MY HEALTH DR ZOE WILLIAMS
THIS MORNING’S RESIDENT DOCTOR ON THE IMPORTANCE OF EXERCISE – AND THE ODD SLICE OF CARROT CAKE...
DR ZOE WILLIAMS is an NHS GP and resident doctor on ITV’s This Morning, where she offers health advice to viewers. Zoe first came to the attention of the public in 2008, after securing the role of Amazon in the Sky 1 TV show, Gladiators. At the time she had been working as a full-time doctor for nearly two years.
In 2009, Zoe founded Sportsgirls, an organisation which aims to inspire and motivate teenage girls to become more physically active. Then in 2013, after the organisation began working with teenage boys, too, it was renamed Fit4Life.
What do you do to stay fit and healthy?
I do exercises such as resistance training, cycling or yoga. It’s the thing I enjoy, it keeps my mood balanced and makes me feel confident. It also has an important knock-on effect, in that it alleviates my stress, helps me sleep better, and motivates me to fuel my body with healthy food and snacks such as nuts or fruit.
What are your secret vices?
Cake, especially carrot cake, and a good old alcoholic beverage – usually a glass of red wine.
What good fitness intentions have you not acted on?
I have good intentions that are not acted on every week! There are many times I’ve planned to go to the gym but found myself in the pub with a friend, instead. I don’t beat myself up over it, as that can be demoralising and make it difficult to find future motivation. Instead, I ask myself what I get out of that time in the pub. The benefits of social interaction are enormous for both physical and mental health – even if it is in the pub.
Have you had coronavirus?
I had it in March 2020, before the first lockdown and it wasn’t fun. I spent three days solid in bed with extreme fatigue and flu-like symptoms, and recovered slowly, taking around two months before I was able to exercise again because I was still so tired and a little breathless. But I am grateful to have made a full recovery eventually. I have many patients affected by long Covid and have seen first-hand the devastation caused by the virus as a GP and while working for a short period at London Nightingale Hospital. It was set up to care for extremely unwell patients who were on ventilators. It was there that I saw just how dangerous the virus is, and [so] I know I really am lucky.
How is your physical health now, after getting Covid?
Generally, I am someone who is fortunate to experience good physical health, but I recently gave birth to my first child and so my physical health is probably not the best right now. Sleep deprivation, erratic hormones and the physical consequences of pregnancy and childbirth all take their toll.
Has your working life contributed to better health?
Working as a doctor is not always conducive to a healthy life, especially in the junior doctor days when we work shifts, have high stress levels, poor opportunity to eat healthily at work (often just surviving off coffee and biscuits) and have to make a lot of social life sacrifices. I guess we do hold the knowledge to know how to live healthily though.
How is your mental health?
I have always been open about the fact that I suffer with anxiety. The condition has required me to take medication in the past, but in recent years my anxiety is well controlled by taking regular exercise.
‘The pandemic taught me that nature can really help me to feel calm’
Have you spoken to your doctor about your mental health?
Yes, I have, and I have also had talking therapy, which helped me a lot.
What steps do you take to improve your mood?
The pandemic taught me that spending some time in nature, ideally by water, can really help me to feel calm. n Dr Zoe Williams is ambassador for Elastoplast. elastoplast.co.uk