Top Chef Star Brooke Williamson in Workout Gear Shares Selfie

For Top Chef star Brooke Williamson, working out is a non-negotiable, no matter how busy her life gets. Williamson, 45, shared a picture of herself wearing a black skirt and white tank top, posing in front of a mirror. "And back to our regular programming," reads the text over her selfie. Williamson is dedicated to her fitness routine, and living the most healthy life she can—here's how she does it while taking care of her family and crushing it on the culinary scene.

Williamson says her cooking is based on nostalgia. "I'm a native Southern Californian so I cook with the ingredients around me and with what feels like it's inspiring to me," she told La Marzocco Home. "I would say that ninety nine percent of the creativity or the designing of a new dish on my menu happens in my head. I do a lot of gardening. I grow tons of vegetables and tons of fruits. I take a lot of pride in my garden and I actually find that it activates my brain in so many ways that I had never noticed before and it makes me feel—and think—very differently about food."

Williamson always starts her day with a good cup of espresso. "My first memory of my first taste of coffee was at a sleepover at a friend's house probably in third or fourth grade," she told La Marzocco Home. "Her parents were big coffee drinkers. Growing up my parents were not big coffee drinkers in the morning, so the fact that I woke up to this, sort of, aroma of coffee was a new smell for me and something that I very much liked. It's something I crave in the morning. It's something that starts off my day. It is kind of more ritual than it is necessity for me. I get up and the first thing I do is go for that cup of coffee."

Williamson loves her Peloton bike for convenient at-home workouts. "It's also a fun way to connect (and compete) with my chef friends," she told The 9 List. "[An ice bath] totally resets your mood and energy for the whole day. Post-workout, it ups your calorie burn for hours after you're done. To de-stress, sometimes I'll run from our home to the restaurant with one of our dogs Rio, which totals about 6 miles. I wouldn't be able to do that without good, motivating music, specifically Emma Lovewell's Spotify playlists."

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Williamson is known for her beautiful braids, which is a way for her to style her hair without using heat. "I work out regularly, so I wash my hair more often than I really should," she told Alterna Haircare. "I just leave a touch of conditioner in and throw it into a top knot most of the time. However, if there is any reason to look presentable, I'll jump at the chance to blow dry it with a beachy wave or braid it. I'm a sucker for a good French braid… The abundance of hair is a love-hate. As challenging as it is to have so much hair, I never struggle to find volume."

Williamson is grateful for every experience that brought her to this stage of life. "All the stuff I've learned has brought me to this stage of my life," she told Food & Wine. "I wouldn't be where I am right now if I hadn't gone through those things. I'm grateful for understanding the value of having $7 to spend in a grocery store. And I am grateful for the experience of losing my first restaurant because now that I know what it feels like, I never want to go through that again. I understand the value of trying really hard. You need that sort of motivation — that idea that this one can't fail."