Jennifer Lopez Shares Swimsuit Photos as "This is August" 

Jennifer Lopez is considered one of Hollywood’s most gorgeous women. She shared a stunning new set of photos on Instagram this week. In them, she wore different outfits, including a white swimsuit and a red one with a green and pink floral cover-up. She captioned the post, “This is August (so far)” How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Jennifer Lopez stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.

1. She Puts Her Needs First

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In an interview with Vogue, Lopez talked about her life and career. She says that she is learning to put her needs first. “I just didn’t understand what it was to care for myself, to not put somebody else’s feelings and needs—and your need for them to love you—in front of taking care of yourself,” she says. “You turn yourself into a pretzel for people and think that that’s a noble thing, to put yourself second. And it’s not. Those patterns become deep patterns that you carry with you, and then at a certain point you go, Wait, this doesn’t feel good. Why am I never happy? I really felt that way for a long time. And finally I was just like, Ugh! It’s time to figure me out because I need to be good for these babies. And even from there, with all the willingness I had, it took years and years to really put the pieces together, like, Oh, this thing I do because of this, that thing I do because that happened to me at this age.”

2. She Focuses On Her Happiness

Lopez talked about her process of creating music in her Vogue interview. She says that she focuses on her happiness. “I’m not one of these tortured artists,” Lopez says. “Yes, I’ve lived with tremendous sadness, like anybody else, many, many times in my life, and pain. But when I make my best music or my best art is when I’m happy and full and feel lots of love.”

3. She Speaks Out

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Lopez talked about her decision to speak out on social issues in her Vogue interview.“You get to a point in your life where you realize, if something’s wrong, you say it. If you’re not doing something about it then you’re kind of complicit. Whether it was kids in cages, or kids getting shot in the street by police—all these things where it was just like, ‘What the hell is going on around here? When did we lose our way?’ There were so many awful, ugly attitudes coming to light. It was really sad because it didn’t need to be political. It was about being a good person, loving your neighbor, all the things that people say they stand for but then they don’t practice because somebody’s not the same as them or somebody has a different sexual orientation or gender identity or a different race. It’s like, Really? You can’t just do you? You can’t just be you and be happy and let somebody else be happy too?”

4. She Knows Her Boundaries

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Lopez makes sure to set boundaries for herself. “Self-love is really about boundaries,” she said in her Vogue interview. “Learning what you’re comfortable with and putting up the boundaries, not being afraid of the consequences. Knowing that in taking care of yourself, everything will turn out okay, that people will treat you the way you want to be treated and your life will feel good to you. For a long time, I was just like, Yes, do whatever you want! I can take it, I’ll be here, because I’m really strong, and I’ll be fine. Little by little it chips away at your self-worth, your self-esteem, your soul.”

5. She Pushes Herself

Lopez tells W Magazine that she isn’t afraid to take risks. “I think living and pushing outside your comfort zone is the only way to be happy, ultimately,” she says. “In the middle of it, risk is uncomfortable. But to me, there’s something super­ exciting about that. It’s probably the way I’m wired. Most people don’t like it, but I’m like, ‘Yeah! Let’s do more, let’s take more, let’s see more…’ Then I’m in it and, like, ‘Wow, this is a lot.’ ”