She’s 42 yet she still rocks a two-piece swimsuit – age is nothing but a number for Gwyneth Paltrow. However, obtaining her bikini bod isn’t simple. She follows a super-clean, super-healthy diet that is gluten-free and low-carb. Sounds impossible, right? Here’s how she does it.
Though she temporarily abandoned her notoriously strict diet recently in order to road-test street food for a post on her GOOP blog, the 175m (approx. 5ft9ins) actress doesn’t keep her 132lbs (60kg) figure by eating burgers every day. She works out, a lot, and watches what she eats…
GWYNETH PALTROW DIET
Gwyneth is a fan of the macrobiotic diet, first developed in the 1920 by Japanese philosopher George Obsawa. It is built upon the principle of eating simple, healthy foods that are free from toxins. Her diet is rich in organic whole grains and locally-sourced vegetables, with just small amounts of organic fish and poultry. She also schedules regular detoxes, but she balances the purging with weekend treats. “’I often have a glass of red wine in the evening and smoke a cigarette on a Saturday. I love those moments because they are just the right amount of naughty.” Her go-to recipe is her Mexican green goddess dressing (goat’s yogurt, jalapeño, coriander and honey) which she drizzles over salads and chicken.
Gwyneth Paltrow looking fabulous at the Golden Globes
FOODS BANNED FROM GWYNETH PALTROW’S DIET:
- Refined carbs
- White sugar
- Alcohol
- Caffeine
- Processed food
GWYNETH’S DIET ADVICE:
“[I snack on] raw almonds with raisins, or coconut water, or I’ll make a juice with kale, lemon juice, water, Vitamix and a little agave. I try to avoid barbecue potato chips. They’re my weakness.”
Gwyneth Paltrow in a bikini before taking the ALS Challenge
EXAMPLE OF MEALS, TAKEN FROM HER RECENT COOKBOOK IT’S ALL GOOD
Breakfast
- Sweet potato muffin
- Poached egg, garlic spinach and turkey bacon
Lunch
- Lobster club salad
- Duck broth with soba
- Bean salad with grilled prawns
Evening meal
- Healthy risotto with peas
- Healthy fried rice with kale
- Tuna ginger burgers
GWYNETH PALTROW’S WORKOUT
As a friend and business partner of dancer-turned-fitness guru Tracy Anderson, Gwyneth is a long-time fan of Tracy Anderson’s 30-Day Method. “When I first started working with Tracy, finding motivation was hard. She advised me to think of exercise as an automatic routine, no different from brushing your teeth, to avoid getting distracted. Now it is part of my life,” says Gwyneth.
Gwyneth does 45 minutes of cardio, five days a week, including Tracy’s high-intensity dance workouts. She also does 45-minutes of muscular structure work (toning, realigning and lengthening) through yoga. If she has a big premiere or event coming up, she ups her workouts to two hours a day, six days a week.
GWYNETH PALTROW ON HEALTH & FITNESS:
“I never thought that I’d be considered to have a good body. I was bony up top and kind of dumpy on the bottom. But my trainer, Tracy Anderson, completely changed my legs, butt, arms and stomach. I feel better than ever, too.”
“I do Tracy’s dance aerobics classes. It took me a long time to learn the choreography when I started. I was so uncoordinated! After 11 minutes, I’d pass out and cry and say, ‘I can’t do this anymore!’ Now I can’t live without it. You do it to loud music, and it’s fun.”
“When Tracy met me, she said that I had a long, square butt that she was going to redesign, and I was, like, ‘Yeah? Good luck.’ The amazing thing is, she was right! And it’s still changing!”
“I’ve found what works for me. I know if I put in an hour and a half, five days a week, I’m good. If I’m on vacation and, like, ‘F*** it, I’m not working out,’ I know what to do when I get back. A lot of women think, ‘Oh, my God, I could never get there,’ but I don’t think that’s true. It’s simply relative to how much you put into it.”
“It’s easy to get distracted by junk food so keep healthy snacks to hand.”
“Stay away from processed foods, though cutting them out completely is no fun and can ultimately lead to a binge.”
For more A-list fitness tips, visit here #EWGetsFit
Words: Aoife Stuart-Madge
Images: Instagram
