1 Up and at it – what is your morning routine?
If I’m rehearsing a show or a concert, I’m up early to get ready and do a vocal warm-up before going to work. Otherwise, I hate getting up early in the mornings. My husband once even had a sweatshirt personalised for me saying 'I don’t do mornings' – it’s the truth… I can’t even get out of bed without a black coffee inside me. I tend to look at my phone first thing to see what’s going in the world and I wish I didn’t look at social media as much as I do.
2 What might you eat in a typical working day for... Breakfast?
I can’t eat until about 10am and then it’s usually something simple like toast and coffee. If I’m not singing that day, I’ll have some Greek yoghurt with honey – I love that.
Lunch? Lunch would be be poached eggs with salmon and avocado, or else home-made soups or baked potato with tuna and salad.
Evening meal? I don’t eat a lot of red meat (although my husband and son are real carnivores), but I eat lots of chicken or fish and there will always be lots of veg or salad on my plate.
3 Is nutrition important to you?
Nutrition is very important to me. I try to eat as healthily as I can, but I travel a lot so it’s not always possible. I try to follow a gluten-free diet for health reasons, but I love fresh food and cook from scratch daily, whether I’m at home or working away. I drink litres of water daily too, but I do have the odd 'bad' day where I just munch on sarnies and crisps.
4 Best meal ever?
We went on holiday to Croatia a few years back and found a very rustic, outdoor family-owned restaurant up in the hills. There were only three items on the menu – a vegetarian dish, a meat dish or a fish dish. The fish had literally been caught that morning and freshly grilled on the outside coals. The vegetables for the side dishes and all the ingredients for the salad starter had been grown in the garden and the carafe of wine was even made from grapes in the garden. That was probably one of the best meals I've ever eaten; it was magical.
5 Do you have a guilty pleasure?
Curry with a glass of wine – that’s my food heaven.
6 Have you ever been on a diet? If so, how did it go?
I've never been on a diet, as such, although from time-to-time (especially after a holiday) I have to cut back on the carbs and portion sizes.
7 Do you take health supplements?
Oh yes! I’m like a walking, talking, rattling Holland & Barrett store! I take Vit C, echinacea, Vit D and a probiotic daily. I’m constantly worried about catching a cold because I can’t sing if I do.
8 How do you relax?
I’m passionate about yoga but I absolutely love gardening and reading a good book, especially biographies or Gothic thrillers. In the evenings I just love to watch programmes like Line of Duty or Silent Witness with my husband while munching a bar of Lindt white chocolate.
9 Teetotal or tipple?
Oh, a wee tipple, for sure.
10 Stairs or lift?
I’ll always take the stairs – so long as it’s not 10 floors...
11 Do you have a daily exercise regime?
I try to go to the gym a few times a week (but I really don’t like it) and I take a yoga or Pilates class at least twice a week. It's often difficult to maintain that routine, though, when I’m away travelling with work, so I love to walk as much as possible.
12 Best tip for everyday fitness?
Keep active and drink lots of water.
13 On a scale of one to 10, how fit do you think you are and how fit would you like to be?
I'm maybe about a six, but I’d much rather be a 10.
14 Have you tried, or would you try, alternative therapy?
Yes, I’m a firm believer in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine and have had plenty of both.
15 Were school sports happy times or do you have a memory you would rather forget?
School sports were a total nightmare for me and I hated PE with a vengeance – so, yes, I'd rather forget. I hated the competitiveness of it all and the desperate PE shorts the nuns made us wear. I was always small, so when they’d come at me with the camogie stick I’d run in the other direction. Maybe that’s why I was always picked last for the teams.
16 Did you ever have a health epiphany which made you change your lifestyle?
We, sadly, have a lot of breast cancer in our family, so I try to be healthy with diet/alcohol/exercise.
17 Best health/lifestyle advice you were ever given and would pass on to others?
Drink as much water as possible and keep active. Both are great for body and mind.
18 Who inspires you or who would you try to emulate in terms of fitness/attitude to life? My mother-in-law inspires me because she was active until recently and is still queen of the crossword at 95. A very strong, courageous woman. Her motto is always: 'If you don’t use it, you lose it'.
19 What time do you normally get to bed and do you get enough sleep?
I’m a night owl and always want more sleep.
20 Would you say you have a healthy attitude towards your own mortality?
Death frightens me, actually, as I love life so much and want to be here always to look after my boys. But, it’s the one thing we’re all certain of, so it’s best to try and live each day to the full. I do firmly believe, though, that we go on to somewhere better after this life has ended.
:: Jacinta Whyte is currently appearing in Angela's Ashes at the Grand Opera House, Belfast. The musical will be at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin from September 9 before moving to Cork and then having its English premiere in Croyden later this month.
