A nutritionist explains how you can turn back time by changing your approach to food

Gabriela Peacock has plenty. When we meet in a hotel in central London, she has just been on the radio talking about her second book, 2 Weeks to a Younger You.

The next day, she will throw a birthday party for her six-year-old twins Iris and Caspar (her eldest daughter Maia is 12). “I have to invite both classes, so that’s 50 children,” she grimaces.

Afterwards, the adults will relax with a pub lunch – where guests are expected to include the twins’ godparents, including Piers Morgan and Princess Beatrice.

The birth of Beatrice’s daughter Sienna two years ago led to what Peacock, 43, describes as “a nice new dimension to our friendship”. Her dog, however, isn’t too fond of the connection.

The last time Peacock (and her husband, hedge fund manager David) visited the Princess and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, the dog was terrorized by two of the late Queen’s corgis. “So now he’s scared of all dogs and needs help.”

Clearly, she inhabits a glitzy world, moving with David between their homes in Notting Hill, West London, the Cotswolds and the South of France, hanging out not only with royals but also with Lady Joan Collins.

Peacock is often more than a friend to these people. As an in-demand nutritionist, she’s also key to making them look their best.

Clients include Katherine Jenkins, James Blunt, Jodie Kidd, Yasmin Le Bon and Billie Piper, and is said to be the woman who made sure Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie looked their best at their respective weddings (she was invited to both).

Did she play a role in preparing the royal family for the coronation? “I may have helped some,” she smiles. “Princess Bea was actually very kind – she gave me a quote for the book.”

By meeting Peacock, you can understand why all these people love him, both personally and professionally.

In a black dress, with skyscraper legs and wiper cheekbones, it’s obvious she’s a former model. She’s also funny, self-deprecating, passionate about her craft, and lucid about why her approach is so popular.

“I eat way too much chocolate, I drink wine, I love fries – so I can hardly tell other people not to do that,” she says. “It’s all about balance.” Think kimchi and kale with a serving of cookies.

Peacock, who was born in a small town in the Czech Republic, became fascinated with nutrition after winning a modeling contract at the age of 15 and moving to Paris.

There, her agents encouraged her to eat only fish and green beans to avoid being sent home (she estimates that more than 80% of her friends suffered from an eating disorder). ‘It intrigued me. I wanted to learn more about how the body works,” she says.

When, in her 20s, she moved to London, Peacock was reeling from ageism in her industry, with model friends unable to find work once they were over 30. Realizing she needed a second career, Peacock studied for two degrees in nutrition over nine years.

After graduating, she worked for the Queen’s GP Sir Tim Evans at his private clinic, where she quickly became the go-to A-list food adviser.

“I think it was because there weren’t a lot of practicing people who had my philosophy of not being super restrictive,” she says of her success. “There are a lot of creepy nutritionists giving us a bad name – they’re all ‘gluten-free, dairy-free, limit your sugar’.

“But if you live such a restrained life, how can you be happy? If a plan doesn’t fit your lifestyle, it won’t be sustainable. You’re gonna follow him for two weeks, then hate me and never come back.

Peacock shares a close friendship with Princess Beatrice and said the royal ‘was very kind’ and gave her a quote for the new book

Peacock’s approach certainly seems a lot less hardcore than many diets, as seen in his first book, 2 Weeks to Feeling Great. While many demand that you give up brownies and take-out curries forever, she favors a pattern of restricting your calories for a few days a week, but then allowing you to eat “whatever you like” for one day.

Now Peacock is focusing on how a similar approach to food can turn back the clock. The secret is to choose foods and a diet that can help fight inflammation, which scientists say is a key factor in chronic disease and life-shortening.

“I don’t like the term anti-aging, it’s insulting,” she says. “It makes age so negative and obviously because of modeling it’s my sensitive subject. I don’t mind people knowing my age, but I would like them to say I look good for it. I also want to feel good.

“People are living longer, but if we don’t watch our lifestyles, we could be sick for a long part of that. So it’s about preventing that.

In the book, Peacock does an impressive job of making basic science accessible. “There’s all this incredible research, mostly in the United States, on how our diet and our lifestyle can actually affect our genes and how we age, and it’s so exciting,” she says. “Besides, it’s never too late to start.”

Her plan to jump-start the slowing age process involves what she calls time-restricted eating (“I don’t like the word fasting, it’s so negative”) — in other words, limiting calories, while shortening the daily window in which you eat between four and eight hours.

The idea is that by giving yourself a break from digestion, you’re stimulating a process called autophagy that makes your body more resilient. “It’s basically a self-cleaning of cells, removing proteins they no longer need, so they don’t waste energy and risk causing cell death.”

Then, “cells will work more efficiently and you’ll have a lot more energy – something you never imagined would be a byproduct of fasting.” So it’s something we should be doing whether we want to lose weight or not.

Peacock outlines three programs to help shed excess weight (which shortens our lifespan) and jump-start cell renewal.

There’s supercharged (where you eat 700 calories a day for three consecutive days), reset (700 calories for two days), and live long (where you eat “mindful”), using his recipes, to be consumed within an eight window. hours. You can choose one to follow – short or long term – depending on your goals and lifestyle.

Personally, and she points out that it works for her but won’t suit everyone, after “an indulgent weekend” she needs “a little kick”. Very often, after dinner on Sunday evening, she does not eat for 18 to 20 hours. “I drink lots of tea and take lots of soluble fiber because it’s healthy and filling.”

At 4 p.m. on Monday, she has something light, like vegetable soup. “You need to help your body digest slowly. But then I start eating and I eat all evening, although it will be relatively healthy – no burger and fries.

Tuesday and Wednesday, again, she’ll skip breakfast (if you can’t admit she recommends having dinner as early as possible instead)” and then eat very well – that’s when let my avocado and kale chips come out!”

On Thursday, she “relaxes”. Then Friday and over the weekend I have what I want – carbs, breakfast with the kids. On vacation, I tend to let go. It works for me because there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

How does David feel about starving – sorry, dietary restrictions? ‘It is good! He likes to torture himself. Her friend Piers Morgan, she says, “also likes to punish himself. Piers is tough, he doesn’t like to listen, but he did well.

She’s not super strict with her kids, though she encourages them to eat lots of fruit, drink lots of water, and combine a sugary treat with protein. “But I think I’m the only mum in Notting Hill who lets her kids eat sugar,” she laughs.

It’s time for Peacock to get moving and prepare for the next day’s festivities.

“Birthdays of two six-year-olds,” she laughs. “I will definitely need some wine.” Then come Monday, it’s back to lean soup.