Big Brother legend Nadia Almada is marking a year of significant milestones. It's been exactly 20 years since she made television history as the first transgender winner of Big Brother, under the original host Davina McCall , and won over the nation. Now, Nadia is once again in the spotlight, not only celebrating her win's anniversary but also her dramatic weight loss transformation.
The reality TV icon, aged 47, has shed over six stone in recent months, dropping from 17st 6lb to 11st 8lb. After flying to Turkey for gastric sleeve surgery in March this year, the 5ft 3in star has slimmed down from a size 20 to a size 12 and, she reveals, it saved her life. Nadia has opened up about feeling like a new woman, the unexpected reason behind her decision to have the surgery, and her aspirations to return to the Big Brother house, two decades later, reports OK! Magazine.
Speaking about what led her to opt for the gastric sleeve Nadia said: "My mother was the one who suggested it! I spent Christmas with my family in Portugal, and when she suggested I should undergo the surgery, it provided the reassurance I needed. I was a size 20 and a mere shadow of my former self. I lacked stamina, energy, vitality and there was an increased risk of severe heart problems or stroke due to the weight I was carrying.
Moreover, I couldn't wear heels because my feet were so swollen. That was the final straw." She described her life since the operation as being "like a fresh start, a new beginning.
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