Ellie Goulding, the platinum-selling artist, has become a symbol of health and fitness, not only through her physical appearance but also through her advocacy for a balanced lifestyle. As a brand ambassador for Nike, Ellie embodies the benefits of exercise and healthy living. Her journey is a testament to how a commitment to wellness can overhaul one's life, impacting not just the body, but also confidence and overall wellbeing.
From Insecurity to Confidence: A Body Transformation
Ellie Goulding's transformation is not just about physical appearance; it's about a complete lifestyle change that has boosted her confidence and wellbeing. She once admitted to feeling insecure about her body, so much so that she was hesitant to leave her home. However, her dedication to exercise and clean eating has reshaped her physique and enhanced her self-assurance.
"Before, I had a flat bum, no boobs and not much shape. I'm way more womanly now. I'm a bit more confident with my body. I put it down to eating amazingly well. Now my body's different, my face shape is different and my eyes are brighter, too."
The Power of Exercise: Barry's Bootcamp and Beyond
Ellie's workout regime is intense and varied. She is a fan of Barry's Bootcamp, an hour-long workout known for its effectiveness and popularity among celebrities like the Beckhams and Kim Kardashian. To add to her workout, Ellie runs for 25 minutes to the gym, turning her commute into an extra exercise session.
Barry's Bootcamp combines mat work with bursts of treadmill activity. Ellie's trainer, Faisal Abdalla, emphasizes her commitment and enthusiastic attitude as key factors in her progress. He recommends the 'six touch plank' to achieve honed abs. This exercise involves starting in a push-up position and lifting one hand off the floor to touch the opposite shoulder, repeating the movement six times.
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Here's an insight into the SBC workout that you can do in your bedroom:
- MOVE 1: REPTILIAN CRAWLKeep as low to the floor as possible without your pelvis or chest touching. This movement engages full body in prep for what’s ahead. Opens up the hips and prepares for more stability. This is a great pre-workout tool to engage all of your muscle groups.
- MOVE 2: SUMO SQUATSTake a kettle bell or dumbbell (water bottle if you dont have) and keep your shoulder blades squeezed with your arms straight as you descend into your squat. Push your butt and hips back as you lower and then fire them forward as you raise up from your squat. Squeeze your glutes on each rep and be sure to push through your heels for full muscle recruitment. This will also force your butt into working more and your quad muscles much less.
- MOVE 3: PIN POINT CRUNCHESLie on your back with your knees bent and facing toward your tummy. Kick out your left leg until it straightens and at the same time cross over that leg with your opposite right arm until it too is pointing straight. Alternate each side and flow with this movement. Try to be as arrow like as possible and elongate the limbs as much as possible. Keep your core tensed and inhale and exhale on each movement.
- MOVE 4: SQUAT JUMP PRESSTake a deep breath, contract your abs and descend. It should feel like you are sitting back on a chair behind you; not going straight down. Keep your knees in line with your feet. You should start your descent at the knees, not the hips. Control your descent and maintain tightness in the upper back through the movement. Try to go as low as you can with out your back collapsing in on itself and then drive up pushing through your heels. imagine you are trying to rip the floor apart thats is in-between your legs as you raise up explosively. For the squat press technique, thrust arms up explosively (with weights or bottles) as you come up to full body extension. Keep shoulder retracted at top and make sure you have full extension with your arms. When the weight is overhead, your elbows should be completely locked out; no “soft” joints.
- MOVE 5: PLANK PRESSStart in a plank position on your forearms with your feet shoulder width apart and your lower back flat. Press your body up to a push-up position and perform one press up then lower yourself back down into the plank. Do all the reps on one side or alternate sides and timing for your chosen SBC level. If you can’t perform a full press up, revert to knee variation to build up strength.
- MOVE 6: 360 DEGREE LUNGE JUMPRaise your arms up high to shoulder level. Lunge backwards then with standing leg hop/ Jump and rotate 180 degrees. When you land immediately transition into your next jump until you are performing a complete 360 degree travel. Alternate timing on both legs. Keep your core strong and your head high.
In addition to Barry's Bootcamp, High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is one of Ellie’s go-to methods. “I’ll run to Faisal’s class (at Barry’s Bootcamp) in the morning. It’s only about 25 minutes from home and it gets my heart rate up enough to go in and be ready because it’s quite tough,” she told Women’s Health UK. “I’m more of a burst girl than sustained. I like it when the treadmills on dynamic and I do sprints. I prefer using my own body as weight, so press-ups, mountain climbers and burpees.” There is lots of research backing up the benefits of HIIT workouts, including body fat reduction, improved cardiovascular function, and mental health.
Ellie Goulding is fighting for her body - in her workout clothes. In a new social media post the singer shows off her amazing body in boxing shorts and a tank during a grueling boxing workout with her trainer. “You just know a lot of men have tested me 💝,” she jokes in the comments section of the Instagram post.
The Importance of Nutrition: Vegan Meals and Healthy Juices
Complementing her intense workout regime, Ellie follows a healthy diet. She has been a vegetarian since 2013 and transitioned to veganism for a year. During her tours, she relies on the expertise of Mary Mattern, a nutritionist and chef, to prepare vegan meals.
Ellie enjoys vegan meals three times a day, including kale juices, tofu scrambled eggs and sweetcorn, pea and broad bean burgers. Mary Mattern is the author of "Nom Yourself: Simple Vegan Cooking," a cookbook aimed at those new to veganism or simply seeking healthier meal options.
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Ellie has praised Mary's approach to veganism and healthy living, stating, "I really believe Mary is the perfect ambassador for veganism and healthy living. Her amazing attitude and enthusiasm for cooking helps show how scrumptious and easy meals can be without meat- with an effortless cool and flair. Whether you are vegan or just wanting a healthier diet, Mary's recipes will guarantee to keep your food really delicious and fun. Since becoming vegetarian and moving towards becoming vegan, I am extremely thankful I came across Mary at the beginning of my journey."
Ellie doesn’t eat carbs. “I can’t remember the last time I ate bread either, honestly,” she confessed to Jessie Ware on her Table Manners podcast. “When I eat carbs - it’s not just a vanity thing - I genuinely don’t feel great when I have them. I feel like I’m someone who’s naturally quite active. Ellie tries to avoid animal products. “I eat a lot of things for their nutritional value. The things I love for my taste are sweet things,” she said on the podcast. While she does consume some dairy now, she still doesn’t eat red meat. “I’m all about dairy….I’m not mad about coconut yogurt and all those dairy-free alternatives,” she added.
Ellie revealed she last ate pasta on her honeymoon in September 2019 Speaking to Jessie Ware on her Table Manners podcast, Ellie gave fans an insight into her carb-free diet. The Love Me Like You Do singer explained: "I think the last time I had pasta was on my honeymoon, which was last year in September. I can't remember the last time I ate bread either, honestly." Ellie revealed her eating habits are not solely driven by her appearance. Although she likes the taste of pasta and bread, she told Jessie: "When I eat carbs - it's not just a vanity thing - I genuinely don't feel great when I have them. I feel like I'm someone who's naturally quite active. When I have big bowls of pasta and things like that I do feel like I've eaten a blanket or something really heavy." Instead, she favours very nutritional foods: "I eat a lot of things for their nutritional value. The things I love for my taste are sweet things." In the past, Ellie has been open about following a vegan diet, even choosing to celebrate her 33rd birthday at her favourite vegan restaurant, Mildreds, in London in January. But she confessed in the podcast that fans would be surprised to hear of her new love of dairy. "I'm all about dairy….I'm not mad about coconut yoghurt and all those dairy-free alternatives." It even now features heavily in her daily diet: "In the morning, I'll have a messy bowl which is yoghurt with lots of goji berries and nuts and I love prunes and dates." However, she reiterated that she is unlikely to eat red meat again.
Intermittent Fasting: A Controversial Approach
Ellie is also a fan of fasting. “I built my way up to 40-hour fasts over time (started with 12),” Ellie told The Mirror. “It helps blood sugar control and helps fight inflammation - the mother of ALL health problems.” She says she does it “very safely by having a purposefully nutritious food day the day before and after,” she added. “On the fast day, I drink high-grade electrolytes and a LOT of water,” plus tea and coffee.
However, Ellie Goulding has revealed she fasts for up to 40 hours. While she says she does it safely, it's definitely not for everyone. We ask clinical dietitian Kerri Segal why. I was a bit shocked when headlines started popping up in my newsfeed about Ellie Goulding fasting for 40 hours at a time. My shock comes more from the fact that a lot of people only get as far as the headlines, and for impressionable people reading that this beautiful woman gets her amazing body by starving herself for 40 hours at a time - and then they go out and try it - it’s a dangerous message.
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Indeed, intermittent fasting, if done properly, is a very effective and safe way to lose weight, and both celebrities (such as Rosie Huntington-Whiteley) and non-celebs alike have found success with this method of weight management. But at the end of the day, it’s just another diet with pros and cons, and clinical dietitian Kerri Segal says that intermittent fasting is not for everyone. “It most certainly has its benefits and is thought to help with everything from heart and brain health, to changing the function of cells, genes and hormones to decrease insulin levels and increase insulin sensitivity to help boost fat burning, increase muscle growth and improve your cells’ ability to detox,” she explains.
If it works for you, then great, but fasting doesn’t necessarily help weight loss any more than other conventional approaches and can be harder to stick with over the long term, she adds. Especially if you’re starving yourself for hours at a time… “Long-term fasting starves the body of essential nutrients and can cause many complications,” Kerri warns. Any new eating regime should be discussed with your health practitioner beforehand, but here are five reasons why Kerri says long periods of fasting can be dangerous to your health.
- It will interfere with your social life and even your mental health.
- Extreme hunger can cause dizziness.
- It may sap you of your energy to perform properly during the day.
- There may be serious health side effects for healthy people.
- If you already have certain conditions, fasting can be downright dangerous.
Some people should not consider fasting at all, Kerri warns. “This includes people with type 1 diabetes, low blood pressure, those who are underweight or have a history of eating disorders, women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, trying to conceive, or have a history of amenorrhoea and those taking certain medications, such as insulin, blood-pressure tablets, blood thinners and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.”
The Importance of Rest and Self-Care
Ellie understands the importance of rest. “Sleep is crucial too. Lots of sleep,” she writes in the post. She also revealed that she takes “magnesium before bed.”