Podcast host, bestselling author and Happy Place Market founder Fearne Cotton, 43, tells us how she is staying fit, healthy and grounded
I recently needed an operation to remove a benign tumour from under my ear. I think any health issue does slightly stop you in your tracks and make you reflect on why you’ve ended up in that place, and I think it gets you to appreciate your body and your health a lot more thoroughly – it certainly has for me. It was fascinating to watch my body heal afterwards and I was amazed at the speed of it all. You sort of forget that your body’s doing all this stuff without you thinking about it. Now, I feel really well and vibrant, and I think, again, it was a good reminder to look after myself more thoroughly.
I think certainly, as women, we put everybody else first. We’re constantly looking out for others – whether it’s our children, our friends, our parents if they’re elderly, or our work colleagues – and we’re probably slightly indoctrinated to put everyone before us, so we have this internalised feeling that we’re completely selfish if we make a decision for ourselves. And I think that’s one of the most dangerous modern-day female traits that has been historically pushed down our throats, because it makes women more judgemental towards other women. It’s just a big toxic bucket of hell! My health scare really made me stop and think about what makes me feel calmer, happier and more balanced, and that goes back to the basic things of asking, ‘Am I sleeping well? Am I eating well? And am I taking supplements that I know are going to actually replenish my body after everything I put it through?’.
We’re constantly depleting ourselves physically, mentally and emotionally. And while taking a supplement might seem like a tiny little thing, I think doing something for yourself as a busy woman is really important. I wasn’t great with supplements in my youth, but I was pretty on it with supplementing for pregnancy and postnatal in my 30s and, since then, it’s all been about sleep and rest. Most of us are depleted in magnesium, and I’ve been taking it for absolute years to calm and support my nervous system. But discovering Ancient + Brave’s True Magnesium+ (£24 for 30 servings) has been game-changing because it’s the purest of pure and the one supplement I will take over any other.
I’m not the sort of person that needs perking up, ever. I’m a really good morning person and I wake up at 5am like, ‘Hi! I’m ready to go!’ But I do need my energy levels to come back down, especially after a day where I’ve met a lot of people or I’ve done something quite stimulating. So, while some people take magnesium before bed, I take it in the morning, along with the Ancient + Brave True Ashwagandha (£24 for 30 servings), and both are part of my daily ritual to help me feel grounded and balanced in a world that constantly demands more from us. I was so anxious for so many years before, but I’d say I’m at the age now – maybe in the past six months to a year – where I’ve just eradicated all anxiety. It’s just gone. Some of that is to do with diet and supplementation, but I think a lot of it is also to do with therapy and just looking at stuff from the past, finding peace and liking myself more.
Sleep is still one of the things I have problems with. It’s all psychological, because I’m either worrying about things or there’s just too much in my brain because I’m trying to juggle so much constantly. I can’t live without taking Ancient + Brave’s True Nightcap Sleep Supplement (£32 for 30 servings) before bed, but I know therapy is the thing that’s also going to help me with getting better sleep. Finding the right therapist for me, who I just absolutely adore, has changed everything, and I think that’s all to do with calming my incessant thoughts and trying to relax about stuff. I used to be really rigid about everything, including my bedtime routine and that, I think, became problematic.
The ‘new me’ is looser about things, and I’m really trying to let go. I think it’s an age thing, isn’t it? People die, and you get that really hard-hitting moment of thinking ‘shit, life is so short’, and so I’ve realised I need to stop worrying about all the minutia of everything. Being a mum, running a home, seeing friends and working on the Happy Place podcast is a really tricky juggle, and I wouldn’t want to pretend otherwise – that I know some secret magic trick that means that everything is stress-free, or that I feel physically and mentally great all the time because that would be just a massive lie. We’re all just trying to do our best.
‘Allowing myself the time and space to feel all my feelings has been the biggest game-changer’
It is very hard to find balance. But I think in this past 12 months, I’ve really tried to think more about having fun, which I really neglected before. I just thought, ‘I haven’t got time for fun. I’m a really serious person and my timeline is very rigid and I’m not doing fun because it’s just pointless’ and, actually, I think that left me feeling quite flat. I just worked all the time, and I didn’t do the fun bit. So, I think now I’m in the thick of my 40s, I’m like ‘let’s have fun!’ Yes, some days I might have a hangover, or I might feel a bit knackered, but I don’t want to get to whatever age I get to and think, ‘oh no, I forgot to have fun’.
Walking has become a big thing for me over the past four or five years. Even during a busy working week, I try to have a walk every day if I can, whether it’s after the school run, at lunchtime or after work. If I go to the park early enough, I won’t see anyone, which is heaven! I’d say having my headphones on and just zoning out while listening to music is almost integral to having that tiny moment before I get the kids from school or whatever it might be. Walking is proven to be an amazing form of exercise that’s good for your head as well as your body, but it also all goes back to being nicer to myself. I think allowing myself the time and space to feel all my feelings – rather than suppressing them so they build up and manifest into anger – has been the biggest game-changer for me.
I still love running and doing yoga once or twice a week. And I also really like this amazing American fitness streaming service that a friend who lives in New York tipped me off about. It’s called The Class (theclass.com) and it’s this really cool mind-body workout that’s got a bit of aerobics in there, a bit of Pilates and a bit of yoga – all to this amazing, beautiful music. It’s definitely not HIIT – I’m not into that kind of thing anymore. Instead, it’s really gentle, a little bit woo-woo, and you’re encouraged to make some weird noises when you’re doing it. I love it, so I also do that once or twice a week. I couldn’t do the same thing every day. I’d be bored, so I keep switching it up.
Fearne Cotton has partnered with Ancient + Brave and its products True Magnesium+ and True Ashwagandha. Both are available from ancientandbrave.earth and happyplaceofficial.co.uk. Head to womensfitness.co.uk to read more from Fearne on her definition of wellness, finding happiness and fighting outside feedback.
