Leona Lewis has slimmed down from a size 14 to a size 10 after embarking on a strict month-long detox regime.

The 24-year-old singer, who has always flown the flag for 'normal', curvy women, decided to change her diet after a lengthy spell in the recording studio.

She said: 'I went on a detox at the end of summer last year and basically ate vegetables and nothing processed.

Slimmed down: Leona's new look at the Elle Style Awards last night (left), is in contrast to her curvier appearance at last year's Grammy Awards 11 month ago

'I didn’t drink anything but water for a month! I usually drink lots of water anyway, so it wasn’t a crazy, dramatic change to my lifestyle, but I just really wanted to try it and see how I felt.

'And after being in the studio a while, I started doing shows and getting more active. I only did the detox for a little while, but it must have kick-started something in me because everyone keeps saying: "Wow, you’ve lost weight!" and I’m like: "Cool!"'

However, Leona says the decision to lose weight was hers and hers alone, and she has never felt under pressure from her industry to slim down.

Leona looked stunning in a futuristic outfit at the Brit Awards last week

She said: 'No one’s ever said, "You need to work out more." I put pressure on myself to stay healthy and I do want to look good, but I like to eat and I don’t like to starve myself!''

But there was one thing that Leona struggled to give up - chocolate.

She laughed: 'I love chocolate, it was so hard for me! But I thought, "It’s only a few weeks. You can have it, but it’ll make you fat! So do you want that or to be healthy and feel great?"'

Romance: Leona insists she is 'too young' to marry boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa

Leona also revealed she has no plans to move to Los Angeles, despite enjoying the sun-soaked city while she recorded her second album Echo there last year.

She told Closer magazine: 'There’s a lot of skinniness out there, but it’s really outdoorsy and I love that. It’s always sunny and I loved going on horse trails and hiking in the canyons.

'At first, I didn’t like LA – it’s so vast and you have to drive everywhere. Everyone has this perception that I’m over there a lot, but it’s just for work. My life is in London.'

And one of the main things keeping her in London is boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa, with whom she shares a house in Hackney.

But despite having been together for over seven years, Leona insists she has no plans to walk down the aisle just yet.

She said: 'I’m not getting married yet! There’s this pressure, and I’m used to people asking about it now, but I’m 24 – I’m not getting married yet, it’s too young!”

• The full interview with Leona appears in this week's Closer magazine.