Inside Gemma Collins' weight loss journey – from skinny injections to healthy living

Gemma Collins has managed to smash her goal and shift the weight over the last year.

Back in 2016, the self-confessed diva, who turns 41 on January 31, was advised by doctors to try and lose weight after they shared the complications she may have when trying to conceive.

After the consultation, the starlet has slowly been making an effort to cut back on sugary sweets but it wasn’t until 2021 that the diva really focused her efforts into slimming down.

Previously, The Only Way Is Essex star has experimented with everything from fad diets, juice camps and even used skinny jabs to help bring down the scales which caused her to yo-yo over the years.

But in recent years, the GC has returned to the tried-and-true methods of healthy eating and regular exercise to help her lose weight.

And after following a strict diet and completing countless gruelling workouts, the TV personality has been able to do just that.

As the blonde bombshell progresses with her impressive weight loss routine, the Daily Star has taken a look back through the ups and downs of her weight loss journey to the healthy lifestyle the starlet maintains to this day.

Juice camps and hypnotherapy

Back in 2015, Gemma turned to the help of lifestyle guru Jason Vale who introduced her to his weight loss juices.

At the time the TV star refused to take her weight loss seriously, and instead looked for a quick fix to solve her problems.

In doing this, the diva took herself to a £5,000-a-week camp which helps people lose weight by going without food for a week.

During the week-long trip, customers live off of nothing but freshly-pressed drinks in order to cut down their eating habits.

Over the course of four weeks, Gemma managed to lose two and a half to three stone while at his lavish retreat in Portugal.

At the time, the juice master himself told the Mirror: “She lived on nothing but freshly pressed juice.

“She has been doing exercise as well but not military-style. None of it is forced. Nobody can force Gemma to do anything, frankly.”

In that same year, the reality star also tried her luck at hypnotherapy in order to gradually bring down the scales.

The star was hypnotised into believing she’d had a gastric band fitted to help progress her weight loss efforts.

She told Now! Magazine at the time that it helped her drop two dress sizes, noting: “I’ve gone from a size 22 to an 18.

“I had a bit of 3D lipo and saw a hypnotist called Robert Hisee, who put a gastric band in me.

“Now I have four mouthfuls of food and I can’t eat any more. I feel like I can’t breathe, I’m so full.”

Dancing on Ice

In 2018, Gemma signed up for Dancing On Ice in a bid to refocus her efforts onto her weight loss journey.

And as she progressed her regular training sessions with her skating partner Matt Evers, Gemma boasted about her impressive weight loss online.

When training started, Gemma confessed to New! Magazine: “This dress I’m wearing is a size 24 but it’s too big.

“I should be wearing a 22. So, there’s no doubt that between now and January I’m going to lose weight.”

She added: “I’m mainly doing the show for the amazing outfits and as a way of losing weight.

“If I commit myself to training and eating well, I think I could really get in shape by doing the show.”

The show forced the TV star into a hectic schedule of intense training which helped the weight fall off her as she later revealed she lost two stone thanks to the ice skating programme.

When her professional dance partner caught up with The Sun, he revealed that Gemma had, in fact, asked to double their training sessions and often turned up to lessons with the star already warming up in the rink.

At the time, Matt confessed that the show had completely transformed her both mentally and physically.

He told the publication: “She says she feels stronger, she can feel her core strength as we have started including a few sit ups and squats to warm up to now.

“There’s an emotional transformation too, in all areas of her life.”

Vegan lifestyle

As she dropped the pounds on the popular ITV show, Gemma hopped on the Vegan bandwagon in a bid to cut out excessive unhealthy food.

Although a meat and dairy-free diet doesn’t necessarily mean a healthy diet, the star soon took to Twitter to preach about “eating life not death” as she showcased her impressive two and a half stone weight loss.

She told her fiercely loyal fans: “Thanks for your weight loss comments my hard work is defo paying off #veganlifestyle #eatlifenotdeath.”

But she soon had a change of heart when she later announced she had reintroduced steak and meat back into her diet.

Skinny Jabs

In August last year, the star found herself at the heart of a controversial storm as she promoted the use of diet injections from the company Skinny Jab that acted as an appetite suppressant.

In order to keep the weight off, Gemma confessed she had started using the questionable weight loss aid throughout lockdown.

As she plugged the product online, she revealed how the injections had been helping her bring down the scales despite not being able to work out at her local gym.

She penned: “Lots of you been asking me how I am looking so good. I need to tell you about how amazing the team at Skinny Jab have been throughout lockdown.

“Keeping on track of my weight loss and continuing to stay motivated has never been easier with skinny jab on board. Honestly, Caroline and her team have been the best support!”

She added: “Not only have they kept my supply of jabs up to date, they’ve also been providing me with meal plans and weekly check-ups with how I’m getting on.”

But the reality star was met with a wave of backlash from users online who argued that she was promoting “dangerous” diet injections.

Experts and dieticians in the field also took to the popular social media platform to raise their concerns about the appetite suppressant injections which could be “life threatening” and should only be prescribed by a doctor.

It has since been revealed that jabs like these could come with a slew of harmful side effects including diarrhoea, dizziness, headaches, insomnia, skin reactions, toothache and vomiting.

Looking back on her decision to use the controversial weight loss aid, Gemma confessed she regrets using and promoting the product to her 2.2 million followers online.

As she reflected on the experience, she told listeners on the Gemma Collins podcast: “I kind of regret doing it but I feel like sometimes you’re in such a desperate place and you want to lose weight but actually I’ve come away from all the diet promotion because I wish we could get rid of that word diet.”

Cryotherapy

At the start of this year, Gemma returned to her extreme weight loss techniques in a bid to keep off the weight, including cryotherapy.

Back in January, the TV star revealed how she had quickly become hooked on the freezing temperature chamber which helps to shift the pounds through a brief exposure to temperatures close to –200 degrees.

The cold therapy, which is boasted by stars such as Katie Price and Gary Barlow, uses liquid nitrogen to quickly reduce the air temperature.

Some of these air chambers can reduce the temperature to below the lowest temperature naturally recorded on Earth – an impressive 89.2 decrees in Antarctica back in 1983.

The extreme ice chamber boasts impressive health benefits including improved muscle injuries and weight loss.

The experience is said to cut 800 calories in a single five-minute session which could set you back as much as £100.

Ex-Dancing On Ice star Gemma told her Radio 1 podcast listeners: “I’ve been doing some really cool stuff.

“I went into an ice chamber and, yes, I was naked. It was minus 188 degrees and it freezes your body and it starts getting rid of all your fat.

“I actually want to put one in my house. I want to go in it all day every day.”

Personal trainer

In 2021, Gemma started to make serious strides in her weight loss programme after she hired a personal trainer, CJ of CJ Fitness, who helped her to shift the pounds after she confessed she struggled to motivate herself to lose weight alone.

The blonde bombshell recently opened up about her gruelling workout plan over the last six months.

She explained: “I started my day off today even though I’ve had no sleep, my trainer came here at half 8 this morning.

“I was so tired, just splashed the face with cold water, get the exercise gear on and get it done.

“I do have a running machine in my house, but I’ve got to be honest, I never get on it.”

Once she got into the regular routine of the demanding daily workouts, Gemma began to share clips of her fitness routines in the garden on her Instagram.

In her most recent clip, Gemma is seen tackling the battle ropes with her trainer as she begged her to let her stop.

The camera then panned to CJ as she jogged on the spot with a resistance band across her chest.

While it is believed the reality star copied her actions off camera, the 40-year-old can be heard asking from behind the lens: “Can I have a day off?”

To which her brutally honest trainer shouted: “No you can’t!” before she pushed her even harder to beat her workout record.

Healthy diet

In addition to her brutal workouts, Gemma has been sharing her new healthy eating diet with her fiercely loyal followers rather than turning to fad diets as she previously did.

As the star started to see progress with her fitness overhaul, she began to sell piles of her old clothes which were now too big for her on the hit second hand clothing app Depop.

During her weekly podcast, the TOWIE star shared some of her tips and tricks to sticking with the strict healthy diet.

She told her fans: “It’s basically what works for you. I eat scrambles eggs, bacon, avocados, I have two bits of chocolate, I have jelly, nuts. But my diet may not work for you, it’s just a healthy eating plan.”

The blonde belle also shared snaps of her regular food intake on her Instagram story which included her afternoon snack as a handful of almonds and a single Babybel.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk