Suzanne Shaw changed her lifestyle to ease the pressure on her mental health.
Suzanne Shaw
The former 'Emmerdale' actress decided to take up running and follow a vegan diet after she noticed her mental health was deteriorating as she had put on a few pounds.
She told the Metro newspaper's Sixty Seconds column: "I quit drinking, went plant-based, and took up running, meditation and mindfulness. I completely changed my lifestyle.
"I'd been struggling with my mental health and the older you get, the more aware you become of your physical and mental wellbeing. I realise I wasn't looking after myself the way I should be. Within a few days of starting the vegan diet I started to feel amazing.
"I'd piled on quite a bit of weight around 2018. I don't know what happened, I just let myself go. I'd always maintained eight and a half to nine stone, and I crept up to over 10 stone. I've lost that but I don't obsess over it. When I made this lifestyle change it wasn't for the waist size, it was for mental health - I wanted to find happy again. I turn 40 this year and I feel great. I'm fitter and happier than I've ever been."
What's more, the former Hear'Say singer wanted to mark her 20th anniversary in show business by taking on a series of fitness challenges but was forced to put them on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
She added: "I went into 2020 wanting to do 20 things to ark my 20 years in the entertainment industry I had all these big ideas. I'd signed up to do Base Camp Everest and 20 different running challenges, from park runs to 5Ks to a marathon. I also wanted to climb the Three Peaks. Then the pandemic hit."
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