needed to do something,” she tells Closer. “I wanted to be healthy and now I feel much better and I’m getting stronger.”
Josie famously lost 6st in 2012, dropping from a size 20 to an 8, followed by a tummy tuck in 2016. And she managed to maintain the weight loss until 2017, when she admits she got comfortable in her relationship with property developer Terry, 48, and then fell pregnant – weighing in at 17st just before giving birth to son Reggie.
But Josie says that despite her recent weight loss, she’ll never go back to being a size 8 and that being a mum has given her a new perspective.
“There’s no way I could be a size 8 now I’ve got Reggie,” she says. “I was exercising all the time, cycling everywhere and being really careful with what I ate. I don’t have time for any of that now. I’ve always said I want to settle at a size 12, so I might lose a bit more weight, but nothing extreme.”
EMOTIONALLY DRAINED
Just three months after having Reggie, the star sadly split from her partner Terry following a row at Christmas, which saw him ask her to leave their home. And despite going through a really tough period, Josie admits that eating well has helped her to cope.
She reveals, “When you’re not sleeping and are emotionally drained, it’s exhausting, so having a bit more energy from eating good food made me feel so much better. Eating badly would have just made me feel worse.”
Speaking about the split, Josie – who is currently dividing Reggie’s week between herself and Terry – says she’s not sure what the future will hold.
BITTER BREAK-UP
She says, “Terry’s an amazing dad to Reg, I can’t fault him on that. And we are friends again now. He’s even asked me to go back, but I’m a proud woman. I love him and he’ll always be Reg’s dad, but at the moment I’m still quite bitter about everything that’s happened.” Despite a difficult year so far, Josie says that she’s tried her best to remain upbeat. She explains, “I’ve really struggled these last couple of months, but everything seems better with Reg. Even though he doesn’t sleep and I’m like a zombie half of the time, I just look at him and he makes everything feel all right.”
‘I was so sluggish and unfit – now I’m getting stronger’