Professional soccer player and Strictly Come Dancing star Alex Scott makes working out look like fun—and all her hard work clearly pays off. Scott posted photos of herself wearing a bathing suit and hat in the sunshine, while enjoying a good book. “Reading time 🤓,” she captioned the Instagram post. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 6 ways Scott 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!
Scott strongly believes that exercise should be something you thoroughly enjoy. “It was ingrained in me from eight years old to fuel my body properly,” she told the Telegraph. “And I missed that teenage thing of partying and drinking, because of football. Now I advise friends and my mum what to do when they want to lose weight – with exercise, it has to be fun and easily slotted into your daily routine. Last year, I left my dog with my mum for a few weeks. Having to go out every day and walk it helped her lose weight without even thinking about it.”
Scott has discovered a passion for dance since competing in Strictly Come Dancing.”We create so many negative associations with fitness, but just make it fun,” she says. “If you hate running, don’t do it. Find a local park fitness class and go with some friends instead. Cycle to work. Find pockets of time to do little bits of fitness here and there. Thanks to Strictly I’ve fallen in love with dancing, so I’ll be looking for a dance class that I can do once a week. I’ve lost so much weight during the show – I’ve been eating loads during training, but dancing just blitzes calories.”
Like a true Brit, Scott is passionate about her daily “cuppa”. “I tried to get into the whole coffee thing but it really isn’t me. I love my tea. No sugar, not too weak, not too strong,” she told Women’s Health. “Tea consumption, especially green tea, may not be the magic bullet, but it can be incorporated in an overall healthy diet with whole grains, fish, fruits and vegetables, and less red and processed meat,” says Qi Sun, assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.
“Most mornings I wake up (I’m an early bird!) at 7 o’clock,” Scott says. “I try to get at least eight hours of sleep every night but we all know with life the way it is sometimes it doesn’t happen.” Getting up early (assuming you’ve had enough sleep) is linked to a number of health benefits. “We know that exposure to sunlight has an impact on our moods,” says psychotherapist Michele Miller, LCSW. “For example, looking at seasonal affective disorder, it’s the longer, darker days that lead people to feel depressed and less energized—so, getting up earlier allows you to experience more daylight, which could make you feel more energized.”
Scott incorporates long runs out in the fresh air into her morning routine. “I love exercising first thing in the morning, so I would normally get up, if I’m going to my boxing class I’m normally there by 8am or I get up and I’ve been doing 5k runs a lot recently which I really love, music on and just run. I prefer to go to a class because I find it fun, or I go running outside.” Running is one of the most simple yet effective workouts you can do, experts say. “All you need is a pair of shoes and some time,” says Anu Gaba, MD, an oncologist at the Sanford Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo, North Dakota. “Even if you only have 15 or 20 minutes, that’s a good place to start.”
The timing of breakfast depends on Scott’s workouts, but she definitely has some go-to’s. “I don’t have a specific time when I eat breakfast. If I’m going to work out it takes me a while after my workout to then either go and get a green juice, or scrambled egg— I do love scrambled egg on toast, and avocado,” Scott says. Eggs are a great choice for a healthy breakfast, experts say. “Eggs are rich in protein, which is more filling than either fat or carbohydrate,” says registered nutritionist Jo Lewin. “As a food choice, eggs score well, being high on the satiety index, a measure of how filling a food is. In fact, studies show that an egg breakfast is more sustaining than the equivalent calorie counted carb breakfast and, what’s more, may help reduce your calorie intake later in the day.”