Where did the idea come from to cut out sugar? I first stopped having it in tea, as it was affecting my energy and mood. But I knew I had to change my sugar habits completely when I polished off a tin of Celebrations one Christmas – I’ve got an addictive personality! I wanted to quit refined sugar, and in my book Davina’s 5 Weeks to Sugar Free I use natural sugars, such as honey and maple syrup, instead. I wouldn’t cut out whole groups of nutrients. A lot of people are being told to eliminate gluten, for example, when they probably don’t need to.
Have you changed anything else? I swapped white bread and pasta for wholegrain versions after learning how high-GI foods affect your energy. I ate some of the kids’ pizza one night and went into a carb coma. Now, if we have a carb-heavy lunch, we’ll have a ‘picky’ plate for supper – raw veg and dips and fish or other lean protein.
How do you stay in shape? I don’t like calorie counting, but I do like eating good food and keeping fit. The less processed the food, the better. I also think healthy food shouldn’t be prohibitively expensive – I’m not into clean eating or buying organics. I’m into good fats, such as those in avocados and almonds. I don’t skip meals if I want to lose weight, but I’ll eat smaller portions and have green soup for supper.