If there’s one thing Jane Fonda believes in, it’s not slowing down.When it comes to health and fitness, she isn’t calling it quits either. While her days of high-intensity aerobics, leotards, and leg warmers are now behind her, the fitness guru still maintains her healthy lifestyle.
Health advice
Fonda’s health journey hasn’t always been easy. She’s been open about her struggles with poor body image and bulimia, which was a battle for her from puberty through her 40s, and she recently revealed she had a cancerous growth removed from her lip. Like many other celebrities, she’s faced scrutiny for plastic surgery she’s had done on her jawline and under-eyes, procedures she says were “minimal” but bought her “an additional 10 years of professional work” as an actress. But these days, Fonda is pretty content with being an octogenarian and isn’t letting age hold her back from living her best life.
“I have a fake hip, a fake knee and I’ve had a number of back surgeries, so I’m sort of half-metal and half-bionic now. I have osteoarthritis and getting in and out of a car is a challenge. But I feel lucky that I did a lot of fitness work earlier in my life because it means I’m stronger now,”.
Fitness rules
- Diet plays a key role in keeping her fit, active and beautiful.
- She usually starts off her day with a healthy breakfast of soft-boiled or poached eggs, whole-grain cereal or toast, yogurt or fresh fruit.
- She prefers having a late lunch and a very light dinner.
- She often skips the dinner completely.
- She eats healthy, fresh food, minimal red meat.
- She is low on carbs, but eats carbs. She eats a lot of fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, chicken. He
- She advises people to cut down on sugar and lower their intake of carbs especially those people who want to look like her.
- She takes a long walk every day, and she’s become a fan of resistance training, yoga, and cross-country skiing. “
Lifestyle rules
“I’m never going to stop. The most important thing is to keep moving, to stay active. That’s what I do and that’s how to stay strong. Too many people give up on exercise at a certain point.The mistake that so many people make is that if they can’t do what they once did, then they don’t do anything. Big mistake. We can allow our various infirmities to define us or we can say to ourselves, ‘I want to stay independent as long as possible. I want to be able to sit on the floor and play with my grandchildren. I want to carry at least some of my own luggage and not take 15 minutes to get out of a car.'”
- She’s adjusted her workouts to be age-appropriate.
“I walk. I lift lighter weights. I move more slowly. But keep moving. Keeping your body active is absolutely critical. If you’re in a wheelchair, move your arms.” - She believes in long-term lifestyle changes, not diets.
“Most diets focus on weight loss on the scale, and they enforce temporary (and often unhealthy) restrictive behavior. Unfortunately, this scenario sets us up to fail. Toss out the scale (she doesn’t own one herself) and shift your entire lifestyle to be health-conscious, which includes finding health-minded friends, setting a regular workout routine, starting your day with a nutritious breakfast—and allowing yourself to indulge in a piece of chocolate every once in a while.” - She prefers to keep busy rather than retire.
“Many people retire by their 60s, but at 80 plus, Fonda isn’t ready to call it quits. “I needed a steady job. It’s hard to be an older actor and be in regular work – people forget this is how we earn our living.I support other people besides myself and I need to bring in money. Plus, it’s fun. I never would have thought that at my age I could say I’ve been working too hard to spend time pampering myself, but I’m happy to say that’s the case.’” - Her most important lesson for aging gracefully?
“Don’t try to be perfect: “It’s a losing battle and you’ll just be unhappy.Your anxiety will drive you to do things like eat too much or drink too much or whatever.Instead, funnel your energy into introspection and seek meaningful relationships with others. “I meditate for 45 minutes to an hour every day. That keeps me calm and grounded.Trying to be intentional about how we live, staying interested, staying curious, paying attention to young people, cultivating young friends— these kinds of things are, I think, important to staying youthful.”
