Not that you can tell, but Zoe Saldaña recently turned 46. The ageless star of Emilia Perez and mother of three has mastered healthy living – and it shows. We have to assume that the reason Saldaña looks half her age has something to do with her health and wellness routine, and naturally, we want to replicate it.
Of course, it isn’t just her health that Saldaña is on top of. She’s currently the leading contender to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Emilia Perez.
So, what is it that Saldaña does to stay in shape and feel her best?
We’ve scoured the internet for every detail of her wellness routine that she’s revealed over the years, so you can see for yourself.
1. She prefers interval training over long cardio
With her filming commitments and three kids, Saldaña doesn’t have much time on her hands. Don’t expect to see her slogging it out on a treadmill from dawn ‘til dusk.
“Between travel, meetings and shoots, schedules are rough for me. I try to work out three times a week, but I don’t believe in getting on one machine for 30 minutes,” she told Shape.
“If I do a lot of cardio, it usually just means I’ll be dragging my feet for the rest of the day. And when I’m shooting, I really don’t like to be strict with my workout, since I’m already putting in 16-hour days. So I do 20-minute intervals either at the gym or at home, where I run in place for 30 seconds, then do squats, then carry a heavy medicine ball a few times in a row until I get my heart rate up.”
2. She maintains a balanced diet and doesn’t buy into diet culture
The actress and mother believes that the key to a healthy diet is keeping it balanced. “Once you know better, you can’t not care,” she explained to Shape about healthy eating. She usually sticks to the ‘80-20 rule’, where on any given day 80 per cent of what she eats is healthy and 20 per cent isn’t.
The thinking behind this approach is to avoid cheat days where all of your progress from a strict diet is flushed away. “I don’t believe in cheat days because I don’t believe in diets,” Saldaña said. “I try not to deprive my body of anything, because the moment I have just salads and protein for a few days, I crave carbs. But when I eat everything in balance, I think less about food and more about everything else. It’s about eating to live, not living to eat.”
3. Yoga is a cornerstone of her workout routine
“I like feeling that I’m giving myself – my body, my spirit, my mind – the attention it needs.” That’s what Saldana Zoe told Women’s Health US about why she does yoga.
“I often take for granted how helpful stretching and breathing exercises are,” she said. “Yoga reminds me to breathe and slow down.”
Let this be a reminder that exercise isn’t always about getting a sweat going, but nurturing your body and mind.
4. A plant-focused diet works best for her
In addition to using the 80-20 rule, Saldaña tries to stay on a plant-focused diet. For those uninitiated, that’s one that’s not quite entirely plant-based, but instead one that’s plant heavy.
When asked on her principles around this, she explained to Shape that she was “starting to move in the direction of becoming a vegetarian family,” and that “society has a very violent, dysfunctional, and wrong relationship with how we cultivate and produce meat.”
5. Diet is more important to her than exercise
Saldaña is a big believer in the idea that if you can’t get your regular workout in, you can make up for it with your diet. In other words, she gives herself – and her schedule – some grace and flexibility.
“I can’t work out regularly, so I compensate by eating a lot healthier than I might otherwise,” she said. “Once you have relatively healthy eating habits, your workout can become playing with your kids, strolling around the neighbourhood, playing airplane, or just changing diapers.”
6. She knows it’s important to get the basics right
You can workout all the time and stick to an incredibly rigid diet, but ultimately, you have to get the basics right, too.
Saldaña preaches this, and previously told The Zoe Report that she has two “secret weapons” for feeling well: “Drinking lots of water and getting sleep.” Amen to that.
7. She treats herself occasionally
A key aspect of the 80-20 rule is, obviously, the 20 per cent of food that isn’t particularly healthy.
Indulging occasionally and not feeling bad about it can help prevent bigger blowouts, and the actress finds it helpful to maintain that equilibrium.
“Every once in a while I will treat myself to some dark chocolate-covered almonds and a glass of rum,” she told The Zoe Report.
All in all, it’s about balance. Looks like we’re singing from the same hymn sheet.
How many kids does Zoe Saldaña have?
Zoe Saldaña has three children with her Marco Perego-Saldaña, all boys. Two of her sons are twins, Cy and Bowie, born in 2014. The third, Zen, was born in 2016.
How many Oscars does Zoe Saldaña have?
Zoe Saldaña is yet to win an Oscar, but that could soon change. She is the odds-on favourite to win Best Supporting Actress this year for her performance in Emilia Pérez. She has already won a BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG Award for the role.
What ethnicity is Zoe Saldaña?
Zoe Saldaña was born in New Jersey in the United States but she has Dominican and Puerto Rican ancestry and speaks both English and Spanish.
