I Don't Do Post Baby Diets

Carrie Grant’s normally svelte figure ballooned to 12 ½ stone while she was pregnant with her third child. But within just eight months of giving birth, the Fame Academy voice coach has lost an incredible 4st.

During each of my pregnancies I’ve always put on a lot of weight, but this time I grew really big. My normal weight is 9st and when I was pregnant with Olivia, now 11, and Talia, four, I weighed 11st, but on this occasion it shot up.

I ate the same as before. I’m a firm believer in listening to your body and eating what you want. I followed the same sort of activities and hardly drank any alcohol because of the health risks. But by the time Imogen was due I weighed over 12 ½st.

Within a few weeks of giving birth, I’d lost a stone. I was still overweight, but I was determined not to do anything drastic. I’ve seen so many people get screwed up by going on crazy diets. I was still breast-feeding, so didn’t want to go on a diet anyway. I’m actually anti-dieting and believe you should accept the way you are and listen to your body. I eat when I’m hungry and don’t when I’m not.

Having suffered from Chron’s disease since I was 18, I’ve learnt to avoid certain foods that may trigger the condition, such as dairy products, white wine and fruits such as oranges or pineapples.

One of the great things about being pregnant is that it gets you into good habits, particularly as far as alcohol is concerned. I’ve never been a big drinker, although I’m partial to the odd glass of champagne - but even now, months after Imogen’s birth, I still don’t fancy a drink.

Four months after Imogen was born, I began to excersise. I’d run for 20 minutes, three times a week, then at the park I’d do two sets of 20 triceps dips on the bench. At home, I’d do two sets of 10 sit-ups every day. Within a month I’d lost another ½st.

Getting lots of sleep also helped. David and I have always been very disciplined with our children and their sleep routines from birth. They all sleep for long hours, which means that, as well as getting my life back, I’m not snacking on carbs, sugar and fizzy drinks to get me through the day.

After six weeks of exercising, the weight was just falling off me. By the time I went to Africa to film Safari School, I’d lost almost 2st. Although I couldn’t go running there because it was so hot, I managed to do some sit-ups and press-ups. The heat also meant that I didn’t have much of an appitite.

By the time I got back to the UK in July, I was down to 8 ½st and the high temperatures here meant that I didn’t eat much here either. Now I’m back into all my pre-pregnancy clothes - without any crash dieting or working myself into a frenzy at the gym.