Diet Now Magazine - Being a mum keeps me fit
Coronation Street's Kym Ryder on bulimia, food, fitness and family health problems
Have you ever struggled with your weight?
I was bulimic when I was 16, but I managed to get myself out of it before it became too serious. Having experienced that, I’m always aware of my weight, but I’m not unhappy with what I’ve got.
Do you find it difficult being in the public eye?
I think we all feel insecure about ourselves – I know lots of people who aren’t in the industry who don’t like having their photo taken either. To be honest, I don’t feel any pressure at all to be a certain shape or size. Being healthy is all that matters.
Do you exercise regularly?
I like to run on the country roads near where I live. I also like to swum and go to the gym when I get the chance. To be honest, I’m quite active anyway because being a parent, you need to be! My kids are 12 and nine and they have me running around like a headless chicken most of the time.
Have you always been quite fit?
I used to dance when I was a kid, but it all stopped when I became a mum at 18. Also, I became unfit when I joined Hear’Say because we were put in a house and weren’t allowed to go anywhere.
What’s your typical day’s diet?
I like by the old saying ‘eat like a king at breakfast, a prince at lunchtime and a pauper in the evening’ because that’s the time when your body us shutting down for the night and your metabolism isn’t as good. I usually have cereal or porridge with honey, and maybe a bit of fruit for breakfast. Then I’ll have fruit and Ryvita with low-fat spread for lunch and my evening meal will be something healthy like chicken or fish with lots of veg.
What foods can’t you resist?
Chocolate! I was watching a programme on TV the other day about a chocoholic and I thought ‘That’s me”’ I could eat it all day long – I have to really control it. I try to at least savour the taste instead of just wolfing it down.
Have you tried many diets?
No I haven’t, because I think most of them are bad for you and you can’t maintain your weight afterwards. I’d hate to look back on my life and think I didn’t eat.
How do you maintain your weight?
Generally through exercise, but I watch what I eat, too. I treat myself at the weekends, then I'm good for the rest of the week.
What’s your ideal weight?
At the moment I'm 8st 7lb. I've read that my ideal weight is 9st, but I’m only 5ft 4in, so I feel a little bit big if I get to 9st.
How did you feel when you were told to slim on TV in Popstars?
In Hear’Say I was a size 12, which is nothing really. It was all blown out of all proportion on the show – people were often surprised at how small I was when they met me in person. I think it just went to show how fickle the music industry is and how it’s all about the packaging.
Have there ever been and health scares in your family?
My dad had a quadruple bypass about three years ago. It was terrifying because we nearly lost him. We all immediately stopped smoking. And my aunt and uncle on my dad’s side both have diabetes and are losing their sight to it. My grandmother, who’s no longer with us, lost her sight completely to diabetes when she was very young. So it’s something that’s affected my family a lot.
Is there a possibility, then, that you could get it too?
We don’t know, but because it’s in the family, we all have to get screened quite regularly.
Has having diabetes in your family changed your outlook?
Diabetes is much more serious than people think. If it’s not managed properly, you can have serious problems like heart disease, nerve damage and in very serious cases amputations, so it’s quite scary.
On a happier note… whose figure do you admire?
Kate Winslet – I think she looks fantastic. You can see she’s healthy and looks after herself.
Which parts of your body do you like the most – and the least?
My least favourite used to be the little bump at the bottom of my belly, but I’ve grown to love it. It was something I never really got rid of after having my children, but I can’t dislike it for that very reason. My favourite part is my hair – it gets its own fan mail!
[Celebrity Diet Now Magazine - Issue 5 - Summer 2007]