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Letitia Dean Weight Loss: How She Dropped 2 Stones & 4 Dress Sizes
Learn about Letitia Dean's weight loss journey and get to know how she toned herself down with a well-balanced diet and a lifestyle-centric approach.
Letitia Dean is a renowned English actress who has been the talk of the town since the release of EastEnders, a soap opera that aired on BBC in the year 1985. Her portrayal of Sharon Watts in the TV show fetched her various accolades, including the British Soap Award for Outstanding Achievement in 2022. Apart from professionalism and a booming career, Letitia Dean’s weight loss journey is a testament to everyone wanting to achieve their fitness goals regardless of their age.
Right from 1985, the popular TV personality grew in the public’s eye and eventually faced a lot of backlash due to her weight and appearance. It was in September 2023 when she appeared in an alluring white jumpsuit at the National Television Awards and flaunted her toned-down figure. Her appearance took the internet by storm, with many people eager to know her weight loss secrets.
How did Letitia Dean lose weight when even she was in her 50s? She adopted a lifestyle-centric approach, ditched fad diets, and followed a dedicated workout routine. Stay tuned to the end of the article to have a closer look at her weight loss secrets.
Who Is Letitia Dean?
(Image Source: Getty Images)
Letitia Jane Dean is a renowned English actress and a trained singer. At the age of 12, she started performing professionally. Between the age of 13 to 17, she appeared on numerous television programs.
In the year 1984, she auditioned for EastEnders and was selected due to her bouncy, attractive, and oddly vulnerable young personality which was similar to the character ‘Sharon Watts’. The soap opera has a total of 33 seasons and still airs on the channel, BBC.
In 1995, she left EastEnders to pursue other acting roles. She made a comeback from 2001 to 2006. In 2012, she returned to the show and shared the screen with one of the three remaining original cast members.
Growing up in the public eye was reportedly difficult for her. The constant media attention on her appearance left her feeling disheartened. Her self-confidence was damaged and underwent a breast reduction in her teens. During her 30s, she was more comfortable with how she looked, and thus, far more relaxed about the public interest.
Letitia Dean’s Profile
Full Name: Letitia Jane Dean
Age: 56 years
Birthdate: 14 November 1967
Birthplace: Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, England
Occupation: Actress and trained singer
Spouse: Jason Pethers (m. 2002 – d.2008)
What Made Letitia Dean Try Different Diets to Lose Weight?
Letitia confessed publically that since childhood, she was body shamed. She hit the television screens at a very early age and hence, was subjected to cruel trolling over her appearance.
In one of the interviews, the star shared that for years and years, her weight had moved up and down. The other co-actors also complained that they couldn't fit on the same set with her. Hence, she went a step ahead and tried various diets, including the cabbage soup diet, Atkins, faddy regimes, and eggs-only diet.
Research states that eggs are a rich source of minerals, vitamins, and bioactive compounds. They are also important dietary sources of high-biological value protein. Although, egg-rich diets can have protective effects against metabolic syndrome, whole egg consumption has a significantly increasing effect on weight (1).
On the other hand, the Atkins diet is not only a fad diet but also a dangerous one. It is one of the low-carbohydrate diets that are unlikely to produce significant long-term weight loss and may lead to serious health problems, including an increase in fats and protein consumption (2).
Talking about the cabbage soup diet — it is one of the fad diets for weight loss. Cabbage contains substances like lutein, zeaxanthin, kaempferol, quercetin, and apigenin, which have anti-inflammatory properties and improve glucose homeostasis as well as fat metabolism. Though exercise is discouraged on this diet, a little bit of weight loss is promised as per research (3).
Letitia did manage to lose a stone in a few weeks by following these types of grueling diets, however, this didn't prove to be sustainable. She would inevitably fall back into her own self and gain weight all over again.
How Did Letitia Dean Shed Pounds?
In 2022, when the star appeared at the National Television Awards, she left viewers awestruck with her drastic body transformation. She had gone from weighing 10st 4lbs to 8st 3lbs, dropping four dress sizes in four months. She went from dress size 14 to 10 and never looked back. In one of the interviews, she gave credit to healthier meals, exercise, and long-term modifications in diet control.
The change in her lifestyle was an impromptu decision. She shared that one morning she just woke up and realized that have had enough of the fad diets and junk food. Saying goodbye to all the grueling diets was the secret to her weight loss. Letitia shared that giving up one all-too-relatable vice helped her achieve her new look. She also has hit out at online scammers for using her profile to sell weight loss pills.
Dean focused on making sustainable lifestyle changes and ditched all the weight loss-related quick fixes and faddy diets. With just simple changes in her everyday routine, the 56-year-old actress managed to lose weight successfully.
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Letitia Dean's Diet for Weight Loss
Dean particularly avoided junk food, especially the ones that contained high calories in the form of sugar and fats. Additionally, she adopted an accessible routine and a lifestyle-centric approach to shed extra pounds.
The BBC star’s approach to food was indeed commendable. She stuck to a well-balanced diet, ensuring 1,300 calories a day. She confessed her love for a lasting diet that includes grilled skinless chicken and lots of greens.
A research study claims chicken’s protein content ranges between 15 to 35%, depending on the water and fat content. It contributes to fats that play a number of important roles such as providing essential fatty acids and representing a major source of energy (4).
On the other hand, green leafy vegetables have excellent nutritional value. They mostly contain antioxidants, dietary fibers, minerals, α-linoleic acid, and vitamins which improve gut health (5).
The popular personality also publically shared the reason behind including chicken and greens in her diet. She said that she wanted to do something about her figure as she was extremely sick of extreme dieting and the yo-yoing of her weight.
The BBC star hence kept track of her calories, vouched for healthy foods, and managed to drop the necessary pounds with a balanced approach. According to research, caloric intake is of great importance for one’s health. It is a source of energy needed to sustain life.
On average, a woman should consume 2000 calories daily to maintain her weight and limit her caloric intake to 1500 or less to lose 1 pound per week whereas males should eat 2000 to 2500 calories per day to maintain their body weight, or 2,000 a day, if he wants to lose 1 pound per week (6).
The actress complemented her diet with physical workouts such as running and boxercise. Below is a glimpse of her workout routine that led her to an incredible transformation.
Letitia Dean’s Workout And Exercise Routine
Dropping a few kilograms made Letita feel confident. Along with her healthy eating regime, she carries out her exercises, runs, and does boxing to stay fit. Her waist size decreased, and she discovered she had more energy after switching from junk food.
As per research, physical activity and fitness lead to additional improvements in health status (7). At the same time, boxing intervention is more efficient in developing physical fitness (8).
Though Letitia did not publicly disclose her workout routine but did share that walking, running, and going to the gym have helped her achieve her weight loss goals.
Letitia Dean’s Before And After Weight Loss Images
Before
(Image Source: Getty Images)
After
(Image Source: Getty Images)
Letitia Dean’s weight loss is proof that everything is possible with sheer dedication. A combination of a healthy diet and physical workout was the secret sauce of her success that led her to the path of her dream figure. Her journey also emphasizes the importance of embracing a sustainable and healthy lifestyle and finding strategies for a prolonged period of time. Ultimately, her weight loss story is a source of encouragement and motivation for those who are navigating their own path to achieve a toned physique and better well-being.
Sources
1. The effect of whole egg consumption on weight and body composition in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10353215/
2. The Atkin’s diet controversy
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6074441/
3. Functional Foods in fad diets: A review
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327028063_Functional_Foods_in_fad_diets_A_review
4. Role of poultry meat in a balanced diet aimed at maintaining health and wellbeing: an Italian consensus document
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4462824/
5. Health Benefits and Therapeutic importance of green leafy vegetables (GLVs)
6. Calories
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499909/
7. Effects of Running-Specific Strength Training, Endurance Training, and Concurrent Training on Recreational Endurance Athletes’ Performance and Selected Anthropometric Parameters
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9518107/
8. The impact of a boxing training program on physical fitness and technical performance effectiveness
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326307335_The_impact_of_a_boxing_training_program_on_physical_fitness_and_technical_performance_effectiveness
