LIFESTYLE

Ella Ding’s rule of three: Why a holistic approach to wellness matters

24 July, 2023 . 0

Reality TV star Ella Ding has found a new love – this time for health – with the launch of an all-in-one wellness app.

Ella Ding is the first to admit that life after starring in a reality TV show isn’t always easy.

“I got anxiety after MAFS (Married at First Sight); it was really hard,” Ella reveals.

“I’m normally a really happy person, but I went through some dramatic ups and downs coming out of the show.”

Following MAFS with a stint on the British reality show Made in Chelsea (she failed to find love on either) probably wasn’t the best idea, she says.

“I took a leap of faith to meet someone and made a bit of an arse of myself, to put it lightly, but I thought: OK, that’s done, I can take it off the list,” Ella says, adding the big positive to come out of her experiences was the feedback she received from fans.

The idea for 4U Plus is born

“I had so many people from across the world contacting me on social media and saying they liked what I was about and asking how I could be so confident and sure of myself,” Ella says.

“I wanted to let them know that it came with a whole lot of work and self-discovery.”

With her Instagram followers skyrocketing from 2800 to more than 500,000, and already interacting with people everywhere through her DMs, the beautician decided to follow her heart and got together with a team of experts to launch wellness app 4U Plus.

Ella’s rule of three

Ella says the 4U Plus app consists of three main pillars – health, wellness and relationships – for now, with plans for more in the future as the app grows and evolves.

Health

Ella is a glowing advertisement for a sustainable and enjoyable path to health.

“I believe an approach to fitness should come from a place of self-love and acceptance, rather than trying to change your body through an idealised image of what you think you should look like,” Ella, who is currently challenging herself with distance running, says.

Health 4U contains access to at-home workout videos, healthy recipes and hand-picked, calming music for meditation and yoga.

Wellness

“I’ve battled a binge-eating disorder, gone through more than people will ever know, had fears and my own breaking points, which led me to learn the importance of breathwork and meditation,” Ella shares.

She says her anxiety after MAFS made her realise she needed to get more in touch with her feelings, and implement practices that could help her “feel better and be more in control” of her emotions.

Wellness 4U includes 50 guided meditations and breathwork exercises recorded by Ella.

It’s designed to help beginners and assist with anxiety, sleep and stress.

Relationships

Ella has a new man in her life.

“He is a super low-key, humble guy; he’s a plumber and I’ve known him a long time,” she says.

But she remembers many long years of being single.

And she doesn’t hold back when it comes to demystifying topics around sex.

“It blows my mind that sex toys are so taboo,” Ella says.

“I was single for 12 years and I had to read a lot of books and do a lot of Googling to find out about self-pleasuring.”

In Relationships 4U, psycho-sexologist Chantelle Otten leads educational videos on a range of topics.

A holistic approach to fitness

4U strength and conditioning trainer Taylor Stone says while many women these days only want to train their lower body, Ella knows it’s important to take a holistic approach to training and physical development.

“And that means training the body all as one unit – strong all over!” Taylor says.

“Remember, strength training itself has a host of benefits, such as an increased basal metabolic rate (burn more calories at rest), and increased bone density and muscle size, and you develop functional motor patterns we use in everyday life.”

Ella Ding and Taylor Stone

Here are Taylor’s top training tips:

Squat it out

“If your goal is to change your body composition, such as to build muscle and drop body fat, squats or some form of squat variation should be in your workout routine,” Taylor says.

“It involves a number of large muscle groups, like the glutes, quads and core, and is physically taxing enough that you get a great workout and calorie burn while doing it – and that’s exactly why we do them with Ella!

“Working smarter in the gym or at home means choosing basic, multi-joint movements that will give you bang for your buck.”

Moving on up

“Mountain climbers are a great way of killing two birds with one stone, mixing a high heart rate and sweat with the challenge of stability within the core,” Taylor explains.

“The primary function of the core is to resist movement and protect our vital organs and spine.

“It’s important to limit any movement at the trunk and stay as stable as possible to ensure your abs are actually doing their job properly.”

Feel the burn

“Burn as many calories as possible during a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout,” Taylor advises.

“Ella loves to move her body, so we like to keep it dynamic, fun and challenging, and at an intensity she will benefit from – hard, fast, short and sharp intervals.

“HIIT training will not only increase your overall cardiovascular health but will (also) assist you during your strength training and burn a stack of calories later on in the day, even after you have worked out.”

Future focus

Ella says the new app is “the perfect platform for my community and others to grow and connect and find balance through sharing advice and information.”

Her schedule also includes co-hosting the Sit With Us podcast with MAFS bestie Dom Calarco, and she dreams of running her own wellness centre.

“I’ve also got two crazy kittens in the house,” she says.

“My therapist suggested them last year when we were talking about pet therapy – they’re totally cute and keep me very busy!”

More celebrities to inspire you:

Written by Liz McGrath.