Victoria Pendleton shares life-changing decision she made on day of retirement: 'I never looked back'
15.06.2022 - 14:27
/ ok.co.uk
Victoria Pendleton is one of this country’s most successful female Olympians, who’s been open about suffering from lows along the way.The 41 year old has won nine world titles and represented Great Britain in the 2005 and 2012 Olympics. But while training, the star admitted she "felt pressure" to eat a certain way.
Victoria told OK!: "Basically as an athlete I was always told I had to eat lots of protein and protein shakes and they were nearly always milk based. And it was about having to eat all this chicken and I'd never really been a meat eater anyway so it felt like a chore, and something I had to do if I was serious about my sport.
"I felt very much pressured into it." Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK!'s daily newsletter It was in 2012 that the athlete made the decision to retire after winning gold in the keirin and silver in the sprint at the London Olympics. And on this day, Victoria made the life-altering decision to completely switch up what she ate and embark on a vegetarian lifestyle.
Becoming more aware of the environment and as an animal lover it was a decision she "never looked back on." "When I retired I cut out all the things I didn't want to eat and I never missed meat, I never looked back. "I went vegetarian immediately the day I retired and shortly after I cut out dairy too, thinking mostly about the ethical reasons of it." The cyclist, who feels 'awkward' returning home after leisure centres were named after her, was diagnosed with severe depression in 2018 and showed bravery by admitting she was in a “dark place” with her illness after contemplating suicide following her "unpleasant" divorce from her ex-husband Scott Gardner.
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