'I try not to think about my weight'

Helen Lederer on extreme dieting and finding a balance

- GEORGIA FARQUHARSON

Helen focuses on what she has achieved

Helen Lederer describes her diet in two words: very sporadic. The 65-year-old comedian’s love of nuts and wine means she’s had a complicated relationship with her weight over the years.

By her own admission, Helen has two settings – ‘on a complete regime’ or ‘in denial’ – and her inability to find a middle ground often leaves her feeling frustrated. ‘I would like to not be as large as I am, but I try not to worry about it all the time,’ she admits, ‘because I’ve clearly not managed to change it.’

Nevertheless, Helen values being healthy and recently signed up to an all-female gym in a bid to get fit.

Here she reveals how it’s going and why she doesn’t sweat the small stuff.

Mind and body

Back in 2012, Helen successfully shed the pounds, but it was under ‘extreme circumstances’. And surviving on just 400 calories a day wasn’t healthy or sustainable. ‘My only memory of being sort of not fat is when I was on a powdered food diet,’ she admits.