Michelle Stafford Shares Her Secret to Staying 'Fit and Healthy'

To look at Michelle Stafford as Nina on GENERAL HOSPITAL (or earlier as Phyllis on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS), viewers might not realize that the gorgeous soap star has also struggled with her weight. “I’ve been as much as 190 pounds and as low as 100 pounds,” she confessed to Soaps In Depth. “I used to be a sugarholic. I’d have cookies and coffee all day, and then go run two miles and not eat anything else for the day. I’d go to brunches and put all the desserts in my purse.”

She was also no stranger to fad diets, attempting all different kinds of quick fixes over the years. “I did the ice cream diet, starch-blocker diet, Dexatrim,” Stafford admitted. “Oh honey, you don’t want to know what I’ve done!”

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Every day living is really the first day, ya know? Life is truly Epic. People usually learn that when they are sitting in not so epic conditions. I think I'm gonna learn it now.

A post shared by therealstafford (@therealstafford) on Jul 13, 2018 at 8:41pm PDT

But everything changed for Stafford when her sister was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in 2013. “She’s completely cancer-free now,” the actress reports, “but when I found out, I researched and learned sugar and all this bad stuff is just killing your body. And it’s not a calorie thing. How many people have gone on diets and not lost a freaking pound? And you’re starving to death? It’s about changing the foods.”

Stafford has not only switched to healthier eating habits, she has also applied that attitude towards other aspects of her life, even going so far as to develop a beauty company called Skin Nation, where she sells organic, clean products. “And forget about being skinny,” she reminds. “It’s about being fit and healthy!”

For more on your favorite GH stars, keep reading the ABC edition of Soaps In Depth magazine!

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