Remember Mandisa from season five of the Fox series, “American Idol”? Well, just before the March 24 release of her new album, “Release,” the Grammy-nominated Christian singer has lost 75 pounds. Mandisa said she used food to deal with being sexually molested as a child and raped at age 16.
“A lot of girls turn to men to fill that void and some turn to drugs,” Mandisa, 32, told People magazine. “I turned to food as my drug of choice.”
She credits her weight loss to doing cardio workouts five days a week and eating salads, lean meats and fiber. Mandisa also received counseling for her childhood issues.
“Being able to fit into clothes I couldn’t before is great,” she said. “To be able to walk into a room and not feel self-conscious, I don’t ever remember feeling this way.”
