T've learnt to embrace EVERY BIT OF MYSELF

Davina McCall talks to Woman about why she's changed her attitude towards exercise and how you really can achieve her amazing body

- JORDAN PARAMOR

Mum of three Davina McCall has always been in incredible shape, and at 56 years old she has the kind of body that 20-somethings would envy. But looking good is no longer Davina’s top priority. After trying fad diets she’s discovered a way of eating that works for her, as well as finding a new, incredibly important motivation for staying in shape.

Are you still intermittent fasting? 

I am and I find it really works for me. I fast from 8pm until 10am, so that’s a 12-hour fasting window. The good thing is, I sleep through most of the fasting time. I also know that if I really want to have a snack at 10pm I can fast until 12pm the following day, although that is a bit trickier.

I don’t get hungry because I’m so used to it now. Having the eating window has made me realise that I used to snack all night, even if it was on healthy foods. I was probably taking in 300 to 400 more calories than I actually needed.

You also used the Zoe app to work out the best things for you to eat.

I wore a glucose monitor for two weeks in the testing phase of my Zoe journey, which shows which foods spike your glucose. I already knew that sugar didn’t agree with me but it is hard to stay away from it completely. Now when I have a snack, rather than having something carby like crisps or something sweet, I have nuts. I had some blueberries today and I know that fruit is sweet, but I didn’t have any nuts with me and at least blueberries have got some fibre in them.

I have bags and bags of nuts in my kitchen and all of them are great, but almonds and walnuts are the best. I’ll only have a small amount, not a great big handful.