NORDIC WALKING TO HELP HER LOSE WEIGHT

THOSE early briefings leave no time for a personal trainer, though Mrs May goes to the gym several times a week.

She’s attributed much of her 2 st weight loss (pictured, above left, in 2009 and, right, in 2015 — she dropped from a size 14 to a size 10/12 between 2009 and 2012) to a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes, which means she has to watch her sugar intake.

However, one of the other secrets behind those lithe legs and toned upper arms is one of her favourite hobbies: Nordic walking.

Pictured with matching rucksacks and £100 poles as she and her husband Philip enjoyed a rambling holiday in the Swiss Alps this summer, Mrs May

described the scenic activity as ‘heaven on Earth’. But Nordic walking is also rigorous exercise and has helped tone her physique.

Dr Catherine Hughes, of British Nordic Walking, says the activity burns 46 per cent more calories than ordinary walking because you apply force to the poles, so the exercise requires more muscle power. ‘It tones up the core and arm muscles,’ she says.

And the effects aren’t purely physical. ‘Driving the pole into the ground in rhythm with your feet and opening and closing your hand on the pole can give a wonderful release of stress,’ Dr Hughes says.

Just the ticket for a pressured PM.