Tia Mowry Reveals Her Wellness and Diet Secrets

Tia Mowry does it all. She’s an actress with a long career, with roles in Sister, Sister, Twitches, The Game, Instant Mom, and most recently, Family Reunion. She’s a foodie, who’s written the cookbook The Quick Fix Kitchen, and hosted her own show on the Cooking Channel. And now she’s trying to raise awareness of lactose intolerance. Celebwell talked to Mowry about that issue, as well as her approach to wellness—read on for 7 great takeaways.

1. So, what is your approach to aging?

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“​​Wow. So my approach to aging would definitely have to be number one, especially just as a woman and hearing the word 'aging' is embracing the whole aging process. One of my friends, I remember I was about to meet them for lunch, and I was telling them that I had just gotten glasses and he was like, ‘You know what Tia, having glasses and being able to get glasses, it's a blessing, because you are alive and you are well, and yes, you are getting older, but it's a blessing to get older.’ And I feel like in today's society, we tend to try to hide the process of aging, like covering up our grades or not embracing our wrinkles, or just not embracing our journey of aging. But for me, I'm all about embracing it and it's a celebration.”

2. Has your approach to wellness changed since becoming a mother and getting married?

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​​”At the end of the day, it's not just about you. So now that you have a family, now that you have kids, I want to make sure that I am present. I am healthy. I am reaching my potential when it comes to my wellness and my health, so that I can be the best mom, the best wife, the best entrepreneur, the best wherever you are in your life. The best sister, the best daughter. And I feel like in order for me to give, I have to really take care of myself. I have to value my health and my wellness. And I want to be around. I want to be around for my kids. Not only do I want to be around my kids and be present for my kids, I want to be an example for my kids. So when my kids see that mom is making better choices or alternatives, when it comes to her eating habits, your children, they pick up on that and they see that. ​​ So I'm all about being a doer and an example when it comes to my wellness and then also not waiting until you're in your fifties or your sixties, right. It's about prevention. I actually went through some health challenges at a young age and I was able to learn the importance and the benefits of focusing on your wellness, in your twenties, in your thirties. You don't have to wait, but I want to encourage other people to not wait until something happens to you, to jumpstart that journey. Start now. You're never too young.”

3. How many times a week do you workout, and what does a typical workout look like for you?

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“I work out probably about three to four times out of the week. And it’s a priority. It's all about perspective for me. Cause I feel like, sometimes you're like, oh, I don't have any time, but we all schedule. We make time to eat. We make time to get our hair done. We make time to get our nails done. So it's the same thing when it comes to moving and exercising. And once you have a healthy perspective, meaning you understand the benefits and the value of working out and how it makes you feel then you'll want to. Right. So, that was the shift and the change for me, when I started to understand the benefits and the importance and the value of working out, and then putting it as a priority. And once it becomes a priority, everybody says after 90 days it actually becomes a habit.”

4. Do you have any favorite workouts?

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“I'm really, really into jump roping right now. I got into it, of course, during the whole quarantine situation, because before I was a gym goer, but then once we had the pandemic and we were kind of forced to stay inside. I didn't want to stop moving. So jump rope was the cheapest, easiest way to keep on going. So I've been doing jump rope, which is awesome ,and then I will do a little bit of weight training, not too much, but just maybe some weight training with my arms. But HIIT workouts for me are the best because it keeps my blood going. It keeps my body just feeling energized and feeling great. And in your heart pumping, that's what you want. You want your blood moving. You want to be sweating so you can release the toxins out of your body, get those endorphins kicking in. So you can just take on the day. I love that.”

5. How would you describe your diet, and what does a typical day look like for you?

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“I would say my diet is definitely 80% veggie and 20% protein. I've partnered up with Lactaid, who are phenomenal. I'm a huge fan of the brand and just the product in itself. My whole family, we have milk sensitivities, but I mean, I absolutely love milk. I'm a foodie and I love cooking with it. I love the texture. I love just the taste of milk and the creaminess. And in the mornings I would like to have a protein shake. And with that protein shake, I'll have a nice protein. And then I'll add some fruits in there, with some veggies, and then I'll add my Lactaid. Then what I'll do is for lunch, I'll have greens like a salad, right. So I'll have arugula and then I have kale, which in my opinion are the best kind of foundation for a salad. They’re so healthy. It's so healthy for you. And then I have like tomatoes with some cucumbers, sometimes thrown a little bit of fennel in there. And then I'll have like some chicken, like chicken breast or something like that, or I'll have salmon. And then for snack I'll snack on like maybe a Turkey jerky, or an apple, or blueberries. And then for dinner, it's again, just like a lot of greens, whether that's kale and spinach, and then like some salmon. And then I'm also a huge fan of making meals for my children. So we have this great overnight oats recipe, because oats are really good for you. And I'll use Lactaid milk with that as well, throw in some chia seeds, which is also good for you, you know, great fiber. And then add some fruits. I call it like my Elmo overnight oats. That's pretty straight over here at the house. And when they see something familiar, they're like, yeah, let's dive in, with some strawberries, blueberries and some tangerine. So really nice, well balanced meals. What I want to get across and tell people is that, food is really important, what you are eating and what you're putting into your body, when you become aware of what you are fueling yourself with, that’s what it is. Food is fuel.”

6. You mentioned you have a lactose sensitivity, how did you first discover that?

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“I found out that I had a sensitivity when I was, I would say maybe later on in my teens into college. You're going to all of these birthday parties, and then you're in college, and you're just eating anything and everything. I'm going to be very honest with you. A lot of African-American people, we have a lactose intolerance and, we would all be hanging out, like my friends, and we would be like ‘your stomach?’ I mean, the thing is it's very clear when you have some sort of sensitivity, but you didn't really kind of know that it was coming from food. You didn't really put that connection until when you start to go to these events and the same thing started happening and you're like, ‘well, wait a minute, like what's going on?’”

7. Is there a lactose treat you miss, and how has Lactaid helped you out?

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“I'm so grateful for Lactaid. I love the way Lactaid, there's a versatility to it. Meaning you can even, you can even take, they have like a pill that you can take, what I need, which is awesome...I'm a foodie, I love food and I didn't want to feel depressed of feeling like I had to deprive myself cause I absolutely love cookies and milk. Like that's one thing that I absolutely love and it was an easy, quick, dessert that I would make for myself while I was in college. When you're in college, you can have popcorn for breakfast. You don't have your mommy or your daddy saying, ‘what are you doing?’ Or cookies and milk for breakfast. I was just, I was like, I don't want to feel deprived. I never liked that feeling of feeling deprived. So to be able to have Lactaid, to be able to have a source to go to, or a resource to go to and still enjoy cookies and milk. My kids, it's also another dessert that they love as well. So to be able to pass on that dessert to my kids and that we all can enjoy it. I mean, come on, it puts a smile on my face. And I love ice cream. I love ice cream and then Lactaid they also have a version of where you're going to have ice cream. So you just don't feel deprived. And I think that's the main thing about it, especially when you're a foodie and you love food. I mean food you build memories, you make memories when you're eating such classic dishes like that. And so I didn't want to deprive myself.”