14 DAY TRIAL // She was once cruelly dubbed “Chubby Spice,” a nickname that would have certainly still fitted her until not long ago. With all that, Emma Bunton of the Spice Girls fame knows that the secret to being healthy and happy is in balance, a tenet she stuck to when it also came to losing the weight she gained while pregnant. Now, she is ready to tell other potential slimmers our there an amazing story of determination and being true to yourself.
Seventeen months after giving birth to cutie boy Beau, Emma is back to her svelte size 10 figure, but the road here was a long and rough one, she says. Not the one to give in to “stupid strict diets” because she also had a child to think of (she admittedly breastfed), Emma learned to take her weight issue one step at a time, and to deal with it accordingly, meaning, in time and with the required amount of patience.
Speaking on the occasion of the launch of her latest initiative, Hovis Wholemeal Challenge, meant to encourage Brits to switch from white bread to brown, Emma reveals that her “secret” behind losing the baby weight is to be found in eating healthy and doing as much exercise as possible. “I put on a normal amount of weight when I was pregnant with Beau but it took me a year to get back to the weight I’d been before he was born. I did it very naturally and slowly. I went to the gym two or three times a week and ate healthily.” Bunton says.
However, one of the biggest challenges she had to face was that of having to get back on tour with the Spice Girls. Only two months after giving birth, Emma started to train for the much-hyped tour, and the pressure to be slim was incredibly high, she says. She did not give in to it to lose weight drastically, through God-knows-what unhealthy method though, but chose to stay true to herself and do things at her own pace.
“I don’t know how I managed it. It’s one of those things you look back on and can’t quite believe. There was a lot of pressure to be fit, but I wouldn’t do that to myself again.” Emma told reporters gathered for the launch of the Challenge. Now, looking back on it, it was all worth it since it has helped her achieve balance in her life. “Now I'm really happy with my figure. I’m exercising three times a week. I go for a run or take our dogs for a walk - and I’m almost enjoying it. It’s got to be about balance though, being healthy but not letting it rule your life.” Emma explains.