Celebrity Health – Laura Hamilton
Image of Laura Hamilton © Andy Newbold
Laura Hamilton, presenter of A Place in the Sun, speaks to Liz Parry about how she and her family have kept fit and healthy throughout the lockdown
TV presenter, travel expert and property developer Laura Hamilton is best known for presenting the Channel 4 show A Place in the Sun. The 38-year-old mum-of-two is also a successful property developer and entrepreneur and runs a coffee shop, restaurant and deli called Lord Roberts on The Green. Laura loves to keep fit and launched her own online fitness app in 2014. She now posts regular fitness workouts on her Instagram channel.
Q How often do you work out and what sort of training do you do?
Laura: I love fitness and I love working out, so when the gyms closed I wanted to be able to carry on. I started working with a personal trainer called Harry Sellers and we do twice-weekly live workouts on Instagram every Wednesday and Saturday. We follow a Tabata workout where you have three or four exercises that you do intensely for 40 seconds, then you have a 20-second rest, before going on to the next exercise. You might do this circuit two or three times. I always find that when you do a workout like that, it’s over so quickly. It’s very intense for 30 minutes and the time just goes really quickly. It definitely keeps it interesting. But having said that, I can’t wait until the gyms open again!
Q Do you have any tips for people who are struggling to get motivated to do workouts at home?
Laura: I always think it’s good to get your workout done first thing in the morning because once you’ve got up and had a shower it’s really difficult to then motivate yourself to exercise. By the end of the day everyone’s feeling tired because they’ve been working and home schooling so it’s difficult to exercise then. I think it’s good to just get up, get your gym gear on and start the day with your workout and then it’s done for the day.
Q Is healthy food and nutrition important to you?
Laura: Yes. Looking good and feeling great is 70 per cent nutrition and 30 per cent exercise. You can exercise as much as you want but it’s no good if you’re not following a healthy, nutritious diet. I try to have a balanced diet, especially as I have young children, because I want to be a healthy role model for my kids. I do try and avoid things like sugary sweets but when you own a coffee shop and restaurant like we do it’s difficult!
Q What do you tend to eat during a typical day?
Laura: For breakfast I might have Greek yogurt with seeds, blueberries and raspberries, as it’s quite quick and easy to make. For lunch I might have a big salad with rocket, mozzarella and walnuts. Then for dinner I might have something like pan-fried cod with crispy bacon, sundried tomatoes, asparagus and spinach. I try not to have too many carbs.
Q Do you have any advice for eating healthily and following a balanced diet?
Laura: I try to keep a log of what I eat, especially if I’m trying to get in shape, but I try not to get too hung up on it. My trainer Harry always says that it’s all about balance. I’ve started using an app called Lifesum. They’ve got loads of different plans on there and I’ve found that following the recipes and logging what I’ve been eating has helped me to achieve a good balance in my diet. It’s really helped to keep me focused and on track.
Q Do you like to cook healthy meals for your whole family?
Laura: Yes. We’ve always brought them up to eat healthily, and because they’ve travelled quite a bit they like a wide range of foods. Tahlia, my daughter, is five and she loves sushi and paella. My son Rocco is seven and he loves calamari. The kids have tried to join in with some of the Instagram workouts I’ve done. But I think the hardest thing about the most recent lockdown has been that the weather hasn’t been great so it’s been difficult for the kids to be as active as they usually are. Rocco used to swim two hours a week for a competitive club and Tahlia was swimming one hour a week. They played tennis one hour a week as well as football. Tahlia was going to ballet and tap and she was doing theatre every Saturday. All that has come to a grinding halt, so I think this situation is incredibly tough for them.
Q Have you found ways to keep the kids active during the lockdown?
Laura: We go outside and try to do as much as we can in our garden like playing football and games of ‘it’. We go for bike rides too. We just try to keep them as motivated as possible.
Q Do you have any tips for readers for how they can stay positive and maintain a good mindset during these difficult times?
Laura: It’s all about trying to have a bit of a structure to your day, which is really difficult when we’re all lacking some kind of structure right now. I find it helps to have a routine and write it out on a plan for the week. It’s easier to stick to a workout when you have it written down on a planner. Setting personal challenges can be good too. Throughout February I was doing a challenge to walk a mile with the family every day. Having a challenge to focus on can be really motivating.
Follow Laura on her social media channels (@laurahamiltontv) for updates.
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