After spending nearly her entire life in the spotlight, Brooke Shields has certainly picked up a few tips to keep herself looking and feeling healthy.
After all, she started modelling when she was only 11 months old, and has been a superstar ever since. But the actress, model, Broadway performer, and mother says it wasn’t an easy journey to self-acceptance. The 6-foot-tall star says she’s always had an athletic build, but it often made her feel insecure.
‘The thing is, I was in an industry where [being athletic] was not celebrated. I have friends who are supermodels, and I never had that body … I was always considered the athletic one, and that translated into big. I was the big one. Thankfully, so many more body types are accepted these days,’ she said in a recent interview with Health.
Now 52, Shields says she’s happy with her body, but there’s no trick or magic diet that helps her stay in shape. She simply drinks lots of water, exercises regularly, and doesn’t deny herself everyday pleasures.
Here are a few other simple ideas that Shields uses to keep 52 looking like 42.
She keeps her workout routine fresh with a mix of SoulCycle, pilates — and hanging upside down.
In addition to working with a personal trainer, Shields also goes to SoulCycle and pilates classes, she told Health. She also recently started using an Indo Board to improve her balance, and keeps her core strong using inversion boots.
‘I’ve just started hanging upside down in inversion boots, doing hamstring pulls and sit-ups. I’m amazed at how great it feels on my back. I’ll just hang there and then start doing a whole series of crunches and things like that. It’s really hard, but it’s really great, and I notice a difference,’ she said.
She drinks a lot of water, but thinks lemon water rituals are silly.
She told Healthy Living that her best health tip is getting enough sleep and drinking enough water. ‘I don’t think there’s a trick to being healthy; I think we all know what our limitations are. There’s no ‘drink lemon juice after fried chicken.’ It’s about being honest with yourself … It’s so boring but yet it’s true.’
When she notices another woman’s hard work, she says something.
Sometimes the best way to inspire yourself is to celebrate the people around you, Shields says.
‘What I’ve been trying to do, and I’m seeing more now with my girlfriends, too, is celebrate other people. A mum came into school the other day and her legs looked amazing, and I just started going, “Oh my God, will ya look at those legs? It’s ridiculous!”
‘She was like, “Stop!” But you could tell it made her feel good. She works so hard, and she’s a mum, and I really meant it,’ she told Health.
She’s working on putting herself first.
Between her career and raising her two daughters, it can be difficult to find time to focus on living a healthy lifestyle. She’s trying to make sure she prioritises herself so she can be physically and mentally healthy.
‘You just have to remind yourself to not forget about your relationship and to not forget about yourself. And it’s interesting, because I have a very fraught relationship with working out,’ she told People.
She uses really, really cold water for radiant skin.
‘I used to sink my face in a bowl of ice water, like Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest — it really does wake up your skin!’ she told Redbook. ‘These days, though, I just rinse my face with cold water. I also try to work out before going on camera, which I find gets rid of puffiness and gives me a rosy glow.’
She eats lots of leafy greens.
She told W Magazine that her secret to ‘beauty from the inside out’ is ‘Water, water, water, sleep, greens. And, love’.
She goes for chocolate when she wants to indulge.
‘I try not to deny myself, because if I do, it turns into this major internal battle,’ she says. ‘I can satisfy myself without going overboard,’ she said to Fitness.
