Tara Palmer Tomkinson tucks in to stay fit (From Bournemouth Echo)

Tara Palmer Tomkinson tucks in to stay fit

9:00am Wednesday 7th July 2010 in

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WHILE most of us battle to keep the pounds off, TV presenter Tara Palmer-Tomkinson is trying to pile them on!

“I’m the opposite of most people as I have to eat a lot otherwise I lose weight and can look very thin. People have often wrongly said I have an eating disorder, but the reality is that I have an extremely fast metabolism and just burn off the pounds.”

She’s 5ft 8in, a size six, and weighs nine and a half stone and she keeps fit with regular sessions with a personal trainer and dance classes.

As part of her weight-boosting diet she starts the day with a home-made shake including two scoops of ice-cream, a protein mix, double cream and bananas.

Tara, a classically trained pianist, has appeared on reality TV shows such as I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! and Comic Relief Does Fame Academy. Her first novel will be published later this year.

A decade ago she went into rehab in America and successfully overcame her reported drug addiction problems.

She says: “I was so lucky not to suffer any permanent health effects due to that destructive stage in my life.

“I learnt so much in rehab, things that are very close to my heart. Recovery is always fresh in my mind, which it has to be. I never go near anything like drugs and my only vices are cigarettes and coffee. I’ll have a drink, but I don’t overdo it.”

Tara, 38, who’s just launched the Artdeco range of cosmetics and skin care products in the UK, says: “I was brought up to eat lots of vegetables and fresh food and I try to stick to that and give myself a boost with wheat-germ shots and regular weekly massages to de-stress.”

Tara credits support from family and friends as key in maintaining her wellbeing.

But while she believes being in love is the greatest tonic, she says: “Relationships are tricky. I’d love to find someone special but sometimes I’m not sure I’m a good girlfriend!”