Ever since breaking into acting, Priyanka Chopra has been tackling physically challenging major movie and TV roles, both in her native India and in the United States.
And as a result of her Miss Universe pageant days and long-standing blockbuster success, the 38-year-old is no stranger to staying fit.
With her regular red carpet appearances and stunt-heavy on-screen roles, she’s often required to stay in tip-top shape.
“I have to stay super active and agile because I do my own stunts,” she told Women’s Health magazine. “I do all my fights myself. I trust my body and my instincts.”
However, Chopra is surprisingly realistic about her diet and exercise schedule, admitting she refuses to diet, indulges regularly and tends to favour low-impact exercise like yoga and extreme gym sessions.
Her mantra? “I don’t listen to my body, my body listens to me.”
Sounds like a fitness and eating plan that we can get on board with. Scroll down to see everything Chopra does to maintain her figure.
Diet
Chopra has been open about the fact that she’s been genetically blessed with a good metabolism.
“Fortunately I do not have a tendency to put on weight and can get away eating as much as I want to, which is a blessing in this industry,” she told The Times of India. As a result, she doesn’t diet.
“I don’t really have a diet. I wing it by the seat of my pants,” she told ELLE US. “It’s such a girl thing to do, like if I feel, ‘Ughh, I put on a few pounds’ and I feel gross about [myself] I suddenly start eating salad, protein, and soup. Otherwise, if I am feeling like I am in great shape I am okay with cheeseburgers and pizza. So, when someone asks me about my diet I feel terrible saying that I don’t really have one.”
When Chopra does indulge, she has a few favourite staples she turns to. “You don’t have to starve yourself,” she told Women’s Health. “I love having my pizzas and burgers and buffalo wings, on the side, for sure.” While Chopra says she typically eats healthy during the week, she admits to “indulging her tastebuds” on weekends, when she “binges” on “chocolate, cake and tandoori”.
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar the star also mentioned that her mornings always begin with a Nespresso and that one of her favourite snacks is a cheese sandwich with chilli pickle.
Day-to-day, Chopra’s diet is centred on vegetables, fruit and plenty of water, and she avoids “oily food”.
“My daily diet consists of regular food like chapati, vegetables, soups, salads, rice, dal and lots of fruits,” she told The Times of India. “Also juices and water are very high on my intake list. In fact, water is a must for everyone, at least 10 glasses a day. I often overshoot that, but it does wonders to your skin.”
Exercise
Chopra says she’s not exactly a “gym junkie” and works out to stay fit, rather than to lose weight. “I am not a gym-freak, but do work out regularly to keep the body well-toned. The idea is to keep fit and healthy and not shrink myself by two or three sizes,” she told The Times of India, adding that her workouts typically last for around an hour.
When she does work out, Chopra favours cardio (like treadmill sprints), spin classes and yoga, which she claims helps her to “relax and refresh”.
And it looks like she gets her hubby Nick Jonas in on the action too.
Still, Chopra insists that she’s not too stringent on the exercise front.
“I have great Indian genes!” she told E! Online. “You know, I’m lazy. I want to take advantage of the fact that I have a great metabolism. When I start getting [bigger] I’ll work on it! I like food, and I don’t like the gym, and as long as I look like this without doing anything, why bother?”
