Under the microscope
CAN YOU RUN U UP THE STAIRS?
YES. I go to the gym four times a week so I’m pretty fit. I do a lot of weights. I can’t stand yoga, but I do don’t mind Pilates.
GET YOUR FIVE A DAY?
ABSOLUTELY. Every morning I have a protein shake with matcha green tea, spinach, parsley, macam powder (a root vegetable powder),powder) spirulina (an edible algae) and berries, along with poached eggs. I love kale, watercresswa and haddock. A favourite snacks is Thai fishcakes.
ANY VICES?
BLUE cheese; the stinkierst the better!
EVER DIETED?
WHEN I eat a lot of c cake for work and don’t go to the gym as frequently, I can put on as much as a stone (I’m 5ft 11in and weigh around 10st 7 7lb). When my clothes start to pinch in the wrong places, I know I have weight to shift and I eat more protein and colourf colourful veggies and wholemeal, as oppo opposed to white carbs.
WORST ILLNESS OR INJURY?
I HAD surgery on my feet as a child to readjust bones that were painful when I walked. I had prona pronation issues (when the f feett rollll i in).) D Duringi t the operation they didn’t give me enough anaesthetic so I woke up in the middle of surgery. All I remember seeing is the surgeon using what looked like a toy chainsaw and me yelling: ‘What are you doing?’ I wasn’t in pain, but it was scary.
ANY FAMILY AILMENTS?
[LORRAINE was adopted] I know there’s a history of cancer, but cancer is a lottery. You can be super healthy and get it, and other people who are riddled with it still smoke and recover.
TRIED ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES?
I’VE TRIED them all, including acupuncture when I had chronic shoulder pain a few years ago. My doctor said I’d need surgery and acupuncture was my last chance to avoid it and it worked.
EVER BEEN DEPRESSED?
I CONSIDER myself a positive person, but I had post-natal depression after my daughter, Ella [now 19] was born and I’ve had periods of generalised anxiety disorder with panic attacks, social anxiety and high levels of stress throughout my life, partly due to my unsettled childhood [Lorraine was fostered at eight when her adoptive parents split up before being reunited with her adoptive mother a year later]. I practise meditation. That’s helped me build resilience. I’ve spoken till I’m blue in the face with amazing therapists, but eventually you need to work through it yourself.
HANGOVER CURE?
NO CURE works when you’re over 40. I like rosé in the summer or a mojito cocktail (made with rum, mint, soda water and sugar), but I rarely drink.
SLEEP WELL?
I’VE NEVER been a good sleeper. I go to bed around 10pm, but always wake up between 4am and 5am. I think I’m one of those people who doesn’t need a lot of sleep.
BIGGEST PHOBIA?
SNAKES! It only started recently and I’m not sure why.
LIKE TO LIVE FOR EVER?
I DON’T know about that. My goal is to live as fully as possible. When my time comes, it comes.
Lorraine is supporting Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning on September 30: coffee. macmillan.org.uk