Davina McCall's early years of her weight loss journey wasn't smooth sailing.
English TV presenter Davina McCall was the presenter of Channel 4’s Big Brother, which ran from 2000 to 2010. She also hosted other programs such as The Million Pound Drop, The Biggest Loser, and This Time Next Year. Currently, she’s a judge on The Masked Singer and the spin-off The Masked Dancer.
Over the past years, the former Big Brother presenter has become a powerhouse for weight loss. Many have witnessed her major transformation, and some were inspired to follow the path that she took to achieve her fitness goal.
However, her road to losing weight isn’t smooth – it is actually full of ups and downs. She admitted that living a healthy life was not one of her priorities back then. During the early years of her career, she had a poor diet and had no workout regimens, putting her health at risk.
“In my 20s, exercise wasn’t as much of a focus for me as it is now. I was quite slim, but my body wasn’t very toned, which was probably because when I did go to the gym, I would never really break a sweat. You would typically find me on the stepping machine reading a magazine,” Davina said via Wise Living.
Everything changed after she gave birth to her second daughter, Tilly. She met her personal trainers, Jackie and Mark, whom she found in a local magazine. The media presenter said that the couple completely turned her life around.
“I went from walking down the red carpet and no one really taking any notice of me, to then walking down the red carpet and everyone screaming my name and wanting photos – and that was because I had really toned up,” she added.
Davina McCall's Weight Loss Tricks
The main keys to Davina’s successful weight loss:
- She started living healthy when she discovered that she had a thyroid problem and had a high cholesterol
- She eats high-fiber meal and learns more with gut health guru Dr. Megan Rossi
- Her diet consists of 30 plant-based foods
- She gave up cheese
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Davina McCall once enjoyed unhealthy food until her health was put at risk.
Davina compared her fitness goal to what she’s been doing in her 20. Even though she was fitter when she was young, the TV star believes that she would not score well on a fitness test as she would now despite being in her 50s.
She started living healthily after discovering that she had a problem with thyroid and had high cholesterol while undergoing a routine health test. Her health was at risk, and there’s a chance that she’ll develop heart disease later on in life. So, she decided to quit all the bad habits and
“At the time, I considered myself to be a moderately healthy 28-year-old, and it never even crossed my mind that I would be at risk of something like that, especially as I always associated high cholesterol as something old people get – not someone in their 20s,” Davina recalled.
The media presenter thinks that her high-fat diet was the culprit why she had high cholesterol. She referred to herself as a “butter friend” since butter and sugar were her guilty pleasures. Her genetics may have also played a role as she admitted that her family has a history of high cholesterol.
Davina McCall shares her diet plan and workout regimen.
Davina turned her back on everything that she thought unhealthy for her. Her diet is much more balanced now, and she’s learning about fiber from gut health guru Dr. Megan Rossi. The TV personality’s diet plan usually consists of 30 plant-based foods.
“As well as meat, I went from full-fat milk to semi-skimmed, which was a big sacrifice for me as I would often drink pints of milk, as I thought it was good for me in terms of calcium. But with it being full-fat, it wasn’t great for keeping my cholesterol levels down,” Davina shared.
The biggest sacrifice she made on her weight loss journey is giving up cheese, noting that she “continues to grieve for it.” She only consumes cheese when it’s sprinkled on her pasta – or during Christmas time, which she deems as a treat now.
Apart from her cleaner eating habit, Davina has been working out now that she’s in her 50s. She said that fitness became more important to her as she got older, and it has since become one of her top priorities in life.
“I now make time for 30 minutes of exercise a day, five days a week, just to keep on top of my fitness, and that may be split between one or two runs, and then the other three days I’ll do an at-home workout,” she noted.
The media presenter sees her body as an “engine” that needs “fine-tuning” to work at top capacity. She’s now more aware of the various aspects of her body, such as her heart, muscle tone, and overall mental health. These are the things that she never really thought about when she was in her 20s.
Davina McCall quits her "ugly" and "toxic" diet.
Recently, Davina revealed that she felt toxic consuming sugar, which led to her cutting the refined quantities of the ingredient altogether. She noted that her eating habit turned ugly, so she had to find a way to make it healthy again.
“Sugar makes me bloated, I feel toxic, and it sends my body into turmoil, and here is where I stop,” she revealed in a video she uploaded on her Instagram.
After a few days of ditching refined sugar, she updated her fans that her body had a positive reaction to it. The TV personality said that her skin looked good and felt more energetic. Furthermore, she was not bloated as she was when consuming refined sugar.
Davina McCall never kept her history of addiction to her kids.
Davina also openly discussed her battle against drug addiction, including her heroine dependency when she was young. She never kept her history a secret from her children, adding that they talked about it. However, things were the opposite with her parents’ and grandparents’ generations.
One of the reasons she was diagnosed with high cholesterol was because she’s in “the dark about her family history.” She felt great about herself when the hereditary causes and stigma of talking about health issues were addressed
“After I overcame my addiction issues in my early-20s and quit smoking at 25, I naturally became much more health-conscious, but of course, in hindsight, you always think you could have done more to live a healthier life,” Davina said.
When asked what advice she could give to her younger self, the TV personality said she would tell her to “do what you’re doing, just bear in mind that you will pay a price for the decisions and lifestyle choices you make now in the long run.”
Davina McCall calls some people "mean" for commenting about her weight loss after her divorce.
Davina was married to Matt Robertson in 2000 before their divorce in 2017. After her marriage ended, she frequently posted photos of herself looking fit. Some claimed that she achieved her weight loss through “divorce diet.” The media presenter slammed these “mean people.”
Speaking in an interview with Women’s Health magazine, Davina said she was upset with the comments she received after she lost weight. She made it clear that not because you shed pounds doesn’t mean that it’s all because of sadness.
“It’s called the divorce diet, where you just literally shed (weight). It happens to so many people I know. It was nothing I did. I was just running on adrenaline. Quite a few people (understood) and were like, ‘I think she’s having a hard time, maybe we should lay off,'” she asserted.
The TV presenter noted that some people are mean and uninformed. They tend to make speculations and create a story about one’s sadness. She pointed out that she’s happier than ever and feeling sexy despite what happened.