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NEW WOMAN: Jennifer Hudson has lost over 80lbs

AS A woman of faith, I’m so glad that talking to God isn’t as hard as it is to talk to Jennifer Hudson.

Seriously, imagine if there were gate keepers to get past every time you wanted to talk to the Man upstairs; people telling you, ‘No, you can’t ask Jesus about this’ or ‘The Lord would prefer if you didn’t ask him that.’ Well, that was the case with Ms Hudson.

Of course, it came as no surprise that the talented songstress didn’t wish to discuss the tragic deaths of her mother, brother and nephew who were murdered in 2008. But I was also informed that questions about her fiancé, professional wrestler David Otunga were off-limits, as were questions about her starring role in Winnie, the upcoming biopic about Winnie Mandela.

In stark contrast, Hudson, I was informed by her reps, was all too happy to talk about her dramatic weight loss – a subject you might have assumed the star was fed up of going on about. I mean, really, doing media runs must be tedious enough for celebrities. Why make the process even more boring for them by basically lining up all the journalists to ask the same questions?

Still, as I’d hoped (and as is often the case), Hudson wasn’t anywhere near as cagey as her US reps implied. Just as she was when I had the pleasure of speaking to her back in 2008, the singer, actress and mother-of-one, was cheery, chatty and thankfully, not bored stiff with talking about her weight loss. In fact, having lost an astonishing 80lbs, Hudson urged the black community in particular to be mindful of our food choices.

THEN AND NOW: The star's dramatic weight loss

“I think we [black people] are often less health conscious than others and it seems to be more accepted in our culture to be plus-size or to be, what we call ‘thick-bodied’,” Hudson said. “I think it often has a lot to do with how we’re brought up and what’s accepted in our society.

“My fiancé and I…” – clearly, Hudson didn’t mind talking about him after all – “…we realised that growing up, we didn’t have those examples of seeing our parents working out or picking healthy food choices. We discovered those things in later life. So we made a point of setting an example for our son so that he’d know about being healthy from the start and not have to catch on to that concept later on in life.”

Well-known for her powerhouse vocals and sassy attitude, fans were relieved that the 29-year-old didn’t lose any of her talent or attitude along with the weight.

Judging by the video for her forthcoming new single No One Gonna Love You (from her current album I Remember Me), Hudson still possesses the confidence and self-assurance that initially found her fame.

Still, the star admits that her weight loss did take some getting used to.

“In many ways, I still feel like the same Jennifer,” she says. “But people often forget that weight loss is a mental journey, as well as a physical one. So I’m getting adjusted to the new Jennifer, whereas before, I wasn’t used to it.

“My stylist would try and put me in a dress and I’d be like, ‘I don’t think I should wear this. You need to look a certain way to wear this dress.’ I didn’t realise that I was that way. And when I went shopping, I’d still be picking up clothes in extra large or bigger sizes because I wasn’t used to my new shape.

“But I’m getting used to it now, and I feel more free now in every way. I can move around a whole lot easier and I love wearing heels now, whereas before, heels used to feel like handcuffs on my feet! And in terms of fashion, there are so many more options of clothing now. But as far as how big Jennifer is compared to little Jennifer, they’re pretty much the same!”

Since her emergence onto the world stage back in 2004, when she appeared as a contestant on American Idol, Hudson was seen as somewhat of a role model for big women…

To read the full interview, pick up this week's copy of The Voice Newspaper on sale today (Aug 4)