EastEnders' Melissa Suffield says staggering weight loss not intentional but down to health issue
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A former EastEnders star has opened up on her recent weight loss, as she revealed it hasn't come from a new diet regime or workout plan. Melissa Suffield, who is best known for playing Lucy Beale as a surly teenager from 2004 until 2010, was previously a body positive champion embracing her fuller figure now she's a mother. Yet after suffering with "horrible nausea" last year, the former soap actress has seen her weight drop as she's now able to fit in her pre-pregnancy jeans.
Melissa was diagnosed with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) earlier this year, after more than 40 appointments with her GP and multiple tests to determine why she was left feeling sick and seeing her weight drop. Speaking in an interview to The Sun, Melissa explained: "Obviously, I've lost quite a lot of weight this year, but absolutely none of that has been through choice. None of it. Like I'm back in my pre-pregnancy jeans.".
The star, who gave birth to her son River in March 2020, has added that the weight loss and illness has left her with "no joy" and that she isn't delighted with her new figure, despite others envying it. She also highlighted that being slim doesn't mean she's healthy, as she revealed having SIBO has also impacted her skin and hair. She explained: "What it [losing weight because of SIBO] has helped me do is prove the point that I've always, always made, which is that you cannot define how healthy someone is, by how much they weigh, or how fat you think they look or whatever it is that you think you know.".
