Davinia Taylor: “I was walking into a mid-life crisis – now I have so much energy!”
Actress and former party girl Davinia Taylor opens up about how she reclaimed a healthy body and mind – and reveals how you can do it, too!
With her glowing skin and toned body, Davinia Taylor is thriving inside and out. Not only is she loving life in the Lancashire countryside with her four sons and partner, Matthew Leyden, she’s studying to be a personal trainer and has put all her knowledge and passion for health into a new book, It’s Not A Diet.
But the actress, who shot to fame in the ’90s as Jody Cunningham in Hollyoaks – and was often pictured partying with her pals Kate Moss and Sadie Frost – readily admits it’s been a long road to health and happiness.
She spent a stint in rehab in 2009 to beat alcohol addiction, then at 35 she lost her mum to breast cancer. Her weight ballooned to 13st, as she took refuge in food to cope.
Davinia, 43, tells Closer, “If I’d carried on the way I was, I’d have been an overweight, middle-aged mum with depression. I was taking antidepressants and didn’t understand food labels. I was sleepwalking into a mid-life crisis.”
KICK UP THE BACKSIDE
She adds, “It was a slow process, but some time after my mum had died, I started looking into ways to look after my health. Sometimes you have to go through someone dying to give you the kick up the backside.”
She began researching biohacking (the link between gut health and mental wellness) and started eating a protein-rich, nutrient-dense diet based on plenty of meat, eggs and dairy, which stopped her cravings for sugar and carbs. As a result, she transformed her health, losing nearly 3st in six months.
She explains, “When you get older, your metabolism isn’t the same as it was when you were 20. You have far more stresses and you’re expected to be bigger, slower and turn to chocolate or Sauvignon Blanc. That’s what we’re told is normal and it really shouldn’t be. “There are mixed messages about how to be healthy and I was following the wrong ones. I’d have high-fibre cereal with nut or soya milk, but when I looked at the labels, I was having loads of carbs, setting myself up for an insulin roller coaster and a day of cravings.
“I couldn’t walk past Pret without going in for a snack, especially if it was wrapped up as a healthy granola bar! I was constantly snacking – and not shifting any weight.”
Now, Davinia, who’s 5ft 5 and just over
9st, follows intermittent fasting and usually starts her day with a “fatty coffee” – black coffee with MCT oil (a supplement linked to better brain function and energy), sweetener, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.
She says, “That sustains me until 11am without cravings. We’re big meat eaters – I go for cheaper, fattier cuts of good quality meat because it’s tastier, and cook beef, chicken and fish. We have eggs every day and lots of stews. I have white rice, boiled in bone broth for extra nutrients and, if I do have bread, it’s sourdough.”
And the star swears by cold showers. She says, “I used to find it impossible to get up in the morning. I’d watch Lorraine Kelly in bed and, before I knew it, Loose Women was on! Things changed when I started taking hot baths with Epsom salts – a relaxant – and then I could deal with the cold shower straight afterwards. It improved my mood.”
FAMILY DEMANDS
While in the past Davinia says she could “barely manage to walk around the block”, she now enjoys running. She reveals, “I like to do a slow run, listen to house music and pretend I’m in a nightclub in 1995, then I’ll come home and make everyone’s tea! I’m good friends with Meg Mathews, who’s been through the menopause. She keeps telling me I need to do more weights to protect my bones.”
And Davinia admits she needs all her energy to cope with the demands of her four young boys – Asa, seven, and Jude, five, (her sons with Matthew) Grey, 13 (her son with football agent and former husband Dave Gardner), and Luxx, 10, whose father she has never revealed. She says, “My energy as a mum is huge now. Parenting is full on, coordinating four kids, the mess, football boots getting lost… It doesn’t stop!
“If I’m not looking out for myself, I won’t be mentally available for them. I want to be someone who takes them out, walks the dogs and has a giggle. If my mood dips, none of that happens.”
These days, Davinia can have a handful of crisps or a takeaway without wanting more, but alcohol will always be off-limits.
She explains, “I’d never try alcohol because that’s my primary addiction. I’ll be 13 years sober in September. I couldn’t imagine drinking – or the hangover. When I first went into recovery, I had to white knuckle it and go through AA, but there’s so much more science out there now. There are so many supplements available to help alcohol cravings [for example, some B vitamins are thought to help curb cravings]”.
Now, life for Davinia is a world away from her nights partying and she’s in a much happier place. She says, “Everyone has a tough time in their 20s, finding their feet, but these days I know what my triggers are. Moving back to Lancashire after 25 years in London has helped – it’s been lovely to come home. People do a lot more chatting up here! It gives you that warm, cosy feeling.”
By Claire Higney
● It’s Not A Diet – The no cravings, no willpower way to get lean and happy for good by Davinia Taylor (Orion Spring, £12.99).
Follow @daviniataylor
‘I was constantly snacking and not shifting any weight’