Novelist Marian Keyes reveals she lost two stone in ELEVEN WEEKS on a 600-calories-a-day crash diet because she didn't want to be a 'fatso' forever

By Anna-lou Weatherley For Mailonline

Published: 10:33 EDT, 23 November 2015 | Updated: 10:34 EDT, 23 November 2015

She's penned several novels with a food-related titles including Saved By Cakes and Sushi For Beginners, not to mention a battle with depression which she soothed at times with baking.

But successful author Marian Keyes, 52, has revealed in the Sunday Times that she took to crash dieting after being fed up of being a 'fatso' after a combination of medication and 'pink Magnums' led to her weight gain.

The Irish novelist  - who has talked openly about suffering with alcoholism and depression in the past - went on to drop three dresses sizes in 11 weeks and finally overcome her desire to numb her feelings with food. Marian Keyes shows off her new figure and in October. The novelist has described the experience of shedding weight and tackling her urge to comfort eat in a powerful new article Marian appeared on the Paul O'Grady Show in May before commencing on her drastic 600 calorie plan

'I shouldn't have got fat in the first place,' the writer, 52, explained in her column. 'But real life is messy and there's a back story involving medication that had caused me rapid weight gain  - the pink Magnums and I weren't entirely to blame.'

With the support of her GP, Marian embarked on a stringent crash diet that involved consuming just 600 calories a day.

Surviving on a menu of soups, shakes and porridge, which she described as 'disgusting' and 'repulsive', the writer sailed through day one of her diet with determination.

Day three however saw her emotionally spiralling into depression . Food for thought: Author Marian Keyes, 52, spoke of how she lost 33 lbs on strict starvation diet in a bid to beat her addiction to food Substitute: The Irish writer has spoken of her battle with depression in the past and how she has used food as an emotional substitute

'The dread was almost unbearable,' she explained, ' I cowered in bed and decided that if things didn't improve, I was buying a chip van. I'd live in it and eat the contents and, yes, I'd be fat, But I couldn't possibly feel as bad as I felt now. Mercifully, the following day the hunger went and the fear lifted.'

Despite never having been on Facebook before, Marian reluctantly joined a support page and conversed with other dieters in a bid to keep her resolve to fight the fat.

By day six - weigh-in day - she had discovered she'd lost six and half pounds, though she admitted it was mostly water and that 'if I'd eaten a slice of bread I would have piled it back on.' Sitting pretty: Looking svelte and happy, Marian has kept the weight off four moths after her starvation diet and  enjoyed splurging on a new wardrobe to compliment her newly slender curves Taking the cake: Marian dropped from a dress size 14/16 to an 8/10 in 33 weeks after swapping cakes for shakes

Nevertheless, she posted her happy news to her new online pals and kept going, developing a routine that kept her on the straight and narrow.

'I identified the meals I liked (all of the shakes, none of the soups, all of the 'chocolate', two of the dinners, and I ate nothing else. Ever.'

'In social situations I where I had to spurn real food, I defused things by gesturing at my lardy frame and saying, 'trying to de-fatso myself.' And everyone seemed to understand.'

Despite describing how she developed mouth-ulcers, hang nails, cold sores and experiencing low energy, Marian soldiered on, going on to shed 33lbs in total and dropping from a dress size 14/16 to a a svelte 8/10 in 11 weeks.

She explained how the diet  - which doctors recommend you stay on for a maximum of 12 weeks - helped her combat her need to self-medicate with food, saying, 'these days when emotional distress comes calling, I don't numb the pain with food. Instead I meditate -   no I don't, I'm only joking. I sidestep the unpleasantness by spending money.'

Describing being 'unfat' as 'thrilling, the writer, who has since kept the weight off after four months, says, 'managing my many addictions feels like a lifelong game of Wac-a-mole - as soon as one is under control, another one pops its head up. Most of my splurging is now on clothes.'

Marian Keyes lost two stone in ELEVEN WEEKS on a 600 calories crash diet
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