WORK OUT WITH ALEXANDRA CANE
Love Island star Alexandra Cane has dropped two stone with her ‘ten min a day’ workouts
When she entered the Love Island villa, Alexandra Cane was hailed as the antidote to the conventional super-skinny girls with her gorgeous curves. But she admits that after leaving the show, she felt uneasy about her “curvy girl” label, as inside she just wasn’t happy. Post-love Island, she was stressed out and feeling low. Thankfully, she found her “Mr Motivator”, PT Aaron Phillips, and changed her lifestyle.
When heat meets the 5ft 7in star, she’s glowing with health and happiness, and has a set of abs you could grate cheese on. “I’ve never felt as good as I do now,” she tells us. But Alex insists the game changer has been the transformation that has happened on the inside. And those abs? They’re a bonus. so, tell us what you did? It’s taken me three months, and I’ve lost 2st. I met Aaron Phillips, my trainer, who has helped hundreds of women transform their lives and their bodies. He’s so motivating, and on days when I really struggled, he was there supporting me. I was doing about two of my workouts a
day, and they’re around ten minutes each. The HIIT sessions speed up your metabolism, and really get your heart rate going. Doing the HIIT training and short, sharp workouts was handy for me because it was something I knew I could fit into my day. You looked amazing – why did you want to lose the weight? With social media, it’s very easy to just see a visual. You can’t see the transformation that’s happening inside, which is why I try to be as open and vulnerable as I can, so that people understand. When I was on Love Island, I was labelled as the curvy girl, which I felt guilty about, as even though I had accepted myself, I wasn’t actually truly 100 per cent happy. You can be body positive at whatever size, but for me, it was about how I was feeling, and trying to translate that has been hard. It’s never been about a number on a scale for me. It was more about feeling brilliant. Looking physically great is a bonus, but my mental state has done a 360. How did it feel being seen as the “bigger” girl? It was insane to me as I was a size 8-10, and I lost weight in the villa, too, due to the stressful environment. But when I came out and my work schedule was so overloaded, that’s when I completely lost it. There were so many parties and events, burgers, cakes and alcohol, late nights and early mornings. You’re not getting enough sleep and you can’t keep track of what you’re eating. I was stressed, too, and it all crept up on me. My weight increased, I didn’t have any energy and, mentally, I was really struggling. By the start of last summer, I was at my heaviest, which was 11st. Do you have any regrets about doing the show? No, it’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I lost myself for a bit, but now I feel like I’ve flourished, and I’m so grateful for that opportunity.
Obviously, some people come out and go down a negative path, and some people can turn it around. It’s about your mind-set. When you leave Love Island, no one can prepare you for how mental it is. You feel paranoid because people try to take pictures of you and everyone wants a piece of you. Your mind becomes one big mess. Trying to seek clarity from that is really difficult, and I wanted to be the best version of myself, so that no one could take that away from me. Tell us about your plan... It’s a 12-week programme with ten-minute workouts, so you can do one a day. And there’s a lot of stuff on mind-set, too, which is so important. Plus, there’s a nutrition plan, which isn’t a diet because you can still have chocolate and wine. I’ve made it for people who are intimidated by going to the gym. I have wasted so much money on gym memberships in the past, but you can do these exercises at home with your kids or your dogs running around. The workouts are intense, but we make them fun, accessible and achievable. I just want to help empower other women because it is possible, and I want you to feel like the best version of yourself, as I feel brilliant. I wish I could put it in a bottle and share it. ■
Alexandra’s plan is available from the Thehappybodyplan.com for £49.99
‘I want to empower other women’