Cheryl Cole's extreme diet

Jan 6, 2009, 4:00 GMT

Cheryl Cole went on an extreme diet after her weight ballooned.

The Girls Aloud singer admits she broke down in tears and turned to the controversial Atkins diet after she discovering she had a 29-inch waist in the band's early days.

The 25-year old said: "In the first year of Girls Aloud, I went up to a 29in waist. I remember crying because I was 133lbs when I'm only 5ft 3in.

"Jennifer Aniston was doing the Atkins diet at the time and I thought I'd give it a try. I remember I ate the same thing - chicken in cream sauce with a couple of carrots - every night for weeks. I felt just horrible, but I was on this mission."

The Atkins diet is a high-protein, low-carbohydrate eating plan, which became very popular among both celebrities and the public in the early part of this decade.

Speculation about Cheryl's possible weight problems has been rife since it was revealed her soccer star husband Ashley Cole had cheated on her last year.

While she now says her marriage is back on track, the 25-year-old pop beauty admits she is prone to worrying.

She added to the UK edition of Vogue magazine: "I do worry about things. I'm probably going to end up dying with worry. I was clinically depressed once after a bad relationship. We have it in the family."

Cheryl, who grew up on a housing estate, also further defended herself against her conviction in 2003 for assault on a toilet attendant in a UK nightclub.

Although she was cleared on a charge of racially aggravated assault, Cheryl was sentenced to 120 hours community service and ordered to pay her victim £500 and £3,000 court costs.

She added: "I never denied hitting her and I would have hit her again at the time. That's what we were taught on the estate - you have to defend yourself and that's what I was doing."