Rebecca Adlington interview: ‘I was a size 10 and now I’m a 16. I have struggled with my weight’ – The Olympic swimmer won two gold medals at just 19 years old. Now 35, she describes why there are more important things in life than fitness
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/fitness/workouts/rebecca-adlington-interview-weight-struggles/
Posted by TheTelegraph
14 Comments
**From The Telegraph:**
As a 19-year-old, Rebecca Adlington won two gold medals in the 400m and 800m Freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After winning bronze in the same events in London 2012, she retired from competition in 2013 as Britain’s most decorated swimmer. The 35-year-old lives in Cheshire with her husband and two children. She and fellow Olympic swimmers Steve Parry and Adrian Turner founded Swim! which teaches 30,000 children to swim a week.
# How fit are you?
Not very!
# What motivates you to stay healthy?
My kids. I want to join in with them as much as possible and have a really long life.
# How has your body changed since you retired?
It’s changed massively. I’ve been pregnant four times and have two kids. Swimmers [tend to have pancake bum](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/fitness/strength/glute-butt-workouts-health-benefits/)s but then I had kids and these hips suddenly appeared.
I have very much struggled from a weight aspect. I’ve been a size 10 and now I’m a size 16. My wardrobe is a mismatch of sizes. I just pick something out that fits that year.
# How often do you exercise?
To be honest, I don’t do very much. Because I work full-time I’m conscious of having time with my kids. I don’t want to go home and workout without my kids. I’m such a family girl.
Maybe in their teenage years when they start going off to their mates that will change but I’m in this golden 10-year period where I just want to be with them.
[We do a lot of dog walking](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/fitness/workouts/dog-good-for-exercise-weight-loss-stress-creativity/) with our two maltese bichons. And we go on bike rides.
I used to be really into my gym pre-Covid and then I had two miscarriages, Covid happened and my mindset completely changed.
How often do you exercise?
To be honest, I don’t do very much. Because I work full-time I’m conscious of having time with my kids. I don’t want to go home and workout without my kids. I’m such a family girl.
Maybe in their teenage years when they start going off to their mates that will change but I’m in this golden 10-year period where I just want to be with them.
[We do a lot of dog walking](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/fitness/workouts/dog-good-for-exercise-weight-loss-stress-creativity/) with our two maltese bichons. And we go on bike rides.
I used to be really into my gym pre-Covid and then I had two miscarriages, Covid happened and my mindset completely changed.
# What matters to you now?
I’m more concerned with my health and nutrition than my fitness.
I have hormonal challenges. Having polycystic ovaries makes it a challenge to lose weight. I’m fine with being the size I am. I just want to be healthy and look after myself by providing my body with the energy it needs. I’m more bothered by that than trying to be fit and thin.
**Article Link:** [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/fitness/workouts/rebecca-adlington-interview-weight-struggles/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/fitness/workouts/rebecca-adlington-interview-weight-struggles/)
Nice interview, she sounds happy. And looking good.
Her career is a strange one. We have no history at that distance and she came along, destroyed the field and then was gone.
She sounds happy and that’s the important thing.
Fair play to her, it’s an honest interview and she sounds normal like the rest of us. 2 Gold medals can never be taken away, that’s the dog’s bollocks of achievement.
Good luck to her. Won us some golds and iirc got the usual shit from various twats.
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What an amazing athlete she was at Beijing 2008 and at London 2012.
Wish her all the best in life.
I used to sit next to Becky at school. A few of us were miffed she got to skip French lessons for her swimming, thinking it’ll never get her anywhere. She was called some unpleasant things due to her physical features. Few years later she breaks records at the olympics.
Glad she’s got a happy family life now.
She made her stamp on history and could still beat 99% of us in the pool.
You have to stay healthy but not to the standard she had to maintain.
Still can’t believe Frankie Boyle slagged off her face when she was 19. Think the mention of a sports psychologist pertains to that
My family have a swim competition back ground (both myself and kids), training up to 10+ hours a week in the pool + land training . Adlington would way more than double this. Your big problem is you get used to devouring vast quantities of food to replenish energy .A habit both myself and daughter constantly struggle with. I lay awake at night worrying about that pork pie being lonely in the fridge .
>Being organised and prepared is the best way to stay healthy. If you’ve done your full shop and planned ahead for the week, it’s easier to stay on track. What’s your top health tip? Being organised and prepared is the best way to stay healthy. If you’ve done your full shop and planned ahead for the week, it’s easier to stay on track.
I know she’s not the only one to say this, but I can’t believe I found actually good advice in a Telegraph article.
Slow news day I guess.
“Person who was fit as fuck but now doesn’t train/compete at that level feels a bit different physically”
Whatever happens don’t make jokes about her.
She’s so thin-skinned she’ll waste her money suing you, other comedians, Youtube, Reddit, Gmal etc etc….
yet she willingly makes jokes about others. she can dish it out but not take it.