Loose Women's Andrea McLean poses for nude shoot after losing a stone on cabbage soup diet

'I feel sexier than ever!' Loose Women's Andrea McLean poses for nude shoot after losing a stone on cabbage soup diet

By Sarah Bull

Last updated at 2:15 AM on 29th November 2011

She might be 42 years old but Loose Women star Andrea McLean has insisted she feels more body confident than ever before, and has proved it by posing for a sexy nude shoot.

The mother-of-two has shed her clothes for Closer magazine after losing a stone on a cabbage soup diet, taking her from a size 14 to a 10.

And now Andrea has embraced her figure and said that while she was nervous about stripping for the boudoir-style shoot, she was keen to show off her figure while she still can.

Body confident: Loose Women host Andrea McLean shows off her figure in a sexy nude shoot after losing a stone on a cabbage soup diet

She said: 'I feel a lot more body confident now than I did in my 30s. I think there’s something about hitting your 40s where you think, "The pressure’s off – I’m never going to look like Cindy Crawford, but I’m very happy to look like me." '

Andrea added: 'When posing like this was suggested, my instinct was to shy away. But I won’t have many more opportunities to do these kind of photos at my age, so I decided to go for it!

'I know life really is too short not to throw caution to the wind, so I’m going to enjoy it. One day it’ll be lovely to look back and say: ‘You were quite sexy once, Andrea!'

Sultry: The mother-of-two says she feels more confident about her body than ever now she is in her 40s

The full interview appears in this week's Closer

The Loose Women host also told Closer that it was a near-death experience in June which caused her to have a more positive outlook on life.

She explained that she fell unconscious in hospital following an allergic reaction to antibiotics after an operation to repair an umbilical hernia.

She said: 'I couldn’t breathe at all – it was like my air was slowly being cut off. It was absolutely terrifying, but the worst thing was seeing the panic on Steve’s face. I fell unconscious and yes, Steve believed he’d lost me.

'But, in the grand scheme of things, it was half an hour of absolute awfulness and, thankfully, they were able to control the reaction with adrenalin and oxygen.'

Andrea added that after having the operation stopped the pain she was in as well as boosting her self-esteem, as the hernia which she got after giving birth to daughter Amy five years ago had made her bloated and uncomfortable.

She said: 'The best thing is that I’m not in pain any more, but also I now have a flat stomach again, like it was before I had the kids. I’m no longer ashamed to take off my clothes in front of Steve. Of course he never minded – he loves me regardless – but having a bit of self-confidence does wonders…

'I had worried how my tummy would look, but it’s amazing. I now have a very neat T-shaped scar which runs across my lower abdomen like a Caesarean scar. You can hardly see it.'

The full interview with Andrea appears in this week's Closer magazine, out now.

Screen star: Andrea with Lisa Maxwell, Sherrie Hewson and former Loose Women star Jane McDonald on the hit ITV daytime show

Happy family: Andrea and husband Steve Toms with children Finlay and Amy

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2067279/Loose-Womens-Andrea-McLean-poses-nude-shoot-losing-stone-cabbage-soup-diet.html#ixzz1f4sjLqaR