Sunday, 21 February 2010

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Claire Richards vows: I won't rush to diet

Baby Daisy has made her rethink her weight loss plans...

Claire Richards is now mum to a son and a daughter

Two months after giving birth to her daughter, former Steps star Claire Richards has decided not to rush into dieting so she can enjoy family life instead.

Claire, 32 - who famously lost an impressive 6st and released a bestselling fitness DVD in 2008 - piled on the pounds during pregnancy, admitting that she got carried away with her cravings for cake and Haagen-Dazs ice cream.

However, since the arrival of Daisy on 29 December, Claire's decided that there's more to life than dieting and is enjoying being a mum to Daisy and son Charlie, two, and spending quality time with husband Reece Hill, 41.

A friend of Claire's reveals: ‘She realised that she was over-committing herself by trying to shed the pounds too quickly after the birth. So she's decided that the diet can wait while she bonds with her new daughter.'

Just before she gave birth, Claire admitted to Now that she was planning on giving herself some time to recover before getting back in shape.

Her friend reveals: ‘She's so busy looking after Daisy and 
Charlie that she's sure the weight will start to work its way off naturally after a while.'

Claire's rethink comes in the wake of the recent backlash against celebrity fitness DVDs.

Hannah Waterman has been slammed for taking her diet regime too far, while Natalie Cassidy regained the weight she lost and confessed that her diet had left her ‘bordering on having an eating disorder'.

However, Claire admits she'll always have to battle the bulge, saying: ‘I know I'll always struggle with my weight for the rest of my life. Maybe when I'm a grandma I'll relax and allow myself to be bigger, but for now I want to be a yummy mummy.'

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