Sitting down for a catch-up with Dame Denise Lewis over Zoom, her infectious love of life beams by way of the display. The star has simply turned 51 and is feeling wonderful. In reality, in her personal phrases, she’s “fabulous.”
Together with her birthday falling on the finish of August, she’s effectively and actually into her 50s so we needed to ask how the primary 12 months on this new decade feels.
“The place has that 12 months gone?” she laughs. “The one phrase I can say is I really feel fabulous. I do know lots of people dread turning 50, however for me, firstly, you have a good time 50 as a result of there are such a lot of individuals who didn’t make it and would have cherished to have celebrated and secondly, it’s a testomony to the life you’ve led to get to this stage. So get pleasure from it, embrace it. I had a giant birthday for my fiftieth. Fifty-one sounds slightly completely different, I nonetheless don’t even understand how I received right here.”
(Picture credit score: Getty Pictures)
This 12 months, her birthday plans had been slightly extra sedate a 12 months on from the massive bash. “I labored on my birthday, it was the World Championships in Budapest so my workforce received me a cake and a bottle of bubbly.”
After retiring from competing in 2004 following an harm, Denise has been a staple on our TV screens as a pundit for BBC Sports activities – masking each main occasion on this planet of athletics. She’s additionally popped up on actuality telly, showing in Strictly again in 2004 and even donned a sea slug costume final 12 months for The Masked Singer.
She has a busy household life and a loopy work schedule, like a number of us, however Denise appears to be loving it – other than one space that almost all of us can agree on.
“One factor I might like to have extra of is sleep,” she laughs. “However that’s a byproduct of getting kids. I’ve had 20 years of not having good sleep.”
(Picture credit score: Getty Pictures)
Denise lives in Buckinghamshire along with her husband, expertise supervisor Steve Finan O’Connor, and their three sons Ryan, 16, Kane,13, Troy, 4, and Denise’s daughter Lauryn, 20, from her first marriage to Patrick Stevens.
So being a mum and having a full-on job, it’s no surprise that some issues in her life are usually not at all times a precedence. “I’m not obsessed about my weight loss program,” she tells us as we ask her about her each day routine. “We are able to all afford to be extra aware, I at all times eat a rainbow and attempt to keep as hydrated as doable. I do the fundamentals as a result of that’s what’s sustainable, and repetition of fine habits doesn’t damage you one little bit. However I don’t let it fear me.”
One space of her life that she does make a precedence, nonetheless, is figuring out. “I train, I do all of the issues that you just must do. I am going to the health club, I additionally do at-home exercises now which saves me a lot extra time. I play golf as effectively.”
“At present, I’ll be doing this fusion weighted drumsticks class and shadow boxing for girls. I’ve these little cushions so I beat the hell out of them, considering of my least favorite particular person,” she tells us laughing.
“I don’t must show myself anymore”
“However I don’t go loopy, I don’t must show myself anymore. I simply want to take care of the physique I’ve labored laborious for and in addition for my psychological well-being which is extra essential to me than the rest.”
In addition to train Denise has one other trick that helps her to remain aware.
“I like meditation apps just like the Calm app, I do my ten minutes each day Calm which I believe is a godsend. I went to Wimbledon this 12 months and I used to be within the royal field with Stephen Fry and I needed to thank him as a result of he’s received this story on the app the place, actually, it’s taken me some time to get to the top as a result of I’m often asleep. I’ve been enjoying it on repeat for months and months, he’s received this wonderful voice speaking about lavender in Provence and when he talks, I’m there!”
(Picture credit score: Getty Pictures)
Feeling nice at 50 isn’t nearly figuring out and consuming proper, although, it’s additionally a self-care routine to your pores and skin, as Denise tells us. “The factor I’ve learnt about my pores and skin, I’m actually lucky that I’ve good pores and skin which I’ve in all probability taken without any consideration for a few years, however as my pores and skin is altering, I give it slightly extra consideration.
“Hydration, hydration, hydration, I at all times ensure that I am going to mattress with my pores and skin feeling nourished by a facial moisturiser. It’s a should, your pores and skin is ever-changing. As you grow old you lose slightly little bit of collagen, I don’t fear about it, I simply attempt to keep what I’ve received for so long as I can.”
There’s one other big milestone Denise has conquered since she turned 50. The heptathlon athlete suffered with a deliberating ache for years in secret that she’s solely simply opened up about.
“I can’t start to let you know how uncomfortable it was,” she tells us. “I had these assaults of ache the place I used to be doubled over, sweating, and in worry as a result of I didn’t know what was occurring.”
“I went to medical doctors and had checks however they might by no means work out what was taking place. Again presently, nobody talked in regards to the intestine or intestine well being. However now, in 2023, lastly I labored out what was occurring. At 50 I now comprehend it’s IBS and I’m managing my intestine higher than I had earlier than.”
With almost 13 million folks affected by IBS, and the situation twice as widespread in ladies, Denise is now spreading the phrase that we don’t must undergo anymore. Particularly following latest statistics from intestine well being complement Symprove revealing that 79% of victims battle with the psychological well being uncomfortable side effects of getting the situation.
“We don’t must stay with it, we will do one thing about it. Much less stress, and taking Symprove now as my each day routine has actually helped, I don’t have these crippling painful cramps anymore.”
Symprove is a intestine well being complement, which delivers 4 distinctive strains of micro organism that attain the intestine alive, ranging from £39.99.