Do you like your body?
I’m not fussed about the one I’ve got now – I preferred the one I had before. I had a 19-inch waist until I was 25!
Do you ever avoid looking at yourself in the mirror?
You have to look in a mirror. I swear to God, I see some people out and I think, “You haven’t checked yourself out this morning.” You have to get real. If you don’t like that extra bit of you that’s turned up, you have to start buying clothes to suit. Muffin tops are a great example. I don’t wear jeans as often as I used to.
Has your job affected your body?
I put on a lot of weight during my time on breakfast radio. That finished in 2011, but since moving to the 10-2pm show, I’ve plateaued. Breakfast radio did that to me – it’s the lack of sleep and there’s a whole lot of research around that. When I did daytime shows, I’d get up at 6am, go to the gym for an hour, then go to TVNZ. I was 63kg and it didn’t change. I’ve put on more than 10kg since those days. The thing about getting up early is you give the show all your energy, then by 10am there’s nothing left. You spend the rest of the day feeling like you’ve got flu – the performance energy takes it out of you.
Where have you put on the most weight?
Being a girl, it all goes to your baby-making areas – the “boob band”, from your arms, across your boobs and over your ovaries. I’m lucky that I have a tiny rib cage, which helps give me curves. I threw out a load of bras because I’ve gone from a 10DD to a 12F. You should have heard me when I found that out!
Are you planning to do anything differently in 2014?
It will be about changing my routine. Instead of going to the computer first thing to see what’s going on, I want to go to the gym, then go to work afterwards and do my research there rather than at home. I have three weeks off now, so it’s up to me to get walking and moving again.
Are you careful about what you eat?
I’m not a bad eater at all. I’m a mad-crazy foodie in the kitchen and I love good food – I don’t eat rubbish. But in this industry, there are glasses of wine everywhere; alcohol is just empty calories. Because it’s a social industry, after work I meet someone for a glass of wine – then I’ll go home, have another one, then sit down and I won’t do any exercise. And I’m a shocker for not eating breakfast.
What do Kiwi women think of their bodies?
We pick holes in ourselves constantly. It’s like when you look at your face and skin closely in the mirror – you see things that others don’t see until you tell them about it! If you’re not happy, make a change. Don’t go to your grave saying, “What if?”
How would you describe the real Kiwi woman?
Ballsy – they’ve all got guts and an opinion. And strong.
