Maria Menounos admits to health problems due to poor diet

January 29, 2012. Maria Menounos poses on arrival at the 18th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, California. (Reuters)

Maria Menounos may have been raised on a healthy Mediterranean diet by her Greek immigrant parents but that all changed when she got a job after school reports Us magazine. In a revealing interview with Ladies Home Journal, the 35 year-old “Extra” host said that the trouble began when she got a job working at a doughnut shop at age 13 where she “couldn’t resist” eating the deep-fried goodies.

“Things got worse in college,” she confessed. “I didn’t gain the Freshman 15 – I gained the Freshman 40…I grew to a size 14 and kept growing.”

By her early 20’s the vivacious TV star was feeling “sick and lethargic” and devised her own diet plan, losing 40 pounds within a year. But a job for Channel One News in California meant a return to junk food which caused serious health problems.

"My weight didn't fluctuate -- I knew enough to keep my portions small," she explained to LHJ. "But there were consequences to eating so much junk. I was in and out of the hospital multiple times for exhaustion, malnutrition and dehydration."

Now Menounos has forged a new healthier path to curbing her weight and abides by the motto. “Just because you’re thinner doesn’t mean you’re healthier.”

Menounos has a reality show debuting on Oxygen March 18 called “Chasing Maria Menounos,” which will show her sharing a home with her parents, Costas and Litsa and longtime boyfriend Kevin Undergaro.