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LITTLE BLACK DRESS

 Shape Up - Boxing has made me fighting fit!
By Daily Mirror. April 18, 2005
FOOTBALLERS' Wives star Zoe Lucker is in knockout shape - thanks to her regular boxing work-outs. With her size eight figure, sleek hair-do and glowing complexion, the 30-year-old looks as stunning in real life as she does on screen.

But while her super-bitch character Tanya Turner is a total stranger to healthy living, Zoe works hard to keep in shape. She eats healthily and exercises and with the help of her boxing sessions, she has shed a stone and a half to bring her weight down to around 8st 7lbs.

The actress admits: "I like the shape I'm in and that's the most important thing. I like feeling healthy and not having to worry that I can't get into an outfit. But I don't want to weigh six stone - I like the fact I have curves and feel feminine.

"I used to be about a stone and a half heavier. I wasn't overweight for my height, which is 5ft 5ins, but I just felt I'd like to slim down. I have felt pressure to be in good shape but I've put that on myself more than anything.

"I started boxing classes and that prompted me to eat healthily and cut a lot of fat from my diet. I like fish, chicken, salad and I'm a big fan of olive oil.

"And I avoid bread because it makes me feel really bloated and lethargic. I'm not an Atkins dieter, though, I have to eat carbohydrates otherwise I feel exhausted."


On the set of Footballers' Wives Zoe keeps on track diet-wise by asking the chefs to prepare healthy meals. She says: "It's very easy on set to have lasagne, sausages and bacon rolls every day.
"You could really pile on the pounds, which would give the wardrobe department nightmares. I don't like working feeling full, especially with a character like Tanya, who's very edgy. Her energy's very 'up there' and if you're stuffed, it's easy to lose that spark.

"Filming days are long and you have to keep your energy levels up. Stamina is very important. The chefs are fantastic, though, and they'll grill me a steak or chicken breast and salad."


'I WANTED TO TONE UP AND GET FIT'
Zoe has never been a big fan of keep-fit and admits that she avoided exercise for about seven years. "I used to hate the idea of going to the gym," she laughs.

When she eventually knuckled down, she started exercising with personal trainer Niki Wibrow. Niki took Zoe through her paces two or three times a week, with a combination of boxing, dance, yoga and toning workouts.

"I wanted to tone up, define my body and get fit," reveals Zoe. "My legs and stomach are now more toned. I've lost about an inch from my waist. My skin feels better and I feel much fitter. We trained hard. I don't want to sound like one of these fitness converts but there are huge benefits to being healthy."

She's not squeaky-clean, though, and likes a few glasses of wine, the odd pizza and the one vice she shares with Tanya... smoking. "I've been a smoker for a long, long time and it's hard to quit," she admits. "I am trying to stop, though. I've cut down to 10 a day. It's difficult when you play a character and she's always smoking.

"I know I want to have kids in a few years and there's no way I'd carry a child as a smoker. However hard that would be, I would definitely want to stop smoking because I refuse to put chemicals into an unborn child - I can't think of anything worse.
"I've been broody since I was about 16. At the moment I've got my career and I'm trying to concentrate on that but at some stage I would love a family."

Zoe has yet to settle down with the right bloke. Her first marriage ended after 11 months and last year she split up with children's TV host Tony Craig. She's since dated DJ Tom Thorpe.

But work-wise things are on the up and after the current series Footballers' Wives ends, a newly brunette Zoe will be donning khaki combats to star in an ITV1 Army drama called Bombshell, due on our screens later this year.

Her new character may be less glamorous than Tanya but there's no doubt Zoe will still look stunning.


PUNCH YOUR WEIGHT
ZOE kicked off her fitness regime with boxing. It's a great total body workout, burning around 350 calories in 45 minutes. And Zoe's not the only celeb who loves it - Nell McAndrew trains with ex-professional boxer Jim McDonnell, while movie star Hilary Swank boxed her way to an Oscar in Million Dollar Baby. Sign up to a boxercise class and you'll...

Burn fat
Banish flabby arms
Get a flat tummy
Firm your legs and bum
Get sexy shoulders
Boxing gloves from Argos (£19.99)


ZOE'S GET TRIM TIPS
VARY your fitness routine. Doing different exercises works different muscle groups and stops you getting bored.

DO some exercise two-to-three times a week. You don't have to run for miles each day. If you have 10 to 20 minutes spare to exercise, it's better than nothing.

ONCE you start seeing results, keep going. Remember, health and fitness are a way of life and you need to keep it up.

TREAT yourself. I make time to pamper myself. A massage makes you feel fantastic.

EAT a sensible, balanced diet. It's dangerous to deprive yourself.

IF you do over-indulge don't feel guilty and punish yourself. There's nothing wrong with having a couple of glasses of wine. Everyone should give themselves a break.

WHAT'S HER SLIMMING SECRET? Zoe reduced the unhealthy saturated fat in her diet and added health-boosting oils. Here's how to get the balance right...

Good fats: Go for oily varieties of fish - they're a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, good for improving brain and eye function and plumping out skin. Eat two portions of tuna, salmon, mackerel, herring, trout or sardines a week. Zoe's favourite, olive oil, is the healthiest fat to cook with and is believed to help lower cholesterol and combat cancer. Other good sources of healthy fats include avocados and sesame, sunflower and
pumpkin seeds.

Bad fats: The healthiest way to lose weight, and keep it off for good, is to cut down on saturated fat - that means going easy on butter, fatty meat, cakes, biscuits and pies. Saturated fats also raise levels of harmful LDL cholesterol, which is linked to heart disease and obesity. Follow Zoe's lead and go for lean meat such as chicken and grill your steak instead of frying it.


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