Natalie Cassidy weight loss: how EastEnders star shed staggering 3st

EASTENDERS star Natalie Cassidy turned heads as she showed off her trim figure at the National TV Awards last month.

The actress, who plays Sonia Fowler, looked healthier than ever as she flaunted her three stone weight loss in a sleek black suit.

And many of Natalie's fans were left asking exactly how she managed to trim down - and drop from a size 16 to a size eight.

The mum-of-two now feels "much more confident and comfortable", telling The Sun: "I have learnt how to eat and how to be comfortable with who I am."

Here, we take you through the main ways Natalie has got in shape - including marathon training and overhauling her diet...

1. Running

Natalie credits training for the London Marathon last year for helping her to lose weight.

The brunette beauty took on a gruelling training regime to prepare for the race, which she ran in honour of her former co-star Dame Barbara Windsor, who is battling dementia.

Natalie even told Twitter that in one day alone she had ran a whopping 18 miles.

In particular, she claims running with a group helped her to keep motivated with her training and keeping her fit.

Speaking on the podcast RunPod, she said: "We’ve suddenly become this little team of people and we’re so close, we’ve got whatsapp groups and we go out together and we post our runs and it gives you motivation."

2. Ditching unhealthy treats

Natalie completely overhauled her diet in a bid to shape up - and ditched some of her favourite snacks and treats.

In particular, she previously admitted that "cheese, crisps and dips" were her "downfall" - so decided to cut these out her diet.

One of Natalie's pals also told Now magazine she had "sworn off take outs" to maintain her physique.

3. Going teetotal

The telly favourite decided to ditch alcohol as much as she could in a bid to lose weight.

She said: "I cut out rubbish. I cut down on alcohol too, even though I love white wine."

This one of the best ways to lose weight as booze has a sneaky way of increasing your daily calorie intake without you realising it.

One pint of beer contains an average of 208 calories while a glass of wine may contain 83 calories.

On top of this many people find themselves reaching for a pizza or a kebab after a night of heavy drinking - which will make your calorie intake go up even more.

4. Being body confident

Natalie has recently formed a much healthier relationship with her body - which she says has helped her stay in shape.

Prior to this, back in 2007, Natalie admitted she had struggled mentally with losing weight for her fitness DVD called Then and Now.

She told Heat magazine: “I really wasn't well. I was bordering on having an eating disorder.

“There were nights I would go out for dinner and then I'd go home and take laxatives because I didn't want the food inside me.

"I looked too thin. I can say I wasn’t happy then."

Natalie isn't the only soap star to have lost a significant amount of weight recently.

Earlier this month, Coronation Street actress Katie McGlynn revealed she had lost a stone after feeling "very down" about her appearance.

To tone up and shed the pounds she did a 12-week Ultimate Performance transformation plan.

This includes superset weight workouts targeting compound exercises and bigger muscle groups.