Jennifer Lawrence, the 23 year-old Hollywood beauty is as notoriously famous for her outspoken, ‘refusal-to-conform-to-the-Hollywood-mould’, ‘love-yourself-as-you-are’ persona as for her Oscar-winning acting skills, but more than that it’s her role as Katniss Everdeen in the hugely popular Hunger Games that has caused her to become somewhat of a role model and idol to young females across the world.
While Jennifer makes it perfectly clear that she does not diet or workout, recently stating to Instyle magazine
“Nothing Can Motivate Me’ To Work Out”
And while it is true that Jennifer is a curvy and healthy looking young girl, and seems to be maintaining a refreshingly grounded view on self image in an industry obsessed with looks, it seems that when it comes to preparing for the role of Katniss, she does have the help of a personal trainer and nutritionist on hand to give an extra boost to her already revving young metabolism, and keep her looking fit and toned for the role.
I have researched as much as possible but it is quite difficult to find the specifics on the low carb diet that she sticks to during training and filming. Perhaps that is because she doesn’t really stick to it, as she recently told Instyle magazine in an interview
“During Hunger Games, when I was eating ungodly amounts, I used to tell myself, ‘Stop eating, people are going to see this. This movie is going to be around forever.’ But nope! I was like, I still want candy and I still want a hot dog!”
And since she is still very young it is possible that she may be able to be more lax with her food intake, but I’m pretty sure that for the most part her diet is healthy and clean and full of all the nutrients she needs to endure training and filming for long hours.
Speaking on her training for the film her strength and conditioning coach Joe Horrigan has said
“We would hit the track around 10 a.m. and after a long warm up we did track drills, agility drills, medicine ball, sprints, and runs. This would last about an hour and half. Several days per week she would drive out to the archery range and the archery coach was waiting for her. That was a chore in itself. Then agility work again with the stunt people, but that was a bit later. We were careful not to have her do too much. Then in the evening, it would be a stationary bike ride.”
It seems the aim behind Jennifer’s training and diet was to avoid a gaunt look but to create a more strong and resilient looking physique,
“That’s something I was really conscious of during training…I was trying to get my body to look fit and strong – not thin and underfed.’
On the subject of her diet her coach as stated
“The calories had to come down. There had to be a cap and we tried to use a food service that could deliver the calorie range that were looking for. And our nutritionist talked to the group and we reduced the saturated fats. She had to have enough carbs to train. If you put her on too low of card diet then she wouldn’t have the energy and would affect her ability to perform.”
So it seems to me that nothing was too extreme in regards to diet and fitness to achieve Jennifer’s physique for The Hunger Games.
Whether Jennifer’s lax approach to diet and fitness will continue to serve her as she gets older is yet to be seen but for now a moderately active workout routine and a balanced approached to diet where she doesn’t deny herself the foods she loves, is proving to work for her and she looks beautiful, womanly and strong for it. I like that she’s bringing a different look to the red carpet and changing the opinion that all young actresses need to be size zero with the perkiest bum and the most sculpted arms to become successful and be considered sexy.
And just like Katniss Everdeen is breaking rules and changing things in the Hunger Games, Jennifer herself seems to be doing just the same in Hollywoodland.
Author: NaomiKathreen
WHO AM I?
My name is Naomi O'Neill. I was born and bred in a rural village in the south of Ireland, surrounded daily by endless green fields, farms and bucket loads of rain. My sisters and I decided at a young age that we wanted a life of entertainment, away from the constant grey skies of our homeland, so we formed a singing group, worked hard, practiced daily and accomplished many amazing things together, from sharing the stage with huge European acts, to red carpets in New York and L.A., to film sets in Louisiana ( but thats story is too long and for another day or perhaps another blog!)
During our time in the entertainment business (over eight years so far) we've lived in New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles and finally, now in New Orleans. My interest in Nutrition, Health and Fitness accumulated for various reasons over this time (from having an ex-boyfriend who was a professional natural bodybuilder to having an Aunt undergo bypass surgery, to my Dad developing an as of yet undiagnosed stomach problem, to the mysterious appearance and then disappearance of cellulite on my sisters legs (yes cellulite can dissappear!) to now having a biochemist for a brother in law) Many things kept leading me searching for answers to my questions about health and beauty, and especially being in the business we were in, it was important to know these things so we could look our best!!
I eventually undertook an online course in Nutrition and Alternative healing, where I received my diploma but nutrition and health is so ever changing that one cannot stop learning, as new findings appear everyday and old standards are constantly rebuked by new research that voids old theories about food.
During a two year period, I have gone from being a meat eater, to a vegetarian, to a vegan ( only lasted two weeks), I even once went as far as to buy a book on the raw food diet but needless to say it would have been way way too time consuming. And now here I am back to a fully fledged meat eater again, happy, full and healthy and honestly I probably eat more red meat now than I ever did before in my life!
It was during my recent move to New Orleans, for acting related purposes, I started using my free time ( which actors and performers in general, tend to have alot of) to start becoming a sort of independent researcher on nutrition and health and fitness. And after hours upon hours on my little leather chair in the corner of the Borders bookstore, alternating between reading plays by Chekhov and reading every nutrition book imaginable, I've made some very interesting and exciting realizations about food and how to properly nourish our bodies, that isn't exactly widely known.
I've tested these new food theories, ( I say new as they're new to me , but in fact most of the things I've learned have come from hundreds of thousands of years of nutritonal history) and what Ive noticed is my body has become leaner and toned, I've so much more energy now (considering I have had chronic fatigue all my life) , the complete disappeance of depression (another long term battle of mine) and generally just an over all feeling of better health, not to mention better skin, hair and nails!!
If it works for me, I know it can work for you too and I am so much happier these days eating all kinds of delicious food that I foolishly believed were bad for me, and avoided, while I starved myself thinking I was doing my body and health and looks a favor!! It's never too early to begin eating right, and it's never too late to remedy years of bad food choices either! Thats why I'm writing this blog. I want to share any and all information I've learned that could possibly help someone out there make better food choices and live a healthy, delicious,bountiful life of nutritious and nourishing foods.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG
The reason I've titled my Blog "Eat like an Actress" is not only because that is my career path but because whether or not young girls like me out there are pursuing a career in entertainment, we still all look to the actresses and stars, and idolize their bodies and pour over their eating habits and fitness routines in hopes of looking something like them. But the truth is, they are people too, just like you and I, and they are often as confused about what food choices to make as we are. This is clearly evident in their often fluctuating weights and appearances. We undertake crazy diets thinking they will be the miracle cure that will transform us into an image of a super hot celeb, but then we lose all hope and motivation when we struggle through these ludacris "diets" and end up starving and then bingeing and back where we began only 5 pounds heavier!
It doesn't have to be this way! Life can be worth living, full of deliciousness and happiness and yes you can still look amazing while eating yummy foods!
Everyones bodies are different, no two people are the same so what works for you may not work for your friend or vice versa because our chemical makeups are all different BUT i promise you, a balanced, nutritious, scrumptious life is achievable for all!!
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