The adventurer, solo transatlantic sailor and TV presenter reveals what makes her tick I was an outdoorsy little girl. Every Christmas I asked for a Sindy doll with flat feet, so I could play with my brother and his Action Man. I never got one because they were all moulded for high heels.

• I started sailing at 15. It was so fantastic that I threw myself into it and ended up sailing the Atlantic solo, three times. I’m not good at being bad at things, but I’m competitive with myself more than with other people. It’s always about how far I can push myself.

• I devised my Channel Five series Go Hard Or Go Home after my last solo transatlantic voyage in 2009. There’s no feeling more fabulous than crossing the finish line when you have worked hard to achieve a goal that you weren’t sure you could reach. It gives you so much confidence, and I wanted other people to experience that.

• Anyone can get fit – it’s all about believing you can. We took 16 fairly unfit people, including WI members and pub landlords, and challenged them to get fit enough in 12 weeks to compete in the world’s toughest events.

• I set one clinically obese woman the goal of competing in a half Iron Man (a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run). She cried. She didn’t believe she could even walk round the block, but 12 weeks later she was on the start line in California. She runs several times a week now.

• Setting a manageable goal is key. It’s about being the best you can be – not becoming an Olympian. It helps hugely to share the planning with family and friends – even on Facebook – so people will push you and motivate you, kick you out of bed to go for a run, as my boyfriend did to me this morning.

• Good food and sleep are your best friends. Start with a proper breakfast, such as porridge and/ or eggs, eat a light supper at 7pm not 10pm, drink less alcohol (our pub landlords went from drinking four pints daily to two or three a week), and you will see the impact on your whole life.

Go Hard Or Go Home will air on Channel Five in the New Year.

WEBSITE OF THE WEEK:  www.lipoedemaladies.com

Lipoedema (often confused with lymphoedema) is an abnormal build-up of fat cells causing symmetrical swelling of legs, thighs, buttocks and arms – but not feet or hands. It’s poorly diagnosed, the cause is not known (although it is probably hormone-related) and there is little effective treatment. Sufferers, invariably women, need all the support they can get which is why the Lipoedema Ladies website is so important.

THE NATURAL FACELIFT

Targeted exercises can lift and tone your facial muscles and help stimulate collagen production. Our tester, a yoga teacher, recommends Danielle Collins’s face yoga method, shown on her DVD . ‘I felt my lower facial muscles working, and the breathing and massage exercises stopped me furrowing my brow and helped plump my face.’ Danielle’s 10 Minute Natural Facelift DVD/£14.99 plus £2.50 p&p, from www.faceyogaexpert.com. Danielle is teaching free workshops at the Yoga Show at London’s Olympia, 25-27 October, www.omyogashow.com.