Sep 21 2004

After her fab curves turned into flab, Billie Piper banned bread to
regain her starlet shape



THREE years ago, Billie Piper had put on so much weight people thought
she was pregnant.

And it was largely thanks to her two-year honeymoon with husband Chris
Evans. They'd boozed their way around the world, pigging out on pizzas
and curries - and piling on the pounds.

Back home in England, they were often seen with unkempt hair and
crumpled clothes, or tucking into fry-ups at a cafe near their Surrey
mansion.

It seemed that not only had the former teen pop sensation turned her
back on her music career, but she had also let herself go. But now she
has proved her critics wrong.

At 21, Billie is back in shape and forging a new career as an actress.
She regained her slim figure by following the Atkins diet, even though
it meant ditching her favourite food - bread.

"I was brought up on bread and butter," says Billie. "Every meal, I'd
have two rounds. So suddenly not having it as part of my diet is a bit
like losing a friend... I find myself hanging around bakeries inhaling
the smell of the pastries. It's quite sad."

The sacrifice was worth it. Billie, who plays Christopher Eccleston's
sexy sidekick in the BBC1 remake of Dr Who, has dropped a dress size.

"Getting rid of bread does make a difference," she insists. "Bread
makes me feel like such a heifer!"

On Atkins, fat and proteins such as chicken, fish and meat are
allowed. Carbs are banned for 14 days and after that you must only eat
low-carb foods. The theory is that carbs make you fat because they
produce more glucose. If this isn't burned off, it is stored as fat.

Some nutritionists believe Atkins is unsafe. But it has obviously
worked for Billie.

Ever since finding pop fame at the age of 15, she has struggled with
her weight. Naturally curvy, she once said, "I'm not designed to be
stick-thin and wear tiny skirts."

But after marrying Chris, who is 16 years her senior, those sexy
curves turned into flab. They met when she was a guest on his TV show,
TFI Friday. After a whirlwind romance they got hitched in Las Vegas in
May 2001.

No one expected it to last, but it has. They clearly love each other's
company, and Billie finds their low-maintenance lifestyle a refreshing
change from her days as a pampered pop star.

"I'd been so groomed since I left school and I didn't know whether
that was actually me, so I went the other way and put on loads of
weight," she explains. "I just needed to do normal things - eat
curries, stay in bed for a day, watch movies back to back, eat
Haagen-Dazs. I had missed life."

Billie is not a big fan of the gym and made no effort to tone up
before baring her bum to the cameras for the BBC1 drama The Miller's Tale.

"Kylie can keep the title A*** Queen and she can take hers down to the
gym every day to get it buffed," she says with a shrug. "I've got
other things to do."

By that she means country walks with Chris and their dogs, the
occasional visit to a health farm... oh, and lots of sex.

Billie says Chris is a fantastic lover who has, "shown me things I
didn't know existed. I love it".

That's got to be a better substitute for bread any day.

BILLIE'S DIET TIPS

CONTROL CARBS: Ditch bread, potatoes and pasta, then introduce
low-carb fruit and veg - cabbage, leek and asparagus - after two
weeks. For more info, see Atkins Made Easy: The First Two Weeks
(Thorsons, £5.99).

GO WALKING: Invest in a pedometer (from £9.99) and aim for 10,000
steps a day - that's about three and a half miles.

INDULGE - THEN BE GOOD: If you do have a bad day/week when you overdo
it with alcohol or fatty foods, make up for it by watching your intake
for the next day/week.

LIGHTEN UP ON YOUR APPEARANCE: Don't spend hours grooming yourself but
go for the natural look instead. As Billie says: "There's nothing
sexier than people who are confident or happy in their own skin."