Piper’s happy to call tune when she’s in training
KATIE’S INSPIRED BY REGIMENTED ROUTINE
KATIE Piper got in shape for Strictly using a military-style fitness regime.
The mum-of-two has been doing gruelling workouts at
6am every day.
It means a decade on from being attacked with acid, she is happier and fitter than ever.
Talking about her morning exercise sessions, defiant Katie,
34, said: “If I don’t use that time when the kids are asleep it’s difficult to work out. And in a way that’s good.
“That structure and discipline, it takes on the pattern my life had shortly after 2008 when my physio and medical appointments were so regimented.
“It sounds a bit like the military, but it’s how I live my life.”
Katie keeps trim by eating a diet that includes salmon, turkey, sweet potato and greens.
Her healthy lifestyle has also helped improve her mental health.
She said: “There’s nothing wrong with accepting that when you look good in your clothes, you feel good.
“I’m not saying looking good equals happiness or that it’s the be-all and end-all.
“But it’s a factor in wellbeing and happiness.
“And if you can improve that, why wouldn’t you?”
Katie was attacked by an exboyfriend when she was 24 and it left her with serious injuries. Experts warned she would never be able to exercise again but she refused to give up.
Katie added: “Expectations were so low. People were like, ‘Oh you won’t exercise again’.
“And when I was 24 it made me feel so old to hear that.
“I was quite lonely because I didn’t have a boyfriend or many friends so I started spending my weekends doing races.
“Then I progressed to a halfmarathon and I actually enjoyed it. It was in this moment that I connected with exercise.
“I was like, ‘I feel free. I feel young. I’m not going to accept these low expectations’.
“Instead of getting better, I wanted to go above and beyond.”
You can see Katie on Strictly when it kicks off on Saturday on BBC One.