Television presenter Fern Britton has opened up about the significant change she made to her diet that helped her lose weight, revealing that cutting out sugar was the key, but she refused to give up butter.
Fern Britton's Diet Overhaul
Fern, 68, known for her appearances on programmes such as BBC Breakfast, Celebrity Big Brother, Ready Steady Cook, and This Morning, spoke candidly about her health journey on the Postcards From Midlife podcast. She explained that she realised her habit of eating numerous snacks was detrimental to her health and decided to make changes for the better.
Discussing her relationship with sugar, Fern said: "I realised the sugar intake. I'm addicted to sugar and, funnily enough, if you're not eating donuts, biscuits, cake, jam, you know…it makes you feel a lot better. So now if I'm eating sugar, it's too sweet for me because I used to be able to tolerate an awful lot."
Comparing Sugar to Cigarettes
Fern compared her reduced tolerance for sugary treats to her decreased tolerance for cigarette smoke. She noted: "And like cigarettes as well, I used to be able to tolerate anybody smoking anything in my face, but now it's like now 'stop it'. Apart from that it was very much kind of sensible."
Despite her dietary changes, Fern admitted that she made smaller adjustments, such as varying her breakfast. She said: "In the mornings I used to have, I do a bit nowadays but not so much, nice whole meal bread, toasted, and then peanut butter on top of that and then sliced banana on top of that. Two slices of that with a couple of pints of tea keeps you going for a long day and eggs are the best thing to eat because they keep you full for longer. Porridge is fine, but it doesn't keep you satisfied for long. So that was it really, I would have breakfast and then main meal maybe about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. It worked for me, but we were also in the winter at that stage when I started. Tuck into something sensible for supper and that was it."
Butter: The One Thing She Won't Give Up
Reflecting on her former eating schedule, Fern emphasised that there was one thing she could not eliminate: "There was nothing that was forbidden except for sugar and I'm a great believer in butter. I couldn't possibly stop butter and it seems to be working and then yes, running, picking up couch to 5k and I've got some weights here at home. I try to do something every other day."
This is not the first time Fern has discussed her weight loss journey. She previously spoke to Hello! last year, where she highlighted the benefits of weight training. She said: "My legs and arms are much stronger; my tummy is much stronger after four children and everything else my body's been through."
