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Top toned bodies & their well-kept secret
Have you ever wondered how the Hollywood actresses keep themselves so fit in spite of their hectic schedules?
Have you ever wondered how the Hollywood actresses keep themselves so fit in spite of their hectic schedules?
Halle Berry, 37
When it comes to Bond girls, nobody did it better than Berry. In Die Another Day’s most memorable scene, the Oscar winning siren emerged from the ocean wearing a red-hot orange bikini and wound up walking away with her own 007 spin-off. “I’d like to stay in shape,” she once said, “but I want to look feminine.” Mission accomplished. Berry does the treadmill, Pilates and a weight-resistance programme that incorporates both free weights and machines. Her workout includes everything which “muscles up the right places.”
Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, 30
The role of X2’s evil mutant Mystique required Romijn-Stamos to wear azure-coloured body paint and not much else, so the former Victoria’s Secret supermodel turned to Pilates. She also goes hiking with her dogs and keeps a pretty level head when it comes to dieting. That means she doesn’t mix proteins and carbs in the same meal. “My only ‘cheat’ is ice cream,” she says.
Sarah Jessica Parker, 38
Merely six months after delivering her first child, the Sex and the City star was already back to her pre-pregnancy shape, washboard abs and all. How’d she do it? “A yoga teacher comes to my house,” she had said. “I also worked super-hard at it. We cling to this idea that celebrities look exciting, but not only is the standard too high for most normal women, it’s too high even for us.”
Britney Spears, 21
The 2000 MTV VMAs was just another award show until Ms Spears showed up. Midway through her act, she tore off her black suit to reveal a rock-hard body, and went from teen fluff to full-bodied womanhood. She sticks to basic foods: chicken, fish and veggies, avoiding breads and processed sugars. “The body’s a beautiful thing,” Spears has said. “You shouldn’t hide yourself.”
Renee Zellweger, 34
To play pleasantly plump ‘singleton’ of the 2001 hit Bridget Jones Diary, Zellweger skipped a fat suit and packed on 20 extra pounds through scale tipping portions of pizza, pasta and doughnuts. She slimmed down by running, practising yoga and switching to a diet of mostly proteins and fats. The Texas native is also reportedly big on cleansing the body to increase digestion and promote a better immune system. Although she was back to her old svelte self by the time she reached Chicago, Zellweger is bulking up again for next year’s Bridget Jones sequel, a role that reportedly requires her to go from a size six to a size 14.
Jennifer Garner, 31
According to her personal trainer Valerie Waters, the Alias star is up and running at 4 a.m. almost everyday. After sprinting, she does circuit weight training or yoga, concentrating on “core conditioning to keep that lean, athletic look.” For sustenance, she fuels up on a practical diet of three meals and two snacks per day.
Madonna, 45
The pop icon sticks to a macrobiotic diet, drinks ginger tea for energy, likes green-tea ice cream for dessert and digs yerba mate, a South American herb that reportedly burns fat while boosting energy and health. As for her physique, Madonna has given up pumping iron in favour of bike riding, Pilates, Ashtanga yoga and “running after her kids.”
Cameron Diaz, 31
The blue-eyed model-turned-actress is lava-hot despite an odd diet (cold chicken and coffee for breakfast) and claims that she never works out. “The only real exercise I do is putting on high-heeled shoes,” she has said. “They keep my legs in good shape.”
Carmen Electra, 31
the former Baywatch beach bunny and star of the Pussycat Dolls burlesque group maintains a well-toned bum despite admitting that she drinks “at least a six-pack of Coke every day.” The rest of her diet is more sensible: “But whenever I crave for a specific food, I eat it because it’s important not to deprive yourself.” She stays fit through dance rehearsals and hitting the gym.
