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STRICTLY SHAPE-UP
I fancy James more now we’ve ditched our mum and dad bods, lost 7st and he’s got his six-pack back, says Ola Jordan
REWIND a decade, and former Strictly Come Dancing professionals Ola and James Jordan were regularly turning up the heat on and off the dance floor.
After training for 10 hours a day with their celebrity dance partners, the couple would hit the gym, then still have the stamina for energetic bedroom antics.
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But last July, they left their Instagram followers open-mouthed when they shared snaps showing their combined 61/2st weight gain.
Ola, then 11st 9lb and a size 12-14, posted a filter-free photograph of herself and 15st 6lb James displaying what she described as their “mum and dad bods”.
“I’d had a glass of wine, maybe two,” laughs Ola, who uploaded the picture when James was en route to London with a friend.
“I posted it to force myself into a place where I had to make a change.
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"I knew that once I’d committed publicly to losing weight, it would motivate me.”
After quitting Strictly – James in 2013, followed by Ola two years later – the husband and wife duo piled on the pounds by gorging on junk food and giving up on training after becoming parents to their daughter Ella, now two.
Not only did they end up physically unrecognisable, but the weight gain took its toll on their sexual spark.
“We were definitely having sex less,” recalls Ola, 40. “That happens when you become parents – Ella still climbs into our bed at night!
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"But, for us, passion also dwindled, because the last thing you want to do after you’ve stuffed yourself with crisps and chocolate every evening is go to bed and have sex!”
But just four months after the shocking post, the couple have transformed their lifestyles, and shed a staggering 7st between them.
Ola is now back to her Strictly weight of 8st 3lb and a size 8, while James, 44, has slimmed down to 11st 6lb.
They did this by cleaning up their diet and rediscovering the passion that made them famous: dancing.
“We spent our whole lives looking our best when we were dancing, so we were like: ‘Let’s start dancing again.’
"It was about going back to what we know,” says James.
For 15 minutes, five times a week, the couple blended dance steps from the salsa, jive and cha-cha-cha with classic fitness moves, including squats, lunges and planks.
And with the help of dietician Jo Travers, they devised their own calorie-controlled diet.
Soon, the weight began dropping off, and within two weeks of starting, 5ft 11in James was 10lb lighter, while 5ft 3in Ola had lost 1st 2lb.
“The weight came off naturally,” explains Ola. “When you’re used to eating sugary, heavy foods, if you then cut back and introduce exercise, the water retention and bloating instantly reduces.”
Ola, who as a young dancer in her native Poland sometimes ate just 600 calories a day to stay as thin as possible, says she has learned from past mistakes.
“I used to be scared of carbs, but I now know that eating more calories, more regularly and not cutting out food groups is a healthier, more sustainable way to get in shape.”
The pair – who carried on losing 2-3lb a week after from there on – say not even their favourite food treats are off limits.
“We still enjoy meals with our friends, have the odd chicken kebab or a hot chocolate with our daughter.
"We’ll have a glass of wine or some chocolate – just not a whole bottle or an entire box!” says Ola.
“We’re just careful about watching our portion sizes and calorie intake – that’s 1,500 a day for me and 1,900 for James.”
Ola cannot stop smiling on our shoot, as she steps out in an array of eye-popping dresses that showcase her total 3st 6lb weight loss.
In an interview with The Sun last August, James admitted he prefers his wife when she is lighter, claiming “all men” desire slimmer women, leading critics to accuse him of being “misogynistic” and “ignorant”.
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Today, defending his comments, James explains that, unlike most couples, he and Ola have always been at ease speaking honestly about each other’s physiques.
“From the moment we danced together, we were representing Great Britain in all the world championships.
"From day one, our bodies were our business, so what a normal couple might consider rude is a common conversation between us.
"I wasn’t being misogynistic. I think more couples need to be honest with each other.
"Most men, if they are being honest, would prefer their partner to be fit and healthy.
"In terms of Ola and I, it doesn’t mean I love her any less.”
Ola confirms that, for her, James’ comments did not cause offence.
“People were asking me: ‘Why would you be with him if he speaks like that about your weight?’
"He’s only being honest, and being honest is not being horrible,” she explains.
“I’ve been equally frank with him.
"The truth is, I fancy James more now he’s got his six-pack back.
"He looks so much fitter and younger since he lost weight.
"I can’t keep my hands off him!”
And there’s no denying the impact it’s had on their marriage behind closed doors.
Ola chuckles. “The va-va-voom is back and the sex is better because James can pick me up and throw me about again!
"I’d go so far as to say the sex is as good as when we first got together!”
Love blossomed for the ballroom professionals within two years of meeting at a 1999 dance competition in Blackpool.
It was three years after marrying in October 2003 that they joined Strictly.
James, who back then could eat whatever he wanted “and never put on a pound”, explains how, after leaving the BBC show and suddenly having no gruelling dance schedules, he and Ola began indulging in all-inclusive holidays, romantic dinners and drinks with friends.
Barely exercising, neither were burning the calories they were consuming, so the weight crept on.
“I always thought I didn’t put on weight just because I had a fast metabolism but I took for granted how many calories I was burning on Strictly,” says James, explaining how his diet worsened during the first lockdown, while grieving his dad Allan, 68, who died in March 2021, following a sudden brain tumour diagnosis.
“I was in a really dark place and that was the period when I put on the most weight because I was comfort eating.
“When Ella went to bed, I’d eat a massive pack of Chipsticks and a whole sharing bag of Minstrels.
"I was also drinking 1,500 calories a day in coffee because I’d have four hazelnut lattes, plus fizzy drinks and Snickers bars on the golf course.
"It was a total lack of education.”
Ola admits she was already “a lot bigger” than is recommended when she became pregnant in June 2019, after one successful round of IVF, following three years attempting to conceive naturally.
Too terrified that exercise would lead to a miscarriage, instead Ola “ate, ate, ate”, a habit she says she continued long after Ella was born in February 2020.
“Two and a half years after giving birth, I was still saying I had baby weight to lose and James would joke that I’d be saying the same thing when Ella was at university!
"I was making excuses,” says Ola, who would consume 4,000 calories daily, snacking on savoury treats like crisps and pastries and grazing from Ella’s plate.
By the time she went public with the snap, Ola didn’t recognise the woman she had become.
“I was crying inside. All my life, I’d been so healthy and fit and I was so unhappy.
"I hated the baggy, shapeless clothes I was wearing and I’d even stopped taking pictures with Ella because I didn’t like the way I looked. I didn’t feel like me any more.”
Showing a photo from a holiday in Tenerife in August, James, who at his biggest was 4st heavier than during his Strictly years, says: “My face was so chubby, I looked like I’d been stung by a bee.
"I had to go to Under Armour to get special shorts because I was chafing so much and I couldn’t lift my knee to get my shoes on because my gut was in the way!”
Ola raises an eyebrow. “He couldn’t see his willy!” she quips.
“Put it this way, she couldn’t fit into her signature sequinned Strictly catsuit any more – and that was bloody stretchy!” banters James.
“On that holiday, people were taking double looks, probably thinking: ‘Oh my god, that’s like a fat version of James and Ola off Strictly!’”
All jokes aside, though, their weight gain came with serious health implications.
While Ola began suffering with painful knees, which her doctor attributed to her size, James struggled with aching finger joints, which he believes was due to inflammation caused by consuming excessive amounts of sugar.
Online BMI tests revealed the pair were in the red zone – meaning that both were borderline clinically obese.
Then over the summer, Ola visited her IVF doctor to discuss having a sibling for Ella, and she was told she would be more likely to have a successful pregnancy if she was healthier.
“They didn’t directly tell me to lose weight, but the implication was there,” says Ola.
“I’d do anything to have a second baby, so that was a massive motivator to me.”
While James reports feeling “so much better mentally” since changing his lifestyle, Ola says she feels like she is a “better mum” to Ella.
“The old me was doing Ella a disservice because I didn’t want to run around soft play with her.
"I’d get out of breath and couldn’t fit through the gaps of the equipment, whereas now I’m much more up for fun activities.”
After deciding to share their shape-up secrets, James qualified as a Gold Standard Level 3 personal trainer to “formalise” his fitness knowledge and the couple are now releasing Dance Shred, a 12-week online diet and fitness programme, which they hope will help others with “mum and dad bods – even those who haven’t got children”.
And as they adjust to their new health and fitness guru statuses, 2023 promises to be a year to remember.
“In October, we’re celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary, we’ll soon be moving into a new house, we’ve got new bodies and, hopefully, we’ll have a new baby,” smiles Ola.
“Before this, I hadn’t danced for a while and it’s brought me back to life. I feel I can take on the world!”
James and Ola’s complete Dance Shred workout is available now for a one-off price of £49.99 ().
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OLA AND JAMES’ DIET AND FITNESS PLAN
THE DIET
Daily calorie intake: James 1,900, Ola 1,500
Breakfast
James: Nutella and banana pancakes
Ola: Avocado on toast
Morning snacks
James: Two-finger KitKat and oat milk latte with sugar-free syrup
Ola: Skinny hot chocolate
Lunch
James: Feta omelette
Ola: Tuna and sweetcorn granary sandwich with 1tsp low-fat mayo
Afternoon snack
James: Cheese and pickle granary sandwich
Dinner
James and Ola: Fish pie with lots of vegetables
Evening snacks
James: Cadbury’s Crunchie, gin and slimline tonic, small bag of crisps
Ola: 1 glass red or white wine, small bag of crisps, handful of nuts or chocolate rice cakes
THE EXERCISES
CHARLESTON SWING
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Copy the first pose above stepping the right leg forward as you swing the opposite arm in front.
Swap arms as you step back on the right leg, staying stationary for a second on the left leg.
Repeat the other side, taking one step forward and one back on each leg, then alternating. Speed up and repeat for 1 minute.
TUCK KICK ABS
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Sitting on your bottom, take your hands behind you for balance, then lift the feet off the floor and bring the knees in towards the chest, then straight out again.
Now repeat this at speed for 1 minute.
SIDE PLANK
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Adopt a side plank, hand under shoulders to take the weight, feet crossed over for security, free hand in the air.
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Hold for 30 seconds each side.
For an advanced version, stack feet on each other. For an easier version, rest on to the elbow of the supporting arm.
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