British TV star Zara McDermott works incredibly hard for her physique, evident by the Instagram snap she posted of herself wearing a tiny black and white bikini. The 25-year-old former Love Island star is passionate about health and fitness and loves to share her diet and workout tips with fans. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 7 ways McDermott stays in shape and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don’t miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!
McDermott’s personal trainer has made it clear the star does not have an unhealthy attitude to food and exercise. “I do not put any of my clients on any crash diets or overly intense programs; I like to try and get them to learn how to make their lifestyle healthier to fit their goals, this way they are more likely to not only reach their goals but maintain those goals once they have reached them,” says Chris Barker, a Master Trainer at One LDN.
“Like most of my clients, Zara follows a high protein diet; we then reduce her carbohydrates and fats depending on how she is looking and feeling,” says Barker. “Zara is a great cook so she has always been very good with this side of things and this is why she looks as amazing as she does.”
McDermott works out three days a week with two extra cardio sessions. “A usual week would be Monday, Wednesday and Friday training with me with two additional cardio sessions if she can,” Walker says. “I like to program full body days, so we are working out as much of the body as possible, however I will make sure that we are able to focus at the same time on certain areas like her bum, for example, which she has wanted to focus on.”
McDermott loves using weights for strength training and toning. “It is… using the key exercises like deadlifts, squats and hip thrusts and focusing on progressive overload (the principle behind most resistance training programs where you are either trying to lift a greater load or the lift the same load a greater number of times, thus putting the muscles under enough stress to elicit a response – meaning the muscle grows and becomes stronger),” Walker says.
“Everyone has abs they are just hidden beneath a layer of fat, the only way we can reduce this layer of fat is by being in a calorie deficit, whether that be from eating less or exercising more; we need to be in a deficit to reduce our body fat levels enough to see those abs,” Walker says.
McDermott spaces out her meals and drinks plenty of water. “I do find myself a little hungry sometimes before bed but I try and space out my eating so I don’t get hungry!” McDermott says. “I eat my breakfast at around 10:30 and then I don’t eat my lunch sometimes until 2/3pm. Did you know sometimes our body mistakes hunger feeling with thirst! So try drinking some water if you feel hungry and see if that helps. I also try and have my dinner a bit later around 8:30pm. Spacing out meals better makes me less hungry.”
McDermott works hard—but she also has pizza when she wants. “By teaching the importance of nutrition and how you can still achieve your results while having the occasional drink or enjoying a pizza then my clients tend to adhere to the program better and actually achieve longer lasting results,” Walker says. “Zara still enjoys foods that many people would consider ‘bad’ but if you are sticking to a caloric plan and not going over your calorie levels consistently, you are still able to achieve great results ….and Zara is testament to that.”