Tess Daly has explained how she manages to maintain her slender figure while enjoying fatty foods like chips and chocolate.
The Strictly Come Dancing host, 55, opened up about her diet and exercise regime to Hello! magazine, and it turns out she doesn’t work out every single day, but she does keep up with stretching exercises “in between”.
Tess, who is married to TV and radio presenter Vernon Kay, said she works with a personal trainer, but also revealed that she doesn’t “deprive” herself of anything, even notoriously fatty foods.
She said: “I try to work out every other day. In between, I’ll do flexibility and stretching exercises. I believe flexibility is what keeps you young. I do aerobics workouts and I’ll lift a few weights to retain muscle definition.
“I also increase my protein intake where I can. It helps me feel sharper mentally, too. But don’t get me wrong, I also love my chips and chocolate. I don’t deprive myself of anything. Moderation is key.”
Tess said she’s “quite an active person” but stressed the importance of self-care. She explained that women wear “so many hats”, being both “nurturers and caregivers”, so self-care helps you “show up” for others.
In 2022, the former model shared her daily routine, including a typical breakfast. It usually consists of yoghurt with blueberries or cherries, but she would heat the fruit in the microwave and add granola with maple syrup or honey.
She often tucks in around 8:30am, roughly an hour after she’s woken up, and tries to eat her breakfast around 45 minutes prior to her workout to boost her energy levels.
Speaking to Women’s Health, Tess said she started with 20 minutes of yoga, opting to follow Yoga with Adriene on YouTube, which she said offered sessions for stiff backs and flexibility.
In a 2020 discussion with Ruth Crilly on YouTube, Tess confessed that she enjoys food “too much” and “refused to diet”, but has managed to adopt healthy habits.
She revealed that she hadn’t eaten red meat since she was 16 and “couldn’t bear” the gristle in sausages and fat in meat, instead opting for chicken and fish.
However, in 2021, it was reported that the TV star kept to a mostly vegetarian diet, avoided carbohydrates, and enjoyed smoothies with “wholesome” ingredients.
She also shared a photo of a lunch she’d made for herself and her children in 2020. It included vegetables such as cucumber, lettuces, carrots and celery, as well as strawberries and blueberries.
