Celebrity Health - A J Odudu
The Box Plus Network TV presenter AJ Odudu shares some of her top tips for healthy living and fitness
TV presenter AJ Odudu is perhaps best known for co-presenting the Channel 5 reality show spin-off Big Brother's Bit on the Side. Now, the 28-year-old can currently be seen on our screens presenting Trending Live on the 4Music channel. AJ also hosts her own YouTube channel in which she offers tips and advice on healthy living, nutrition and exercise.
©Image courtesy of Anna Mårtensson
Q: Have you always had an interest in fitness and healthy living?
AJ: Yes, definitely. I’m one of eight children – I’ve got five brothers and two sisters – and we all did some sort of sport. My brothers and sisters were always winning medals and I became obsessed with the idea of winning one myself. That got me into sport and athletics as well as netball and football. I did all of these sports to get a medal but I never actually won one although I tried my hardest. Now, every time I do a 10k run or a half marathon everyone gets a medal so I’m making up for lost time!
Q: How do you ensure that you follow a healthy lifestyle?
AJ: I have a really busy life so I have to exercise and keep healthy otherwise I get burnt out. It’s really important for me to be able to function at my best. In order to do that I make sure that I eat really well, get a good night’s sleep and exercise when I can. I’m originally from Blackburn in Lancashire and when I moved to London I didn’t know anyone at first. So going to the gym and joining running clubs was a good way to make friends. I then took on a personal training course and became obsessed with it! That’s how I started documenting my fitness journey on YouTube and Instagram.
Q: What is your daily diet like
AJ: It really depends on how much time I’ve got but I always try to make sure I have a healthy mixture of protein, carbs and good fats. I might have half an avocado on toast for breakfast or a couple of poached eggs. I always have a cup of tea in the morning – milk and one. I love my morning tea. Or I might have porridge made with protein powder and a little bit of water and milk. Hey presto – that’s a good brekkie! For lunch, if I’m on the go, I might have salmon teriyaki. My parents are Nigerian so I’ve always eaten a lot of fish and chicken with black eyed beans.
Q: Do you enjoy cooking?
AJ: I do and I don’t. The thing is that, in London, everyone’s flat is so tiny – mine included – so my kitchen just gets really messy every time I cook. But I do enjoy cooking, to an extent. It’s good when you can prepare your meals for the week ahead. When I do that I’m at my healthiest. For example, on a Sunday I might make three days’ worth of meals and lunches.
Q: Do you like discovering new health foods or superfoods?
AJ: Yes I do. I love things like quinoa, spirulina and kale. I think living in London it’s quite easy to walk into a coffee shop and get a matcha tea or some kale crisps. But every time I go back up north to my home town it’s not quite so easy as a lot of these healthy foods aren’t as readily available.
Q: Do you take any vitamins or supplements
AJ: I take iron tablets which I find helps me if I’m feeling a bit tired. I take a daily multivitamin and I have a protein shake after I’ve done some exercise as they help with recovery. But I do tend to rely on my diet to get all the nutrients I need. It’s so important to eat a healthy diet because otherwise it affects your mood, your energy levels and your wellbeing in general. I also steer clear of processed foods and sugar as much as I can.
Q: Do you have any tips for new year detoxing and getting in shape?
AJ: Well, firstly, I think it’s important to enjoy yourself over Christmas and not feel guilty in January. I think it’s good to take baby steps rather than jumping into a major detox. My tips are to start by making sure you have a really healthy, high-protein breakfast. Then when you’ve got that sorted, start having a healthy lunch and then incorporate a healthy dinner and snacks. Just build up to it in stages. Also, watch what you drink as there are so many calories in drinks. Try reducing the amount of sugar you have in your tea and coffee, don’t add cream to your hot chocolate and avoid fizzy drinks. If you stick to water and healthy teas you’ll save so many calories. Don’t load your plate up and scoff your food down. Eat more slowly, chew your food properly and stop when you’re full. A big part of the digestive process happens in your mouth. Also, make sure you drink plenty of still water as a lot of people confuse thirst with hunger.
Q: Tell us about your usual workout regime
AJ: I work out at least three times a week. I like to do gym classes like Body Pump because it’s a good mix of cardio and resistance training. It’s a good class for anyone, particularly women, who want to use weights but find the weight room in the gym a bit intimidating and male-dominated. I also love spinning classes as you can do a quick fat-burning workout for half an hour or 45 minutes. I also love yoga and Pilates. I do some outdoor running at least once a week. That might range between 3k and 10k and I like picking routes that have a mixture of hills and flat bits. If I’m short on time I might pick a few of my favourite exercises such as burpees, push-ups, crunches and donkey kicks and I’ll do each exercise for one minute. You then rest for a minute and repeat three times. It’s a great all-over body workout that you can do in 10 minutes.
Q: Do you have any tips for how to keep motivated when you don’t feel like working out or eating healthily?
AJ: My advice would be to incentivise all your workouts as that’s what I do. So, for example, if there’s a really nice restaurant that I want to eat at or there’s some running shoes I really want, I’ll say, right, if I work out three times a week for a month then I can treat myself to those shoes or that meal. Another thing is to get your friends involved. Arrange to meet your friends in the park for a run or at the gym for a class. That way you get a good workout and you get to catch up on all the gossip at the same time. Also I find that a really motivating music playlist helps.
Q: What plans do you have for the new year?
AJ: I’ve got lots going on! I’m presenting Trending Live on 4Music every Monday to Thursday and I’m also DJ-ing out and about at various events. I’m continuing with my blog and my YouTube channel and I will soon be starting training to run the London marathon. It’s going to be my biggest fitness challenge to date so I’m scared but really excited too!
To keep up to date with all AJ’s news, visit www.ajodudu.com. For more information on Trending Live visit www.4music.com
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