Channique Sterling-Brown, who plays Dee-Dee Bailey in ITV’s Coronation Street, looks unrecognisable after losing 100lbs following years of being ‘obsessed’ with her weight

Coronation Street’s Channique Sterling-Brown has revealed the downside to her incredible weight loss journey in a heartfelt Instagram post.

The actress, who plays Dee-Dee Bailey on the ITV soap, has been candid about her glamorous lifestyle online and has recently been involved in a gripping storyline where her character fought for Roy Cropper’s release from prison for Lauren Bolton’s murder.

However, last month, it was revealed that her on-screen boyfriend Joel Deering (Callum Lill) was the real culprit behind Lauren’s death. Off-screen, the star has been focusing on her fitness, having recently completed the Manchester 10k marathon alongside her co-stars.

In her recent Instagram post, the 27-year-old actress proudly displayed her golden medal and opened up about her significant weight loss journey over the years. She admitted to losing 100lbs after years of being “obsessed” with her weight and trying various “diets, shakes and tablets”.

She also revealed that she took a break from social media to focus on her mental health and that the downside to her weight loss was “uncomfortable comments”.

The star has been candid about her glamorous lifestyle online ( 
Image:
Getty Images)

In her recent Instagram post, the 27-year-old actress proudly displayed her golden medal ( 
Image:
Instagram)
The TV personality went on to share a dramatic before and after photo with her 16,000 online followers. She described her spiral of self-loathing, she expressed: “Couple of years ago it got really bad, I was losing control. Hating yourself is a s**t way to live. I came off socials for over a month and when I came back, I unfollowed all the pages full of beautiful, unrealistic bodies,” reports the Daily Star.

She admitted how seeing these images would send her downwards, stating: “Consuming those images daily used to send me spiralling. Comparison’s a killer. Instead, I follow women who represented me more, in terms of shape, skills and skin colour.”

Instead, she chose to follow women who more accurately mirrored her own skin colour, shape, and abilities. It was this pivot in mindset that led to her success, as she started prioritising her health and fitness. The TV star confessed: “I stopped seeing the gym as punishment for being fat and started focusing on fitness. For the first time ever I started enjoying working out, my high school PE teacher would be shook.”

Her realisation of her weight loss came subtly. “I didn’t notice my weight loss until my clothes were a bit big. So then there’s this excitement of feeling fitter, new wardrobe (cos a b**ch loves to shop).”

However, as the weight began to drop, she was taken aback by the amount of praise she received from loved ones about her figure and not her accomplishments. “But then came the compliments,” she explained, adding: “Which weirdly made me so uncomfortable. Awkwardly smiling, when people gushed over me being thinner, not my 1st class degree.”

“Then bare anxiety, ‘If I put on weight is everyone gonna notice? ‘ It was like confirmation that all my toxic thoughts had been in the back of everyone else’s head all along.”

“When people compliment weight loss I know they mean no harm, but when it becomes the main focus of your achievements, it’s disheartening. Now I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t proud of myself, but that’s linked to being two years veggie, being healthier and my head being a happier place to be.”

“Not always of course, I still have my moments, things I’d change. But I’ve learnt to keep it moving, don’t let those negative thoughts fester or they will take control.”

The actor shared her newfound belief about modern beauty standards and explained how she has grown from this experience. Channique explained: “Changing how I see myself and unlearning the toxic beauty standards society feeds us, is the real glow up. I now realise the gal on the left is just as much of a bad b**ch as the gal on the right.”

“Let’s build each other up for more than just our dress size/ I always want to be known for my love, laughter and loudness, not the body they live in.”