I lost over 4 stone but still eat fry-ups and Chinese takeaways says ex Hollyoaks star Davinia Taylor | The Sun
HOLLYOAKS legend Davinia Taylor shed a whopping four stone – without ditching her beloved bacon and egg fry-ups or Saturday night Chinese takeaways.
Looking at the superfit 45 year-old mum-of-four today, it's hard to believe that just a few years ago, she struggled to even perform the simplest of household tasks.
"Even unloading the dishwasher was too much hassle back then," Davinia, who shot to fame as Jude Cunningham in the Channel 4 soap back in the '90s,tells The Sun.
"I was sluggish, underwhelmed, flatlined, exhausted and uninspired. I had shoddy sleep, low self-esteem, no energy and was overweight."
But the former Primrose Hill party girl turned her life, and her body, around when she realised that she was eating all the wrong things – foods that were playing havoc with her hormones and contributing to uncontrollable cravings.
"People need to realise that if they are overweight it's not their fault and they aren't greedy and lazy," she stresses. "Many of the foods we are eating are overprocessed and make us addicted because of what they do to your hormones."
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Hollyoaks star Davinia Taylor shows off incredible three stone weight loss
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As a result, she learnt how to 'hack' her hormones by employing a series of health tricks – from only eating carbs at night to learning to no longer fear fats – that allowed her to go from 13 stone to the 8.5 – 9 stone she weighs today.
Davinia has now reinvented herself as a wellness expert, has her own range of dietary supplements, WillPowders, and hit number 1 on the Sunday Times Bestsellers list with her book It's Not A Diet in 2021.
And the inspiring star – whose new book Hack Your Hormones was released this week -doesn't count calories and no longer feels permanently starving.
Here, she shares her top tips with The Sun and reveals how many of the things we all think about a healthy diet are totally WRONG…
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6Don't be scared of fat
For years, we've been told to avoid saturated fats but Davinia urges us to re-think this mindset. "The first form of nutrition if you want to lose weight is saturated fat," she explains.
"It's a game changer to stopping cravings. For years, our ancestors had a high saturated fat diet and then about thirty years ago, the advice became to switch to a low saturated fat diet.
"I shred four stone quickly by introducing saturated fat into my coffee every morning. I have butter, MCT oil or collagen in my coffee and it stops your cravings by overriding my desire for sugar. It's phenomenal."
She adds: "We should be far more concerned about vegetable oils, grains and sugars than we should about saturated fat. Margarine and vegetable spreads are the worst – they contain the same chemicals as farm yard detergent. Stick to butter."
Eat like your grandma did
Davinia is all about going back to basics and eating the kind of unprocessed, unfussy foods that our grandparents did – including lots of good quality meat.
"If your great grandmother didn’t eat it, don’t trust it," she vows. "For me it's about all eating what your gran and great gran would have eaten, things like meat and two veg for tea.
"I eat loads of meat, and also fatty, cheap cuts of it. Just make sure it's grass-fed. "
It's no surprise given her carnivore diet, therefore, that Davinia is no advocate of the vegan and plant-based movement that has gained popularity in recent years.
"My big bugbear is the vegan movement," she explains. "It’s really pushing highly processed grains into our diet that cause brain fog and addictive eating.
"I cannot get behind any of that. We have lamb and beef every night and sometimes fish."
The great cholesterol con
While statin medication to control cholesterol is one of the most prescribed drugs in the world, Davinia says we have all been 'conned' into believing we must avoid foods with high cholesterol in them – think eggs, red meat, cream and butter.
"We have all been a victim of the cholesterol con," she explains. "The American Heart Association guidelines now say that cholesterol in our diet is no longer a concern. The body produces cholesterol whether you eat it or not."
Davinia continues: "I have about 4 or 5 eggs a day – I get through 30 a week in my house. I also have tons of butter and fatty meat.
"A doctor would tell me my diet is catastrophic but ten years ago I was looking at going on diabetes medication and now I just ran the Manchester marathon."
DO eat carbs – but save them for night
"You don't need to follow a keto or Atkins style diet that forbids carbs, but it's all about the timing of when you eat them," Davinia reveals.
"Carbs are really useful when you want to go to sleep. I love mash potato butties and pasta, but I have them after 5pm. That's because carbs boost serotonin, your cosy hormone, which then converts to the sleep hormone, melatonin, meaning you have a great night's sleep."
Davinia also advises sticking to protein and fat for breakfast, and avoiding carby, sugary cereals.
"Do not give your kid cereal for breakfast – it's like giving them dessert," she stresses. "The sugar spikes their insulin levels and they will be craving junk food for the rest of the day. My kids have bacon and eggs."
Forget counting calories – count chemicals instead
"I eat thousands of calories a day," Davinia says. "You can't adhere to a calorie-controlled diet – you need calories to function, especially fat because it is fuel for your brain."
She adds: "I tell people to count chemicals instead of calories. Avoid thinks like highly refined vegetable oil – that's the real villain and full of chemicals. There are no safe levels of it.
"Make sure to read your food labels too and learn the 50 odd names that companies use to disguise sugar. You might think a cereal bar is healthy because it contains nuts but then you look at the label and it contains date juice, which is just another name for sugar and it's all highly addictive."
You don't have to give up your takeaway
"I don't like feeling like I'm missing out, but because I eat like I do most of the time, and understand about hormones, I am now able to have a Chinese takeaway guilt free," Davinia tells us.
"I used to have a takeaway three times a week and that was normal, but now I don't crave it, so I enjoy one like one a month. When you eat the right nutrients in your diet, like lots of meat, you don't have those cravings.
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"It's so simple, honestly. If I can do it, anyone can do it."
Davinia's book, Hack Your Hormones, is out now priced £14.99 (RRP)
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