'I'd eat two meals before most people had woken up': Christine Bleakley on her Daybreak hunger pangs - and how she stays in shape now

By LAUREN PAXMAN

Looking good! Despite her hectic schedule at Daybreak, Christine managed to maintain her trim figure by doing quick workouts

Daybreak's battle for breakfast TV ratings last year was well documented in the press.
But behind the scenes. one of the show's presenters, Christine Bleakley was also undertaking a more personal fight... one to keep her enviable figure.
‘People warned me when I started doing the early mornings that my body would confuse hunger and tiredness, and it did,’ says Christine.
‘I definitely ate more; I’d eat two meals before most people had woken up in the morning.'

‘My head felt constantly fuzzy where I’d be fighting through the tiredness.’
Not that viewers will have noticed any change in her figure - which Christine will be showing off while presenting Dancing On Ice - because she always managed to cram speedy exercises into her busy filming schedule.
Now she is sharing her secrets.

Body hang-ups: Almost unbelievably, Christine is very self conscious about her upper legs and bum. She rarely wears skirts that are cut above the knee

That’s not ideal for anyone, particularly as sleep is so important when it comes to staying healthy and maintaining your ideal weight.
Fortunately Nicola was on hand to help. Christine said: ‘My sister is incredibly passionate about fitness and is the walking example of how weight loss should be done.

Moving on: Christine Bleakley used to present Daybreak with Adrian Chiles, now she presents Dancing on Ice with Phillip Schofield

'She lost more than seven stone, which is an extraordinary amount of weight for anybody, but more importantly, she’s kept it off for nearly 10 years.’
The DVD is divided into three sections including exercises for every body part, an all-over body blast and, most importantly, interval training.
‘We wanted short bursts of exercise, because it gets you so fit,’ Christine says.

'A quick interval burst is manageable for anyone, no matter how busy they are, and after doing this for a few weeks I can honestly say my body totally changed shape. It’s something that can make a big difference.’
Christine, who leads a low-key life despite officially being a WAG, doesn’t have a favourite part of her body she’s happy to show off.
‘I don’t mind my arms nowadays,’ she says – she was less fond of them in 2010, though, when she was training for a 22-mile water-ski across the Channel for Sport Relief.
‘I put on nearly two stone,’ Cristine cringes.
‘I couldn’t have done the challenge without the training, but I was pure muscle. I had the thickest legs, and my arms bulked up like a builder. I was very aware of them!
‘It was just amazing how it changed my body. It was six months of probably the toughest training that I’ll ever do, and as soon as the challenge was over, I stopped exercising for a few weeks and let everything go down.
'Frank was impressed, but it was the most intense experience of my whole life. I constantly ate and worked out, and I craved red meat all the time.
'I could have eaten steak every day!’
These days, Christine takes a more relaxed approach and works out around three times a week, which usually involves doing sections from her DVD and running with Frank.
‘Some days I’ll feel more energetic and do lots from the DVD, and then other days I’ll just go for a walk. I love running though.

We usually run about 6K, which takes about 40 minutes. I don’t completely push myself, but running clears my head. I sort out all my problems when running and come back feeling like I’ve fixed everything.’
But even Christine has body hang-ups. She says: ‘If I could change something, it would be the area from just above my knee to just below my stomach. I never really go too short on skirts.’
Apart from water-skiing the English Channel, Christine was paired with Matthew Cutler in 2008’s Strictly Come Dancing, and lasted 11 weeks on the show.
She also attempted to run a marathon with former co-presenter Adrian Chiles the same year
‘Training was going really, really well, until Adrian broke his toe,’ explains Christine.
‘We were up to 22-mile runs and doing brilliantly, I couldn’t believe it. I carried on training, but, three weeks later, I caught my foot on my bed, and broke two toes on my right foot. It was horrendous!’

But that hasn't put Christine off marathons, she hopes to run in New York with Frank.
They have not yet set a date for their wedding, but when they do, don't expect to see her going on a huge health kick.
‘People get too obsessed with quick fixes and trying to lose weight,’ Christine says. ‘I’m all for enjoying your food, so, instead of going mad, I’ll cut out that extra portion of pasta and a few other things that I know aren’t good for me.
'You still need to eat!’

source: dailymail