Fern previously had a gastric bypass

TV favourite Fern Britton has been on a weight-loss journey for a while now, but as she shows off her new figure on Instagram, it’s clear she’s looking better than ever.

In an Instagram post, Fern shared a series of snaps of a cycling trip in Italy. But what really caught fans’ attention was the black, skin-tight cycling outfit she’s wearing, which highlighted how she had lost a whopping five stone.

“A glorious week in Italy with the Bike Buddies! Friendships spanning 20 years,” she captioned the post. “Love you, ladies.”

Fans were full of compliments

In the comments, it was clear that fans couldn’t have been more pleased to see Fern looking so well.

“Looking fire Fern,” one wrote. “Looking fabulous Fern,” another echoed. “You are definitely one of the people inspiring me to get fit before I hit 6o.”

A third commenter said: “You’re looking fantastic, Fern. Looks like you had a wonderful time.” While a fourth added: “Lovely pictures Fern, a wonderful trip and you look amazing .”


At one point, Fern was size 22. (Image: Cover Images)

How did she do it?

In an interview with Woman & Home, Fern previously shared the secret of her success.

“People often wonder when you’ve lost lots of weight whether you’ve done it naturally,” she said. “And I can look at you and say: ‘Yes, I have.”

“I had my shoulder replacement 18 months ago, and two-and-a-half years ago, when I saw the surgeon, he said: ‘I’m going to totally replace your shoulder, I’ll see you in a year.’ I thought, I need to get my life back on track. I need to stop smoking, stop drinking, get eating under control and stop lying in bed feeling sorry for myself.

“So I started the Couch to 5k, took about 80% of the sugar out of my life and started to think about what I was eating, which I had never done before,” she concluded.

Previously, in 2008, Fern had a gastric bypass to help put an end to her yo-yoing weight. This helped take her from a size 22 to a 12. She later shared that the operation continues to have an impact all these years later.

“Although my gastric band is an old one, it still has its powers. Good food finds it hard to get through, but you can still eat chocolate and drink wine,” she said.