Celebrity Biographies
How Gwyneth Paltrow manages to shake a stunning body and strong mind despite tough challenges!
The media love to hate them. Star magazine named her the most hated celebrity in 2013. People call her crazy and presumptuous and find her annoyingly self-centered. There is no doubt that as a Hollywood star, you are subject to a level of judgment that no other profession can. Gwyneth Paltrow is an Oscar winner, business owner, singer, food writer, and practical single mother. Still, she pulls it all off while still looking fabulous!
We can only wonder how she stays sane despite all the harsh criticism that comes her way and still looking great at the age of 43! Her secret seems to be fearless curiosity and experimentation, followed by sticking to the things that work well for her.
The conditions for living on their own terms
Seven years ago, she started Goop , a weekly lifestyle publication that explores unconventional alternative therapies that help create a harmonious balance between mind and body. Women’s Health magazine dubbed her ” the world’s most famous guinea pig ,” which she apologetically accepts. Be it oil pulling, macrobiotics, cupping, or the way she’s handled her divorce, defining it as “conscious uncoupling” through Goop, Paltrow has many brought seemingly odd trends into the mainstream.
However, she may not be as quirky as people expect her to be. While Gwyneth doesn’t have to defend herself, she openly shares her lifestyle values that empower her.
Paltrow’s Fitness: Staying Big, Long and Lean
Gwyneth began training with Tracy Anderson since the birth of their second child in 2006. She undertook an intense 6-day-a-week regimen to shed 20 pounds under Tracy’s supervision to look fit on screen after the Ironman . As mean as it sounds, Anderson claimed in an interview that Gwyneth wasn’t skinny but was extremely limp before taking her under her wing. She just hid her problem areas very well with clothes.
On the other hand, Paltrow admits she struggled to keep up with Anderson’s workouts until Tracy asked her to stop looking at exercise as an option. Consider engaging in a mandatory daily ritual like brushing your teeth. Once Gwyneth began to view exercise as a necessary investment in her own well-being, it became easier to make time for daily intense workouts.
Gwyneth’s Faith in the Tracy Anderson Method – All Hype or Legit?
Like many successful coaches, the Tracy Anderson is no different than the story of a frustrating battle with the bulge and uncovering insightful lessons as she successfully overcomes her challenges. She had to give up her dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer due to being overweight.
Constantly curious about developing a better body image, her “aha” moment came while accompanying her pro basketball player husband in a rehabilitation program. While the doctors supervised Tracy’s husband through a series of exercises designed to strengthen the smaller stabilizer muscles around major muscle groups, Tracy took this principle and, with her extensive knowledge of the dancer’s movements, invented her own form of training.
Though several health experts dismiss her, Anderson has managed to garner a large, satisfied fan base that includes celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Molly Sims, Nicole Richie, Jennifer Lopez, and Madonna. Gwyneth Paltrow, who sees Tracy Anderson as a scientist with the body of a model, trusts her method enough to invest in it, and the two women are official business partners.
Understand the Tracy Anderson method
The room temperature of a typical Anderson studio is 30 degrees Celsius with 65% humidity to warm the muscles and get the body sweaty by the end of the workout. The two aspects of Anderson’s classes include cardio dance and muscle building. Tracy supervises members to deform their arms and legs in various, seemingly unnatural, directions. This activates and fuels the stabilizing muscles and strengthens them in the long term.
Tracy has come up with more than ten thousand signature moves and makes sure her workout changes every ten days to constantly challenge the body.
Try the following 30-minute dance cardio routine for a fun way to work up a sweat.
Eating habits: how much is too much?
Contrary to popular belief, Paltrow may follow extreme diets as she is strongly opposed to self-deprivation. She recommends making a space for all types of food, including junk food. Be it an Oreo or a fries, their only requirement for enjoyment is that you only try them if you have a genuine craving that shouldn’t erupt into a frenzy.
She balances any unhealthy indulgence with cardio every morning. However, for Paltrow, staying lean means more to setting automated daily rituals than getting a handle on the calories of every bite you eat.
As told by Women’s Health magazine, she starts her day with coffee made in semi-skimmed milk and a thick post-dance cardio smoothie for breakfast. Her lunch is a large salad with grilled chicken, while dinner is the heaviest meal of the day, which can also include carbs like pasta.
Gwyneth defends her advocacy of detoxification as a counterbalance to living in an environment rife with artificial chemicals and pesticides. She disapproves of using them as a quick way to lose weight. She earns her fit body from regular exercise, and so should you.
Misquoted and misunderstood
Gwyneth wrote recipes in her cookbook, It’s All Good With No Obvious Allergens because of her son’s eczema and recommended eating gluten-free foods due to his allergies, which somehow got disproportionately blown into rumors that she was depriving her children of carbs.
She admits that because her daughter is a vegetarian, she stocks her kitchen well, using lots of whole foods and vegetables whenever possible. However, Paltrow’s well-meaning A-list diet and lifestyle recommendations are often beyond the reach of the average middle-class household.
Her quotes like: I am who I am. I can’t pretend I’m someone who makes $25,000 a year. “Invites to even more media resonance. But here’s a woman who has taken more risks by starting a publication, venturing into music and writing, taking up non-commercial acting projects, and being more honest with herself than many other movie stars.
Feeling beautiful from the inside out
Gwyneth Paltrow doesn’t use makeup as a constant crutch. For a constant glow, she believes in movement, laughter, sex and being herself. But she also cares for the skin and is not averse to occasionally visiting a dermatologist.
Healing of mind, body and soul in harmony
Let’s call it another unaffordable fad for the average middle-class person, if you will, but while most stars can’t do without a stylist or a PR team; Gwyneth claims she couldn’t do without her osteopath. She met Vicky Vlachonis while expecting her first child, who offered acupuncture, chiropractic, massage and cupping to help Gwyneth overcome post-pregnancy pain and fatigue.
Here are your osteopath’s top three tips for optimal mind-body balance:
- Physical ailments are often aggravated by a disturbed mind. Clear your mind with positive affirmations.
- Before going to bed, massage the area between the big and second toe for a sound sleep.
- A feeling of constant lethargy and immune system weakness can be a result of chronic inflammation in the body, often caused by excessive consumption of sugar, wheat or dairy products. Checking your intake of any of these food groups can make a massive difference in reducing your waistline and improving energy levels.
Getting the best out of a relationship
Currently For Joy co-star Brad Falchuk, 43, expects nothing less than fulfilling camaraderie from Gwyneth.
Out of respect for her marriage, she refuses to provide details about her divorce with Chris Martin, but does offer valuable advice about long-term relationships. Gwyneth explains that we tend to choose people who challenge the weakest parts of our personality. Use this as a chance to improve and become a better person. If you end up being a constant victim and often blame your partner when things get difficult, then you are not contributing to the relationship at all.
The value of good friends
Never underestimate the role real friends play in healing and overcoming adversity.
Paltrow insists that her girlfriends have always been the cornerstones of her life because they’re just not okay with her staying in denial. Always questioning her intentions as she struggles through circumstances, which can often mean the difference between a breakdown and a breakthrough.