As an award-winning actress, co-founder and ambassador of athleisure brand Fabletics, it kind of goes without saying that part of Kate Hudson’s job is to keep in shape and look good.
But after sitting down for a chat with her following the launch of the first IRL Fabletics store in the UK, it became clear that wellness is also one of her biggest passions. So this is exactly what makes Kate tick when it comes to health and fitness:
1. Pilates, pilates, pilates
‘My preference is pilates always. I love pilates, it makes me feel great,’ Kate told Cosmopolitan UK. Having grown up dancing and playing football, Kate explained that her body is ‘by nature quite athletic’, which is why pilates works so well for her. It allows her to stay a little more lean in shape. ‘That makes me feel lighter and better, so that’s just a personal preference,’ she said. ‘I stick to pilates and more dance-based things. For me, pilates is my number one.
‘I try to work out at least three times a week, but that doesn’t mean that I even get to three times a week some weeks, depending on travel and schedule. That’s my ultimate goal.’
2. It’s not just about exercising her body
But her mind, too. An experienced dancer, Kate spoke excitedly about having attended the opening of her friend’s dance studio, POPfit the day before we met. ‘It’s like a dance aerobic using no weights, just your own body, and I love that. It’s fun, it’s movement, it’s good music and you can connect to your body differently when you’re doing dance aerobics I think.
‘It sort of makes your brain work at the same time which is really, really important,’ she added.
3. She gets in the zone with good music
But not necessarily the kind of music you might imagine she’d like. ‘Coming from contemporary dance, I’m someone who likes… the big pop songs and the big work out anthem type things,’ Kate said. ‘But I actually like more emo [music]… yeah there’s a part of me that likes things that are a little more alternative, a bit more low-key,’ she revealed.
When Kate was training for a triathlon a few years back (which never happened in the end, but she still firmly intends to complete one day – ‘it’s on my bucket list’) she used to run a lot. And her music of choice at the time? Arcade Fire. ‘My running soundtrack was not what other people would think it was. It was all these alternative songs. I used to run to Arcade Fire when that album came out,’ she said. ‘I don’t know what it was, Arcade Fire was what I wanted to run to.’
4. She changes her workouts up
‘I like doing that. The professionals say it is good to move things around. I’m not a professional, I am in no position to tell people what’s best for them, but you know I love switching things up,’ Kate revealed.
5. She lets her body tell her what it needs, not other people
You have to connect with something personally to make it work for you, the actress insists. Because there just isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ plan when it comes to something so individual as health and fitness.
‘Everyone is sort of looking for an equation. They want the equation for “how do I get into these jeans?” They want the equation to, “how do I live a long life?” Or they want the equation to “how do I become more stylish?’
‘And really, there is no equation,’ Kate told us. ‘You have to actually connect to yourself. What do you like? What do you like to eat? What do you not like to eat? What makes you feel good?
‘Someone will say, “you need to eat broccoli”. Well, yeah, you know what? Broccoli makes me gassy and I hate the way it tastes, so I don’t want to eat broccoli. What else is there? You’ve got to find out what makes you feel good and broccoli might not make you feel good.’
6. She doesn’t pressure herself
When she skips a workout or slips up on her eating plan, Kate doesn’t waste time beating herself up about it – and neither should you. ‘It’s not guilt, it’s just acknowledgment of, “I’m not doing it”,’ the How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days actress said, adding: ‘I think it’s really important that people don’t [feel guilty]’.
It all comes down to balance, where Kate’s concerned. ‘There’s a way to live a healthy life that is involved in this world of wellness without [taking] a very strict over the top approach. There’s a way to do the best you can, and for that to be good enough. That’s really my passion behind creating this company [Fabletics]. [I’m] trying to take the pressure off of women rather than continuing to lay it on.’
7. She pays attention to the online wellness world, but doesn’t abide by every rule
Acknowledging that ‘wellness has become a fad in itself’ that everyone’s ‘very intrigued by’, Kate feels like there are major pros and cons to it. ‘I feel like it’s really good to understand things and to be knowledgeable about what’s good for you,’ she said. ‘I actually love all of the content that’s out there, because it’s a way for women to find out what works best for them.’
But then there’s the down side. ‘A trend is a trend is a trend, and for a lot of women it feels intimidating… it feels like, “stop pressuring me to cleanse”. One of the things that I find becomes depressing for people and daunting is feeling like they have to live up to something.’
8. She sticks to a food routine she knows works
Kate is all about trial and error when it comes to sticking to a healthy eating plan; it’s the only way she’s managed to determine exactly what works for her if she wants to cleanse her body.
‘If I’m feeling like I need to lay off unhealthy foods and give myself a break, it’s a very easy thing. I have a piece of this thing called Manna bread – it’s a very healthy but yummy bread – with a little bit of butter. I have a half a cantaloupe and one egg for breakfast. I have a snack, I have a lunch that consists of a protein and lots of greens, and any dressing I use I dip it in a fork,’ Kate explained.
‘I have another little snack, I try to stay away from high carb fruits, I’ll do low-carb fruits as a snack and I’ll do nuts. Then for dinner I’ll do another protein and with a lot of greens, steamed with nothing on them. I don’t eat past 7 and I don’t [always] eat breakfast so I’ll give myself a good 14-16 hours in between meals.’
This eating plan ‘cleans out my gut and to get my body a little bit healthier’, ridding it of unhealthy sugars and caffeine, Kate explained. ‘In two weeks it’s like a sure bet that you lose a lot of water weight and you feel just a lot cleaner,’ Kate explained. ‘But it’s hard. The first four days is challenging because it’s like the sugar headaches, the caffeine headaches, but that’s just a formula that works for me. If I want to go to that place fast, that’s just what works.’
