Clare Balding, the BBC broadcaster and star of the upcoming Celebrity Traitors series, has revealed how she lost 1.5 stone through a simple lifestyle change. The 63-year-old adopted walking as her primary form of exercise, achieving 12,000 steps a day, combined with playing golf.
Balding told BBC Radio 4: "I know how much the walking helps me because it gets you out for quite a long time. It's not a painful sort of exercise; you don't feel like you're suffering. And it's a great way to get to know your local area." She has also spoken on Instagram about the "healing power of the great outdoors."
The turning point came after a comment from her mother. In a 2014 interview with Good Housekeeping, Balding said: "I got a bit lazy about it and then my mother said something. That always wakes you up a bit. Sometimes you do need a kick up the bum." She added that she started eating more salads, fruits and rice cakes, and walks her dog for an hour in the morning and 40 minutes in the evening, at a brisk 4mph.
Balding, who is married to fellow broadcaster Alice Arnold, also does special sit-ups shown to her by her sister-in-law. She said: "I'm not obsessed about losing weight, but I feel so much healthier. It can be depressing to go shopping when you're not the size you want to be, so it's much more fun now."
Balding will appear on Celebrity Traitors, which begins on Wednesday night, alongside 18 other famous faces including Tom Daley, Sir Stephen Fry and Paloma Faith. The contestants will gather in the Scottish Highlands for a chance to win up to £100,000 for charity.
