Melissa Suffield admits she felt 'healthier when bigger' as she discusses dramatic weight loss caused by chronic illness
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Melissa Suffield opened up about battling a 'frustrating' chronic illness which caused her a dramatic weight loss - but she 'felt happier when bigger'. The body-positivity advocate, 31, was diagnosed with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) after feeling nauseous for months, with doctors struggling to find the cause.
![[The body-positivity advocate was diagnosed with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) after feeling nauseous for months , with doctors struggling to find the cause]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/18/00/93255475-14203615-The_body_positivity_advocate_was_diagnosed_with_small_intestinal-a-81_1734481135253.jpg)
The EastEnders star, who played Lucy Beale in the BBC soap for six years until 2010, got candid about how the chronic disease affects her on a daily basis, revealing she is now 'less healthy' than she was a year ago. Admitting 'nothing' about the 'frustrating' condition has been through choice, Melissa said she currently wears her pre-pregnancy jeans.
![[Explaining she didn't lose weight by choice, she told The Sun: 'But there's no joy. I don't enjoy the fact that that's happened at all in the way that you know, that's like a goal for a lot of people' (pictured recently after weight loss)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/18/00/93254919-14203615-Explaining_she_didn_t_lose_weight_by_choice_she_told_The_Sun_But-a-82_1734481141572.jpg)
'But there's no joy. I don't enjoy the fact that that's happened at all in the way that you know, that's like a goal for a lot of people,' she told The Sun. 'It was never a goal for me. But B, this is the complete antithesis of whatever I've ever wanted with my body.'.
![[Melissa revealed she reached 40 GP visits only within this year, while being 'bounced around from this department to this department']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/18/00/93255837-14203615-She_didn_t_shy_away_from_detailing_the_gruelling_commutes_to_the-a-83_1734481147789.jpg)
Melissa Suffield opened up about battling a 'frustrating' chronic illness which caused her a dramatic weight loss - but she 'felt happier when bigger'. The body-positivity advocate was diagnosed with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) after feeling nauseous for months , with doctors struggling to find the cause.
![[Earlier in July this year, Melissa issued a health update after undergoing an 'endoscopy' for her - at the time - mystery illness]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/18/00/87155813-14203615-Melissa_Suffield_has_issued_a_health_update_as_she_was_initially-a-76_1734480824506.jpg)
The media personality admitted the chronic illness has significantly affected her skin and hair health. '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,' she said.
![[Melissa explained she has now had her B12 iron appointment and her first NHS gastro appointment]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/18/00/87155819-14203615-Melissa_who_played_Lucy_Beale_in_the_BBC_soap_of_six_years_until-a-77_1734481021668.jpg)
