HAVE CELEBRITY PARENTS

“Oh, look, another Z list celebrity trying to cling on in there through health and fitness, what a loser”. I’m guilty of thinking that too. But for me, it could not be a more illinformed and inaccurate assumption.

I was an anxious and insecure teenager and twenty-something and I started running to help me manage that. I didn’t want to go on medication. I’d been in CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy] for years and I wanted to do everything I could to tackle it without taking any pills. Now I am strong, capable and completely resilient and that all came from practising physical strength. Strong is not the new skinny. To me, strong is self-empowerment.

My friend recently told me, “I liberated myself through selfcontrol,” and that’s exactly it. I liberated myself and it feels so good.

I started training and learning about nutrition five years ago. It sounds dramatic but I fell in love with it. Certain training did more for me mentally than physically. It made me realise I can work hard and not give up. I quit my job in telly and, within a year, I was a certified personal trainer. At that point, I had a qualification, a passion, a blog and clients and it started to snowball. I love writing but couldn’t for love nor money get a book deal. Every publisher wanted a celebrity “change your diet”, “bike ride to work” story, but that’s not what I do. Eventually, I was approached about writing a body transformation book. Flash-forward and I’ve got a bestseller.

I did it and achieved it. I’ve changed my body to an incredible degree. I have tens of thousands of clients and I’m obsessed with my job. It’s not something I’m doing on the side of a reality TV show to make money and stay relevant.

For me, it’s got everything to do with feeling structured, disciplined