Big Brother icon Nadia unrecognisable in swimsuit pictures after losing 6st with gastric sleeve

Big Brother icon Nadia Almada has dropped a whopping 4 dress sizes since gastric sleeve surgery - and heralds her incredible transformation as a 'new beginning'

It's a year of milestones for Big Brother icon Nadia Almada. Exactly 20 years since she made TV history by becoming the first transgender person to win Big Brother, when it was still hosted by original host Davina McCall – and captured the hearts of the nation – Nadia is turning heads once again. That's because the star isn't just celebrating the anniversary of her win, but another major milestone: a dramatic weight loss transformation.

The reality TV legend, 47, has lost more than six stone over the last few months, going from 17st 6lb down to 11st 8lb. After jetting to Turkey to undergo gastric sleeve surgery in March this year, the 5ft 3in star has dropped from a size 20 to a size 12 – and, she tells us, saved her life in the process. Here, Nadia - who previously revealed that Adele is a huge fan of hers - opens up as reported in OK! about feeling like a new woman, the surprising reason that made her choose the surgery, and her dreams to return to Big Brother house, 20 years on....

Hi, Nadia! What was the turning point that made you decide to get the gastric sleeve?

My mum told me to do it! I spent Christmas with my family in Portugal, and when she told me I should get the surgery, it was the relief and reassurance that I needed. I was a size 20 and a shadow of my former self. I had no stamina, no energy, no vitality – and there was a higher risk of having major heart problems or a stroke from the weight that I’d been carrying. Plus, I couldn’t wear heels because my feet were so swollen. That was the last straw.

How has the transformation changed how you feel about yourself?

It’s a new start, a fresh beginning. I feel prettier slender, but it’s not just the physical side, I’m also happy that I’ve been able to reverse a lot of the damage that I’d done to my body. Within just three months, my cholesterol and thyroid levels had gone down. I can’t wait to see how much better my body is coping. I’ve got more energy and I just feel better with myself. It was really life-saving surgery for me.

When did you notice the results most?

I was never obsessed with weighing myself. I started to see results when trying on old clothes I hadn’t worn for years.

Was there one piece in particular you really wanted to get into?

No, it was all my clothes – my clothes are fabulous! But there were times in the last couple of years when all I wore were kaftans, which I love, but I used to call them tents. I was hiding, essentially. Now I’ve got jeans that I can wear, which I’m very happy about, because I stopped buying them after I was too big for a size 14. Before, my fat was visceral fat, congested around my organs, so I had skinny legs, a massive belly and no bum. In jeans, I looked like Mr Potato Head.

There must have been some highs and lows on your weight loss journey. What was the most challenging moment?

There were some bizarre side effects. I can only describe it as having withdrawal symptoms. I was eating enormous amounts
of food before, and I was vegan – which sounds like a contradiction, because usually when you think ‘vegan’ you think ‘slender’. No, I was a fully-fledged carbo-tarian. It was so bad that I’d eat two large pizzas with three sides in one night – and that was meant for a family of four. It’s crazy. I’d delete the receipts from buying takeaways online so I didn’t have a visual reminder.

Can you tell us about the unexpected side effects?

After surgery, my brain went haywire because I couldn’t have the same habits. I went crazy. I started watching mukbang videos [people binge-eating], to trick my brain into thinking that I was eating what I was seeing. I was also spending hundreds of pounds on ingredients I’d never bought before, because my brain was craving all this high-protein stuff.

It was an adjustment between emotional eating versus what my body needed. It was a balance between thinking I’m fine and thinking that I was going to die. Believe me, I’ve been in and out of a lot of surgery, and this one was only a 45-minute procedure. It’s probably one of the least invasive surgeries I’ve ever had, but it was such a head-f**k!

What little changes have you made now?

Now I use little side plates rather than big pasta bowls, because I’m having such small portions. It took me a while to retrain my brain and understand that I can no longer consume as much food, so I wasted a lot at first. Before, it was easy to have dinner in front of the TV where I didn’t even realise I’d eaten so much, because I was distracted. Now, I try to separate when I’m eating so my brain registers it. I’ll look out of the window at the garden and enjoy that moment with the food instead.

The new series of Big Brother starts this week. On the 20th anniversary of your win, what emotions does it bring up?

Can you believe it’s been 20 years? It’s like my anniversary, so I’m super excited to see it back. And excited for the live shows.

What memories does it bring back from your time in the house?

On the show, I was the most authentic I had ever been. I was in a safe bubble from the outside world, and it felt like a celebration of Nadia. I dealt with ebbs and flows from the show, not on it but from the external effects after. Now, there is more respect towards women like me, but 20 years ago, as a woman of trans identity, my name was usually associated with a derogatory term.

That was a difficult time. But that’s what Big Brother does so well as a social experiment – it brings minorities’ stories to the forefront. I took the brunt of it then, but I walked so my community could run. I just wanted to be freed, which was ironic, because I was locked up in the house.

Would you ever return to Big Brother?

I’d love to be involved with the new series! Maybe I could come in for a cheeky task, or recreate the bedsit task from my series. Come on, I’m the legend. I’m the OG! Or, I don’t mind doing the celebrity version, that would be awesome. I’ve paid my dues. I want to have another round. I’d like to go on I ’m A Celeb, too. I don’t know if I would comply with the tasks, because I am a disrupter, but since I don’t have to eat that much now, at least I’d be good with the rations!