Drag Race star Michelle Visage shares incredible body transformation after one year weight loss

DRAG Race star Michelle Visage has opened up about her incredible body transformation.

The 54-year-old shared a post on Instagram to mark her "1 year healthiversary" with a selection of pictures from the last 12 months.

Michelle, who joined RuPaul's Drag Race in 2011, suffers from an autoimmune disorder called Hashimoto's disease.

It is the most common form of thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid gland).

People suffering from it struggle to regulate weight because the thyroid gland makes hormones, which control metabolism.

At the start of 2022, Michelle decided to alter her lifestyle in a bid to better her health.

Sharing snaps from throughout last year, Michelle showed off how her body has changed taking up exercise and eating a balanced diet.

Michelle told her 2m followers on Instagram: "1 year "healthiversary" update:

"This is not to brag, gloat or trigger. This is just me sharing what many of you have been asking about:

"For those who know what I’ve been going thru being an advocate for my own health, hoping to live to a healthy centurion and attempting to reverse my Hashimoto's, this is for you.

"Jan 10, 2022 out of nowhere my panic attacks started to come back after years of me keeping them at bay. Because of my autoimmune, my body gets puffy and I gain weight very easily when I eat poorly with high inflammation foods, and to be honest, that's what I love and crave but my endocrine system does not.

"The food that I had been consuming was now backfiring and my system was attacking itself.

"I needed a change and that change for me was switching to a very strict AIP regimen."

Michelle went on to explain what exercise she took up.

She continued: "I had to make a change and start including some movement at the same time or my life was going to be difficult day after day.

"I started with 5 mins of yoga watching @yoga_with_kassandra and her videos on YouTube with a small towel in a quarantine hotel room.

"I was so out of shape and I am technically not good at all at yoga but that didn't deter me. I was committed to healing.

"I then hired a virtual trainer who worked me out in any and every situation. @soniajonesfitness knew I could do it and she pushed me through every workout.

"I never wanted to be skinny, I WANT MUSCLES!

"Weights are so important to change your body, especially for us women of a certain age. It's a game changer!

"DO NOT BE AFRAID OF LIFTING HEAVY (ish) WEIGHTS! Embrace it, it's what's gonna bring change in your body composition!

"I’m now weight training 6 days a week and the days I don't have Sonia I train with @carolinegirvan on YouTube so I get it ALL IN!"

Symptoms of Hashimoto's might take years to develop, but the first sign is usually an enlarged goiter, making the front of the neck look swollen or making swallowing difficult.

Other symptoms of the disease may include: weight gain, fatigue, paleness or puffiness of the face, joint and muscle pain, constipation and inability to retain heat.

Suffers may also experience difficulty getting pregnant, irregular or heavy periods, joint and muscle pain and hair loss and thinning.

Depression is also another side-effect.

Michelle finished off by sharing how happy she is with how far she has come and wants others to know that they can do it too.

She concluded: "I’m very proud of my journey and for the record, I love myself bigger and smaller, but this has always been about health and blood labs. Explanting was the best decision leading into this and my journey is just beginning!

"I hope this inspires you in some way to show you that it's never too late to reclaim your health. It won't be fast but it’ll be worth the journey. HERE’S TO HEALTH!

"Photos are where it began down to where I am currently."

Fans rushed to the comments section to praise Michelle for her journey.

One said: "So proud. ❤️."

Another added: "I will take this post for what it is (I believe). It is a documentation of one woman's hard work to become the version of herself that she has chosen. Congratulations and much success moving forward!"

A third chimed in: "Yaaaas 👏 amazing!! the strongest QUEEN."

It comes after Michelle dropped a huge hint that she's Jellyfish on The Masked Singer.

On a recent episode of The One Show hosts Alex Jones and Jermaine Jenas asked her if she was.

"There are always rumours and that's the fun about shows like The Masked Singer," she said coyly.

Refusing to confirm or deny, she added: "If I told you, I'd ruin it."