Gary Barlow reveals secrets of five-stone weight loss

X Factor judge Gary Barlow has revealed he has lost an incredible five stone in recent years - without resorting to any special diet.

The Take That frontman told the Mirror that instead of a specific weight-loss programme he simply changed the way he ate and lived.

“I take exercise more seriously now and I’m big on well-being. I eat well, do an acupuncture session a week and I try to sleep well and do things to aid good sleep," he explained.

“I don’t eat sugar, I don’t eat fried foods and I stay away from McDonald’s and chips, and things like that. For years I did every diet going – Atkins, the works – and I couldn’t work out why I couldn’t sustain the weight loss.

He added: “I’ve just not got the sort of body where I can pick and choose what I eat. I’ve got to go for one thing and stick by it. So I’ve tried not to have sugar and caffeine, etc, and it’s boring, it’s really boring.

"But it works for me. The result is that I feel good.”

Gary - whose one remaining X Factor act Rough Copy will take to the stage on Saturday night in a bid to reach the series semi-final - also hinted that Take That could be back together as a five-piece when they head into the recording studio early next year.

The singer, who recently announced he was quitting X Factor at the end of the current series, plans to spend much of 2014 focusing on his music.

And he said that those plans could include Robbie Williams as well.

“I wrote a song on his album and he wrote a song on mine so we’re quite a partnership now," Gary pointed out.

"So for us to work together on another record would be amazing. My gut feeling is that there will be five, not four, of us next year.”