Eva Longoria appears to be aging in reverse. The 47-year-old posted a photo of herself relaxing on a boat, looking happy and healthy in a blue bikini. “Vitamin sea 🌊 ,” she captioned the Instagram snap. So how does she stay so fit? Read on to see 7 ways Longoria stays in shape and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don't miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!
1. She Practices Intermittent Fasting
Longoria has an eating window of 11am-7pm, then fasts from 7pm until 11am the next day. “There have been some good preliminary studies showing that fasting can drop levels of insulin,” says dietitian Julia Zumpano. “It can decrease aging and the progression of diseases over time. It can help symptoms of metabolic syndrome. So metabolic syndrome is a multitude of factors, including high blood pressure, elevated blood triglycerides or blood glucose, elevated waist circumference, obesity, and elevated bad levels of cholesterol.”
2. She Lifts Weights
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“I do very heavy weights,” Longoria says, including squats on a weight rack with [at least one] 25-pound plate on each end. She also does hip thrusts using a 50-pound plate. “I feel like my body changes the most when I do that—I wear a heart rate monitor, and I can see my heart rate spike from just doing a heavy bicep curl.”
3. She Cooks Every Day
Longoria makes a point of cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner for her husband José Antonio Bastón and son Santiago, 3. “It’s therapeutic for me,” she says. “Cooking at home, or other places are good for your mental health because cooking is an act of patience, mindfulness, an outlet for creative expression, a means of communication, and helps to raise one’s self esteem as the cook can feel good about doing something positive for their family, themselves or loved ones,” says Julie Ohana, LMSW.
4. She Loves Farm-To-Table
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For Longoria, fresh vegetables are a way of life. “I grew up on a ranch where we ate what was on the land—when it was squash season, we ate squash for three months. It gave me such an appreciation for where food comes from: It comes from the ground,” she says. “Beans are a big source of protein for us. I love making portobello tacos and jackfruit tacos, and cauliflower fried rice.”
5. She Never Eats Sugar
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Longoria doesn’t like sugar, so avoiding it isn’t an issue for her. “I don’t like sweets or chocolate, and people hate me for it. Bread too—I hate bread. I’m never tempted by the bread basket," she explained. (Lucky her!) “Olives, pretzels, popcorn, potato chips—that’s my jam,” she added.
6. She Moderates Alcohol
“I never used to feel a sugar rush when I would drink wine,” Longoria says. “But one day, Gloria Estefan told me she can’t drink wine because she wakes up at 4 a.m. The day she told me that, it started happening to me. I was like, ‘Damn you, Gloria!’” Alcohol is known to disrupt sleep, experts warn. “You are going to have to pee more often,” says Dr. Bhanu Prakash Kolla, an associate professor of psychiatry and a consultant at the Center for Sleep Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “Moderate amounts of alcohol, especially wine and spirits, have an early diuretic effect, especially in the elderly.”
7. She Loves Her Trampoline
Longoria is a big fan of trampoline workouts, and even travels with her own mini trampoline. “It makes me present,” she says. “You really have to focus on the routine and memorize the movements. They switch sides a lot, which can throw you off, so you have to be on top of it. I love that.”