You'd be hardpressed to find a beauty pageant contestant who hasn't been on a diet at some point in her life. When you have to walk and flaunt your body in front of thousands of people, controlling what you eat is part of the package.
Right before she flew to Las Vegas for Miss Universe 2017, Rachel Peters told Cosmo.ph, "I was on a diet, and I was losing weight really fast. I was doing chicken breast and cauliflower, but as time went on, I've continued to lose weight not because of my diet, but [because of] stress and lack of sleep."
That's why Rachel decided to stop dieting: "I don't want to get too thin. I've heard that when you arrive at your destination for your pageant, you lose more weight, and the last thing I want is for my gowns and my outfits to not fit me [properly]."
It looks like Rachel has been having a lot of fun since she landed in Las Vegas, though. She traded her chicken + cauliflower combo for Buca di Beppo's meatball pasta—something we'd do in a heartbeat!
Follow Ysa on Instagram.