Lucy Meck shares her top fitness secrets
Lucy Mecklenburgh explains how she went from TOWIE to transformation queen
W hen Lucy first found fame, she was knocking back cosmopolitans at Faces nightclub and snogging Mark Wright on TOWIE. Now, she is a total boss lady who has just celebrated five years of running her successful Results With Lucy fitness programme, responsible for transforming thousands of women’s bodies. Lucy credits her success to hard work and focus – and in a world where everyone is after a quick fix, she’s adamantly anti-surgery. Plus, she’s all about “red wine rewards”, which is the kind of exercise that we can really get on board with.
Did you ever imagine Results With Lucy becoming this much of a success?
No, we never set it up to become a big business. I was training with my PT [Cecilia Harris], and a lot of people noticed a change in me and my body. I wanted to share it with everyone, for those people like me who can’t get to the gym or don’t like it. So, Cecilia – who is now my business partner – and I just filmed 30 of our favourite workouts and uploaded it, but it went crazy! Five years later, we’ve got 16 staff members and over 15 PTS on the website. We do everything from boxing and HIIT to Pilates – we even do skipping training.
Many people think you already had a “perfect” body when you were on TOWIE, so why did you start training?
For me, it was a release. I was in a bad time in my life, so I got stuck into exercise. It made me more positive and productive where before, I was very lethargic and had no energy. I had no ambition to do anything. Training has really changed everything for me.
How do you feel when you see how many transformations you have achieved?
The community really motivate me when I’m in bed and I can’t be bothered to get up – which, you know, it happens. I’m not a robot, and even though I love fitness, sometimes I wake up and it’s the wrong time of the month or I’m a bit tired, so I go to the #resultswithlucy hashtag and it inspires me to get up and move. If they can follow my programme, then I’m gonna do the same.
As it’s your job to be fit, do people assume you spend all day in the gym?
Yeah, and apparently I have a team of chefs as well [laughs]. On a good week, I work out five or six times, but normally, it’s about three or four times a week. Half an hour of HIIT sessions are my favourite with a couple of minutes to warm up and stretch at the end. People often forget to stretch, but it’s so important as it’ll really put you back on your fitness goal if you can’t walk the next day.
Are there any food rules that you stick to?
I stay away from processed foods completely. I mean, depending on how bad the hangover is! I avoid dairy, too, and I like a proteinbased breakfast. But I think it’s all about balance, so at the weekends, I’m chilled with food and drink. On a Friday night, I’ll enjoy a bowl of pasta and a glass or two – or three – of red wine. It’s about rewards, too, because you’re not working hard to treat yourself to a lettuce leaf, are you?
How do you handle any backlash on Instagram?
I’ve been in the public eye so long, I’m used to it. You do grow a thick skin. But comparisons can be dangerous as everyone has their own journey. Our bodies aren’t the same and we all react to various foods differently. Some people might take longer to get to a certain point than others. Also, I choose not to ever have any surgery. It’s a decision that I’ve made, so I won’t be getting anything done.