Padma Lakshmi Shows Off Fit Figure Saying "Mentally I'm Here"

Padma Lakshmi is heating up social media in her swimsuit. In a new social media post the Top Chef beauty shows off her amazing body in a black bathing suit while vacationing in the tropics. "Mentally I'm here," she captioned the set of Instagram photos taken on the beach. "Padma perfection beautiful inside and out with a dynamite personality and an incredible cook," commented one of her followers. "Absolutely stunning 🔥❤️" added another. How does the 53-year-old approach diet and fitness? Here is everything you need to know about her routine. 

Padma works out nearly every day. She spends 90 minutes, five times a week at the gym. She starts with 35 minutes of cardio ( like jumping rope for 2,000 strokes) and then adds strength training (lifting weights, classic squats, lunges, and dumbbell curls) two or three times a week. She also enlists the help of Tony, her personal trainer. "He's there to watch my form, and he spends most of his time telling me not to do something," she told Women's Health. Sometimes she will do even more cardio – 30 minutes on the elliptical, treadmill, or slide board. 

Padma is a boxer. "Light sparring is good for the soul," she captioned a post of her workout. Harvard Health maintains that boxing is a great way to build strength, improve balance, posture, hand-eye coordination, boost mood and endurance, and helps increase alertness. 

"I started going to Pilates a few years ago, because my chiropractor recommended it for my back," she told Women's Health about the elongating workout. "Pilates changed my body. It made me strong in places I didn't know I needed to be. I have a butt now that I didn't have during my modeling career!" Why is pilates a good workout? According to the Mayo Clinic there are lots of benefits to the workout, as it "strengthens the body's inner core while increasing its flexibility resulting in improved overall health." It can also promote longer, leaner muscles, injury prevention, relief from stress and back pain, enhanced athletic performance, and heightened mind-body awareness.

Because Padma is expected to eat so much on Top Chef, she usually gains up to 17 pounds every season. In order to slim down in the postseason she does a detox. "It's no sweets, no red meat, no wheat, no alcohol, no fried food, no dairy except for cottage cheese or low-fat yogurt. But this is a milder version—like, I can fall off the wagon one day a week," she told Health. 

Padma splits her plate into halves to ensure she eats healthy. She fills the first up with 50 percent fruits and vegetables. The remaining half is for simple carbs, starch, and lean protein, she dished to Women's Health.