Whether you know and love her as the British TV presenter from Big Brother, The Masked Singer UK or any of the other countless shows she delights us with, it’s clear that Davina McCall is in a league of her own when it comes to exercise – just check out those washboard abs on her Instagram! Not only has the mother-of-three and fitness guru completely transformed her physique by exercising hard and enjoying a clean eating diet, but she often inspires her fans and followers with workout DVDs, sugar-free cookbooks, physical challenges and great anecdotes.
Working out improves your mental wellbeing as well as your physical wellbeing
“I’ve believed in the link between being physically active and mental wellbeing for a long time,” Davina told us when we asked celebs why they exercise. “It’s partly why I’ve launched Own Your Goals. It’s my online fitness programme which offers tailored workouts, nutrition guidance and wellbeing advice in one place. It’s a holistic approach to fitness, and about far more than just weight loss. It brings together things I believe in – eating well, exercising for health and techniques like mindfulness, since all of these things contribute to feeling the best you can. It’s about looking at fitness through a different lens. Exercise should be seen as an investment in long-term health, rather than as a route to weight loss only.”
Should you workout at home if you can’t go out?
Absolutely, says Davina. Just recently, she collaborated with John Lewis & Partners to design an exclusive follow-along home workout video, which you can do in the comfort of your own house or garden. The simple, beginner-friendly routine is filmed in the comfort of her own garden – no gym or equipment needed – and will give you a full-body workout in just 25 minutes! It doesn’t matter where or when you do it, just find a time, place and routine that works for you. As Davina says, “If you’ve done something, you are still lapping everybody who’s sitting on the sofa. Plus, if that’s not enough, she sent us a total body workout using nothing but a… plastic bottle!
Her 2017 workout DVD, Davina – 30 Day Fat Burn, is also perfect for maximising the fat burn while you’re at home. Designed with her personal trainer Ed Lumsden, the fitness DVD features six workouts to choose from: three boxfit exercises, a strength and toning workout, an abs workout and a ‘buddy workout’, for exercising with a friend or partner. Each is just 10 minutes and designed to be as efficient as possible for burning fat. Vanessa of Healthista rated it a quick and fun DVD with little intensity or difficulty: “It does depend on your abilities, but with a minimum of 20 minutes per workout, it’s not going to leave your legs trembling and your arms limp every day. I did, however, feel a little sore doing five sessions in one go, which takes just under an hour. It would have taken a little longer had I had a buddy to do the buddy workout with. My dog doesn’t really suffice.”
What diet does Davina recommend?
“I try not to eat [breakfast] until after I am finished [with my workout],” says Davina in her interview with Get The Gloss, “so sometimes I might not eat breakfast until 10am. I will either have one and a half Warburton’s crumpets (two is too many) with butter. Or I’m slightly in love with Megan Rossi’s Bio & Me. I also have this weird idiosyncrasy; I do two-thirds of her granola with one third Grape Nuts. Don’t ask me why. I love the crunch, but there is plenty of crunch in my granola. I don’t know why but it’s become a thing and I can’t stop it. A word of warning with Bio & Me, if you’re new to it, just make sure you’re around friends while you’re eating because it’s very, very farty. It’s just got so much frickin’ fibre in. You are supposed to eat 30 different types of fibre a week and it’s got 15 different types of fibre in one bowl!”
“For dinner, we’ll have a family meal and I generally try to make something healthy,” she continues. “I do try and do home cooking for the kids but it’s very simple home cooking a lot of the time. I don’t want to guilt-trip people so I will often do fish in breadcrumbs, or something from the freezer section. I always try to make home-made chips; they take as long to make as an oven chip, so that’s not too much of a difficult swap. My wind-down will always entail some televisual feast with my son. Watching telly together it has become a thing.”
How can you stay motivated?
“After I had babies, I put a picture of myself when I felt comfortable on the fridge,” she said in a chat with us. “Interestingly, when I was pregnant, these pictures weren’t of me looking super-skinny, they were just of times when I looked healthy and comfortable in my own skin. I’m a terrible grazer: I eat all the time, so I’m always opening the fridge door and scanning for things I can chew, but I’d look at the picture and it would stop me. I used to have pictures of Elle Macpherson up in the gym, but I’m never going to look like her, I just don’t have her genes! However, by putting up a picture of yourself, you know you can achieve that, because it’s you.”
If you’re interested in more of Davina’s workouts, check out Davina’s online gym, Own Your Goals Davina, ownyourgoalsdavina.com
