Nia Vardalos breaks up with cheese, drops 40 pounds

At the Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday, formerly full-figured "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" star Nia Vardalos wowed onlookers with her svelte new frame.

What was her secret?

"I broke up with cheese," Vardalos joked to People magazine of her weight loss.

"I always say like cheese keeps calling me and trying to get me to meet at a cheap motel but I'm really committed to just staying single for awhile."

But a woman cannot shrink sans cheese alone, and Vardalos admitted she also did "like 50 other things" to drop the weight. Now, 40 pounds lighter, those 50 things have really paid off.

On June 5, a smaller Vardalos will return to the big screen with Richard Dreyfuss in "My Life in Ruins," a romantic comedy set in Greece. Hey, if it ain't broke ...

Then, on July 3, Vardalos will reunite with her "Greek Wedding" costar John Corbett in yet another rom-com: "I Hate Valentine's Day."

-- Stephanie Lysaght

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Photo credit: Wireimage