Celebrity Health - Laura Hamilton
TV presenter Laura Hamilton talks about her love of exercise, how she beat her sugar cravings and how she juggles work and a busy home life
Image of Laura Hamilton courtesy of Andy Newbold
As a working mum of two young children, TV presenter Laura Hamilton is used to juggling a hectic work schedule with a busy home life. As one of the presenters of A Place in the Sun, 35-year-old Laura has a passion for travel, and has shown that she is up for a physical challenge, having competed in The Jump and Dancing on Ice. Here she talks to Your Healthy Living about how she maintains her fit and healthy lifestyle.
Healthy living is very important to me. I feel so much better when I’m healthy and as a mum to two young children (Tahlia, two, and Rocco, three,) I want to be a healthy role model to my kids. It’s important to set an example to them by eating well and exercising. I think when you go to the gym and exercise you automatically feel better for it.
I have a really healthy diet. Following the birth of my second child, Tahlia, I cut out a lot of sugar and carbs and since then I’ve tried to stick to a low sugar diet. The first few days were really hard because sugar is a bit of an addiction. After that I replaced anything sugary I used to eat with nuts as I found that they gave me a more sustained form of energy.
During a typical day, for breakfast I tend to have avocado with salmon or scrambled eggs. For lunch I might have a chicken salad and for dinner I might have some fish with spinach and broccoli. I’ll have a few potatoes but not many. If I fancy a snack I’ll have some popcorn. I’ve recently opened up a coffee shop and it’s very hard because there are lots of lovely cakes there which can be a bit tempting!
I love cooking and experimenting with new dishes. Last night I made an Asian-style dish with prawns, garlic and tomatoes and brown rice. The night before that I made pork chops with spinach, asparagus and mushrooms. And the day before that I made a dish with monkfish and a Malay-style sauce made from coconut milk. I get lots of inspiration for dishes I’d like to cook from when I’m travelling and filming A Place in the Sun.
I’m in France and Spain a lot for work and there are lots of good restaurants there serving good food, so it’s not difficult at all for me to eat healthily when I’m away from home. Some of the French markets have some amazing fruits and vegetables. When you’re on the go the temptation can be to just grab a snack but I don’t do that any more since I cut out sugar. When you eat something sugary you get a spike in energy followed by a crash, and it leaves you wanting more sugar again. Now I snack on things like nuts and I don’t get cravings for sugar.
I try to do at least an hour of exercise a day. I belong to the David Lloyd gym in Purley and I take the children with me when I go because they have lots of classes for kids which I encourage them to get involved in. I also take my children to swimming lessons every week if I’m in the UK. If I’m abroad filming then I’m literally in the pool with them every day.
I’ve got my own fitness app, Laura Hamilton’s Full Body Workout, which I launched last year. I created it with the help of a personal trainer called John Beeby who helped me to lose the weight I put on when I was pregnant with Tahlia. It’s good for busy mums like me because you can do the exercises anywhere, at any time, and you don’t need any special equipment.
I would say that I’m quite a healthy person. I very rarely get ill. And if I did get ill I would just carry on through it as I don’t like to take time off. I think one of my downfalls, which is a massive part of being healthy, is not getting enough sleep. That’s an area where I really need to improve. I don’t relax very easily. My gym has a nice sauna and steam room which helps to relax me a bit. I sometimes get a massage there.
My top tip for keeping healthy is try to fit at least half an hour of exercise into your day. Even if you feel tired, make time to do it because it will help to energise you and you’ll feel so much better.
To keep up with Laura’s latest news, visit www.laurahamiltonofficial.com or follow her on Twitter: @laurahamiltontv
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