Jennifer Aniston Reveals Her Exact Weight Loss Plan

Jennifer Aniston launched to global superstardom thanks to her role as Rachel Green on Friends and decades later, she remains a beauty and wellness icon who always looks amazing whether she's showing off a new LBD on the red carpet or a beachwear on the set of Murder Mystery 2. So how does the 53-year-old stay in such great shape? CelebWell spoke with experts who reveal why her diet and exercise regime works. Read on to see 5 ways Jennifer Aniston 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!

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1. Intermittent Fasting

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The Morning Show star has been known to do intermittent fasting. "I do intermittent fasting, so there’s no food in the morning. I noticed a big difference in going without solid food for 16 hours," she told the U.K. outlet Radio Times. Dr. Pana Ninan, PharmD, BS Functional Medicine Practitioner and Pharmacist states, "Intermittent Fasting (IF) or time-restricted eating is a great way to allow the gut time to heal and rest from the digestion phase but also helps you lose visceral fat. An example of time-restricted eating is eating for an 8 hour window of the day and allowing your body the time to use its own stores of energy (fat) for 16 hours. You must still consume a normal amount of healthy whole food calories for the benefits. If you restrict caloric intake too much your body will actually decrease its metabolic rate."

2. Avoids Processed Foods

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One of Aniston's trainers, Leyon Azubuike, co-owner of Gloveworx, told Women's Health that he has the A-lister eat whole foods and healthy fats. "I love avocados, coconut oil, salmon, fish oil... anything that’s a good form of fat is great," he said. For carbs and protein, Leyon added it's different for everyone based on their lifestyle. "For me, I stick to 1.7 grams of carbs and 2 grams of protein per my kilo weight to support muscle-building." Dr. Chad Larson, NMD, DC, CCN, CSCS, Advisor, and Consultant on the Clinical Consulting Team for Cyrex Laboratories explains, "When foods are processed, the natural balance of the food is altered. Our brains are maniacal accountants of energy (calories). The flavor enhancers of most processed foods trick the brain into eating more of the food because the intense flavor confuses the caloric accountant in the brain, making you eat more of that food to try to balance the account. 'Bet you can't eat just one!' is a very factual slogan by Lay's. If you eat more processed food, you will secrete more insulin to deal with the increased blood sugar demands, and the higher the insulin, the greater the fat storage."

3. Boxing

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In 2018, Aniston told InStyle Magazine, "Last year I discovered boxing, and I love it. I have this trainer named Leyon, who I believe hung the moon. It’s the longest workout I’ve actually stayed with consistently other than yoga. There’s something about the mental aspect of boxing — the drills, your brain has to work, you’re not just sitting on a bike. It’s amazing." Lori Gray, BS Health Education, Certified Personal Trainer (cPT) and Performance Coach at Future says, "Boxing is a highly cardiovascular sport requiring full body muscle recruitment and endurance. When we think of workouts that burn a lot of calories we usually think of things like running or spending an hour on an elliptical, but I can promise you there is a lot more bang for your buck with boxing. Even if you’ve never put a pair of gloves on or stood in front of a heavy bag, you will quickly realize how doing 45 minutes of boxing a few days a week will lead to some serious fat burning. The fast paced nature of boxing combines footwork, striking and defensive moves that work your body from head to toe. It can burn anywhere from 400-600 calories in a 45 minute class, the equivalent to running 4-6 miles for the average person. Many people do not realize just how much you use your lower body and core during boxing. The power behind every strike comes from these muscle groups, not just your arms. Keeping that lowered body position throughout rounds and using your entire body to generate power for the punch builds progressive strength and stability with each workout. Boxing isn’t all about throwing hands. Calisthenic exercises are a big part of a boxing workout. Most group classes will incorporate things like ab work, push-ups, and plyometrics to help improve boxing performance.There is nothing like the feeling of taking out your stress on a heavy bag. When you are given the freedom to 'let your hands go,' it truly is a release. And speaking of release, the dopamine will definitely be flowing with this type of workout, so ending in a better mood than when you started is almost a guarantee. Boxing is a mental sport. Each punch has a form, there are combinations to learn and remember, there is the mental task of predicting your opponent’s next move and knowing how you will defend and counterpunch. Even if you aren’t going toe-to-toe in the ring, the same focus is required when working the bag, which leads me to my next point. Boxing is the only group class where it’s all about you. You are so focused on what you are doing and learning combinations that there’s no time to worry about what you look like, who’s watching, or the stress of your day."

4. Yoga Combined with Cardio

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Celebrity yoga instructor Mandy Ingber told ABC News in 2014 how the Friends star stays in shape with yoga combined with cardio. "We up the cardio a little bit, if she's looking to sort of trim down," she said. "So we add a little more cardio to the yoga, but also what she puts into her body is essential. That really is 80 percent of it ... it's not a big deal if you have a bite of this or that if you are mostly eating well." Gray explains, "Yoga is one of the oldest practices for physical and mental health and widely popular for its flexibility and relaxation benefits, but let’s not forget that depending on the type you are doing, you are still moving, still challenging your major muscle groups, and still burning calories. Yoga and cardio have a symbiotic relationship that can greatly increase consistency, which is THE most important goal when it comes to weight loss. Not every workout has to break you. Yoga provides your body and mind with the activation and regeneration it needs for tougher workouts like cardio. It’s much easier to conceive alternating workouts from intense to regenerative than it is to commit to hitting the gym 5x a week for grueling workouts. Looking forward to some mat time will keep you in the habit of intentional movement most days of the week which is what it takes to see a difference on the scale."

5. Meditation

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Aniston recently told People how much she enjoys meditation. "For me, I meditate every day — and sitting quietly, writing," she says. "That's enough. And any kind of yoga practice is my meditation. I just have faith in a bigger picture, I guess. And I believe in humanity, even though there's so much to discourage us from believing in it — but I do." According to Gray, "Like yoga, mediation is an ancient practice that has holistic benefits ranging from reduced anxiety, better sleep, lowered blood pressure, and overall well-being. Ironically, the practice of emptying your mind continues to be the most challenging of any health habit to begin. Meditation doesn’t mean you have to sit on a pillow and chant Ohm for hours on end. There are several resources online that provide free guided meditations, which is a great place to start if you are new to the practice. The importance of meditation resides in taking time out to allow yourself freedom from thought and worry. Striving to be our best and overcome obstacles can send us down a dark path of rumination, anxiety and depression. Meditation helps to stop and preemptively avoid that cycle of overthinking. Starting small with something like a 5 minute guided meditation each morning can set the precedent of giving yourself permission to let everything go. This can carry over into the rest of your day and positively affect the way you react to adverse situations. It takes practice like anything else but the rewards will grow exponentially as it becomes a habit.”