Kate Ferdinand used to be "addicted" to exercise.
The former ‘Only Way is Essex’ star – who is married to Rio Ferdinand – has always "felt better" after leaving the gym but reached a point where she "had" to go every day and has only recently learned that it’s fine to skip a workout now and again.
She said: "I started going swimming with my mum before school and just really loved it.
"I did feel better when I left the gym but I was addicted when I was younger, I had to go every single day. I thought, ‘If I don’t go, I’m not going to feel good.’
"It became an obsessive thing, whereas now – only in the last six months – I’ve realised I can not go to the gym and still feel OK."
But the 27-year-old star admitted the structure of fitting in exercise helps combat any mental health issues she experiences.
She told heat magazine: "I am a creature of habit and structure really helps my anxiety.
"If something breaks that structure, then I struggle.
"But exercise really just calms my mind.
"It’s an hour of being in the gym and not thinking about anything other than getting through the workout."
Kate wishes she had been kinder to herself when she was younger and spent less time comparing herself to other people.
Asked the advice she would give to her teenage self, she said: "Be easy on yourself. I was so hard on myself and really beat myself up. Learn to love yourself.
"I compared myself to everyone constantly and it’s the worst thing you can do."
Kate Ferdinand’s exercise obsession
