Ex EastEnders star shows off ‘loose skin, belly overhang and saggy breasts' after health battle
Former EastEnders star turned body confidence advocate Melissa Suffield took to social media to share an update with her 153,000 followers.
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Sitting in a pink bikini, Melissa shared various unedited pictures, and revealed her 'stretch marks' and 'bloating' among other things.
She captioned the candid post: 'Want a bikini body this summer? Just put a bikini on- there you have it! A perfect bikini body, full of beautiful imperfections.
'Because imperfections are gorgeous, unique, and interesting- just like YOU. That body you're always trying to hide? Way more normal than you think. That woman over there probably feels the same way about hers. In fact she's probably too busy worrying about her own to even glance your way.
'Get that bikini, put it on, slam your body down and wind it all around- and truly, a zig a zig ah.'
Melissa was praised by fans for being so honest and body confident, as one person wrote:' Yay to celebrating the bikini body... Great post.'
And a second added: ' Fantastic how you show up as you are! X'
She shared a photo of her bikini top and wrote over it 'empty post baby tatas,' as well as sharing a photo of her 'belly overhang' while sitting upright.
Other images included the star revealing her 'thighs that tough,' and 'silver stretch marks.'
Melissa, 31, was diagnosed with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) after experiencing "horrible nausea" on December 16 2023, with her having felt nauseous "ever since".
Former EastEnders star has had '40 doctors appointments' and spent 'over five figures' amid gruelling health condition
After around 40 appointments with her GP and spending more than five figures on tests and other medical costs, Melissa has a diagnosis of SIBO, B12 deficiency, and is still yet to work out the root cause of it all.
Melissa experiences nausea, reflux, constipation, and other symptoms like her hair falling out and suffering from dry skin.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the condition occurs "when there is an abnormal increase in the overall bacterial population in the small intestine — particularly types of bacteria not commonly found in that part of the digestive tract."
Symptoms are listed as a loss of appetite, abdominal pain, nausea, bloating, an uncomfortable feeling of fullness after eating, diarrhea, unintentional weight loss, and malnutrition.
The former soap star who played Lucy Beale from 2004 until 2010 has opened up about how SIBO impacts her and how she is now less healthy than she was a year ago, despite being slimmer now, with her keen to raise awareness of the chronic illness.
Melissa told us in our exclusive chat that her health condition is "very frustrating", but noted a silver lining of sorts.
"Obviously, I've lost quite a lot of weight this year," Melissa began, adding: "But absolutely none of that has been through choice. None of it. Like I'm back in my pre-pregnancy jeans."
She added: "But there's no joy," noting: "I don't enjoy the fact that that's happened at all in the way that you know, that's like a goal for a lot of people.
"A) It was never a goal for me. But B) this is the complete antithesis of whatever I've ever wanted with my body.
"So that's been tricky for sure. And then also, just on top of that, like my skin and my hair has been like affected.
"Now I'm dealing with feelings of, you know, not enjoying the way that I look, which is frustrating because I've done such a lot of work to get me to a place where."
Revealing the silver lining of sorts, Melissa revealed that her weight loss proves that being slim does not equate to being healthy.
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