Reality star Christina Podolyan has revealed she lost three stone before going on Big Brother Australia.
The 22-year-old flight attendant said she turned to food for comfort following her parents' divorce when she was 13.
“I was in denial that I was indulging to numb the pain. By the time I was 17, I was 20kg [three stone] heavier. That’s when I really knew I’d had one too many doughnuts,” she told New Idea magazine.
In a bid to lose weight, the brunette turned to a series of fad diets – including one which advised her to eat only watermelon for an entire week.
Christina said: “Being 17, I was very uneducated and used Google to find the first fad diet out there.
"I even tried a watermelon-only diet for seven days.
“But after many failed attempts, I learned the best way for myself to lose weight is being on a calorie-deficit diet, which I combine with resistance training four days a week.”
By implementing this new fitness regime, Christina was able to shed the extra weight she gained and says she has never felt better.
Even though she eats a calorie-controlled diet, she still allows herself the odd treat now and again, such as pizza.
“I do not restrictively eat, but find a balance by making cleaner choices throughout the day,” she explains.
Christina was born in Israel but emigrated to Australia when she was 10 after her father deemed it too dangerous to live in Tel Aviv. She now lives in Melbourne.
She enjoyed a short-lived romance with her Big Brother co-star Brenton Balicki on the show.
But the reality star recently revealed the pair were no longer together, despite messaging each other “every day”.
She told 7News.com.au : "We are really good friends now.
“We message every day and it has become a nice friendship. But once we left the house, it had kind of run its course.”
Although Big Brother has now ended in the UK, it is still airing in Australia where they are in their 13th season, with a few weeks to go until the winner is crowned.
It was reported Katie Price, who is still fighting a £3.2 million bankruptcy case, had been offered a ‘substantial fee’ to make an appearance on the show Down Under.
In 2015 she beat Calum Best and Katie Hopkins to win the celebrity version of the UK show.
But a spokesperson for Katie shot down the rumours, saying: “I can confirm no such talks or conversation have been entered into with CCB OZ and Katie to appear on the programme.”
