TINA AT 60: ‘I feel fitter & sexier than ever!’
Tina Malone opens up to Closer about maintaining her jaw-dropping weight loss for 10 years and keeping the spice in her marriage with toyboy Paul
She’s just celebrated the tenth anniversary of her dramatic 12st weight loss, but Tina Malone says that while she feels better than ever, not falling back into old habits is a daily challenge.
The actress, 60 – most famous for her role in TV comedy drama Shameless – says she still feels like a different person since her incredible drop from a size 28 to a size 6-8, between 2010 and 2013.
“I’m 60 and I feel better than I did not 10, not 20, but 30 years ago,” she smiles. “I feel younger and I feel fitter, and my whole outlook on life is better. I’m going to say 60 is the new 30!”
But despite feeling so amazing, Tina – who underwent gastric band surgery in 2010 – says she still has to eat healthily to maintain her weight and that surgery isn’t the easy option.
She explains, “I put on a stone earlier in the year and decided to get a grip on it in May. I was skipping meals and eating rubbish, and even with the band, I was putting on weight. You need to eat well to get your nutrients and if you’re eating just fat and sugar, you’ll put on weight. A gastric band doesn’t change your mind or your personality. I’m OCD [obsessive compulsive disorder] and OCPD [obsessive compulsive personality disorder] and it’s in my genetic make-up that with me, it’s all or nothing.”
KICKING BAD HABITS
Tina – who is mum to Danielle, 43, and Flame, nine – has had her battles with alcohol in the past, admitting that she used to be able to drink “30 to 40 gin and tonics”. But she’s been sober for 25 years and says going cold turkey has always been the best route for her.
She admits, “My biggest vice was always the drink and now I’m 25 years sober. Do I miss it? No, I don’t. Part of the problem is, I can abstain from drink and cigarettes and drugs, but you can’t abstain from food so it’s a battle for me.”
As part of her health kick, Tina went back to eating small healthy meals four times a day, and she took up jogging. “I fell into some bad old habits, including eating a lot of crisps, so I started eating more healthily – lots of fruit, vegetables and protein. I also started jogging to school to collect Flame. Exercise is so good for your brain, and that really helped my mindset, too.”
To celebrate the anniversary of her weight loss, Tina treated herself to a makeover – including getting her hair and make-up done professionally and having some styling help – and she says she felt a million dollars.
“I burst into tears when they showed me my hair and
