At the end of the day… Alice Liveing
I live in Fulham with my boyfriend Patrick. It’s not a huge flat, but we have space to train at home, and we have a balcony. We’ve already had a few barbecues and that was heaven. Lockdown makes you appreciate small things: I wouldn’t normally see a barbecue as such a big treat, but now, I’m finding happiness in sitting down for dinner, scheduling a few Zoom calls or sitting in the sunshine reading a book.
It’s difficult being a personal trainer in lockdown, because so much of the work I do is very hands-on. But since a lot of my role does sit naturally online – like sharing content and information – I’ve been able to prioritise that.
A lot of our meals are based around green veggies, but I don’t believe in restriction. I don’t cut anything out of my diet unless I just don’t like it. So I often have a glass of champagne or a G&T. And I will have ice cream sometimes after dinner. I try to be a personal trainer with a side of normality. Health is often packaged up in an unrealistic way, but fitness isn’t an all-ornothing thing. Thinking like that is more of a hindrance than a help. Of course, nutritious food is important, but health is more nuanced than that. I spent a long, long time being fixated on looking a certain way and having a six-pack, but then I realised that there wasn’t a pot of happiness at the end of the weight-loss rainbow.
I love slow yoga and I find that breath work is really key. Breath is connected to everything we do: simply by the way we breathe, we can relax and calm ourselves. I suffer from anxiety and have definitely had periods of having panic attacks, so bringing my focus back to breath helps me unwind.
I’m reading City Of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert, which is a great piece of escapism. It’s set in 1940s New York in a theatre, and I used to work in musical theatre so I can really relate. And I’ve just read a great thriller called The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. Next on my list is Solve For Happy by Mo Gawdat. He’s an ex-google exec who I heard talk about happiness on Elizabeth Day’s podcast How To Fail, and I thought he sounded incredible.
I’ve been bingeing on the new series of After Life, Ricky Gervais’s show on Netflix. I’ve never known a TV show that can make you laugh and cry within a space of 30 seconds. We’re also Gogglebox fans, and we’ve started to watch Game Of Thrones.
I’m a bath person. I use Neom bath salts and I just get in and chill. I find the whole evening skincare routine very therapeutic. I’m obsessed with a skincare brand called Exuviance, which I’ve been using for almost two years and it has honestly transformed my skin. I used to suffer with really bad acne, and now I rarely get breakouts. I’m proud of my skin now, which is a big deal for me.
When it comes to sleep, I’m a bit of a granny. I like to be in bed by 9.30pm. And I have had very weird dreams throughout lockdown, like a lot of people. Sometimes they’re so weird that I have to wake up Patrick and tell him about it. I take it as a positive: I must have a very active imagination.
Alice’s podcast, Give Me Strength, is available now on all platforms