Nigella's recipe for weight loss

Nigella lost weight after rejecting the idea of traditional dieting. Photo / supplied

Diet? No, slow yoga is Nigella’s recipe for slimming.

She has tried everything from Pilates to personal trainers and controlling portion sizes to shed the pounds.

Now Nigella Lawson has admitted adding another ingredient to her recipe for weight loss - a gentle form of yoga.

The 55-year-old, who has slimmed down from a size 16 to a svelte size 12 in recent years, said she now practises Iyengar yoga, after rejecting the idea of a traditional diet.

Revealing her secret to looking good in a magazine interview, she said: 'It's certainly true my weight went up - that happens in life sometimes.

"I have never been on a diet to try to lose weight. I feel like I haven't lost weight, but I'm possibly in better shape. I am doing a rather slow form of yoga now called Iyengar."

"No one should be put on this earth to go on a diet," says Nigella. Photo / Getty

"As you get on in life, you value feeling well as opposed to looking well. Yoga certainly makes you feel great, and you want to carry on feeling great. I just do a bit in a very slow way. Sometimes, lying down!

"No one should be put on this earth to go on a diet! No one should eat themselves ill either."

Iyengar was devised by BKS Iyengar - often hailed as the world's leading authority on yoga - who rose to fame in the 1950s after teaching violinist Yehudi Menuhin.

The exercises are more focused on perfecting poses, meaning it is slower than other forms of yoga, and it is recommended as a way of strengthening muscles and improving flexibility and mental wellbeing.

- Daily Mail