Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Diet and Workout

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (upcoming star of this summer’s action movie “Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon” and Victoria’s Secret Angel/model) is making headlines this week as the #1 spot in Maxim magazine’s 2011 “Hot 100″ list. Like a lot of Victoria’s Secret models, Rosie rocks a tall, thin, curvaceous – not skeletal body. This kind of look is inspiring for a lot of women heading into bikini season. If you want to know more about Rosie Huntington-Whiteley’s diet and exercise program – then keep reading!

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Workout

While Rosie doesn’t workout often (unlike say, previous models we have profiled like Candice Swanepoel), when she has down time she does train with LA-based trainer Jason Walsh (Jason is famous for giving women a strong and visibly toned look – think Jessica Biel.) A typical Jason Walsh inspired workout would include basic strength moves like abdominal planks, squats, Romanian deadlifts, overhead presses, bent over rows, and crunches. (If you like this kind of training, I recommend you check out our previous post on the Sucker Punch workout…)

Models typically follow a different style or working out due to a huge fear of bulking up (keep in mind, yes, you can lift weights without bulking up – Visual Impact for Women is one of my favorite programs for this specific look.) Most commonly, models will stick to a workout program that is primarily a combination of interval (bodyweight cardio circuits plus machine based interval cardio sessions) and steady state cardio.

Interval cardio is simply a cardio workout where you alternate periods of high intensity and low intensity work. (As opposed to a cardio workout where you use the same level of intensity the whole time – walking at 4.0mph on a treadmill for 45min, for example.) You can do interval cardio either on a machine at the gym or at home.

Why is this better?

You burn more calories in the same amount of time simply by adding a few periods of higher intensity work. This doesn’t need to start out at some crazy level in order to see the effects. Simply switching from walking for 20min to walk/jogging can double your calorie burn. From there all you want to do is steadily increase the intensity (and possibly duration) of your work periods.

To learn more about how exactly to do fat burning intervals – check out this post where I explain everything.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Diet

In interviews – Huntington-Whiteley says that she doesn’t really diet or workout often, but rather eats a moderate balanced diet with lots of whole organic foods and lots of water. This is not that unusual for models. In the world of models you will usually see three kinds of behavior – unhealthy living to stay really thin, doing “nothing” to stay thin, and working really hard all the time to look good. The dividing line between the first two categories and the last two categories is usually age.Younger models can get by with living on cigarettes, eating a little of this and that, some light yoga, or not working out and still look pretty good – to a point. As you get older, the glow of youth fades, lines appear, and fat starts to accumulate. If you want to be a model for the long haul – think Adriana Lima, Alessesandra Ambrosio, Gisele, etc – then healthy living is not optional.

I don’t know about you, but if I read one more magazine article where a model claims to “eat whatever she wants” (usually implied to be a hamburger and fries) – I am going to puke. This is why I like magazines like New York Magazine, which regularly posts a week worth of meals for various upcoming models and fashion insiders. Believe it or not, you get a lot of candid truth in these profiles.

The average model eats about two small meals per day, no snacks. For the most part, it appears most models do not bring food to photo-shoots but rather eat whatever is supplied. If nothing is there, they don’t eat. On top of that, they are on their feet all day for long hours, and do a lot of walking to get from shows to shoots to go sees, etc. (An average person sits almost all day and eats easily four times as much food – just for comparison.)

Here is an average daily diet for a New York City model -

Breakfast (each option is one whole breakfast) -

• Plain oatmeal, topped with plain yogurt, side of fresh berries, black tea, and orange juice
• Slice of toast with jam or peanut butter
• Latte with sugar free syrup and a vanilla yogurt
• Vanilla yogurt mixed with cottage cheese, banana, and green tea
• Blended smoothie
• Yogurt, eggs, toast, tea

Lunch (each bullet point is one whole lunch) -

• Sea bass topped with chile
• Tofu and rice bowl
• Green salad with corn, sundried tomatoes, egg, tuna, tomato cucumber, and a diet coke
• Tofu and steamed vegetables with dressing
• Pasta

Dinner (again, each bullet point is an entire meal) -

• Green salad
• Fruit
• Steamed tilapia with lemon juice and pepper, side of steamed cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, and a little white wine.
• Takeout Thai chicken noodle bowl
• Seviche, tuna, and a little white wine

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend you copy this diet (the nutrients and calories are all over the place.) But there are two simple take home lessons – eat less and eat low calorie nutrient dense (low calorie but high in vitamins/minerals) foods whenever possible.

Here are some options to consider -

Breakfast –
Nonfat, high protein Greek yogurt with berries and 1c oatmeal (You can vary the type of fruit you add, flavor your yogurt with extracts or sugar free syrup, add a few almonds or walnuts, etc. Just avoid dried fruit as these always have tons of calories due to added sugar. A better option – freeze dried fruit (I recommend getting this at Trader Joes for the best price) – this is fresh fruit that has been flash dried so its crunchy. Very low in calories. Oatmeal can be cooked ahead in a large batch and then divided into individual portions and frozen. Buy your yogurt in individual containers for easy to grab pre-measured portions.)

You can make you own low calorie granola (165 calories for the ENTIRE recipe) – via Hungry Girl:
Ingredients:

• 1/4c whole oats
• 1/4c puffed rice cereal
• 1.4c puffed wheat cereal
• 1 1/2TB sugar free maple syrup
• 1/2c freeze dried apples

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
2. Mix all ingredients (except for the apples) together in a small mixing bowl.
3. Spray a baking sheet with spray oil, and spread your oat mixture into the pan.
4. Bake in oven 30-35min or until crispy and brown.
5. Allow to cool, crumble, and add apples.

Or for variety, try this Coconut Quinoa Breakfast from Holly at Fit Yummy Mummy (Cookbook link is here….)

Egg white scramble or frittata with cherry tomatoes, peppers, turkey bacon or other vegetables of your choice. (Make your vegetable choice seasonal or follow a theme – Mexican, French, Italian, etc. You can make individual frittatas in muffin pans, bake in the oven, allow to cool and then store in your refrigerator.)

Breakfast smoothie (also a good snack when you are craving sweets) – I like to mix one scoop Designer Whey protein powder (100 calories to 20g protein) with 1/2c fruit (preferably a strawberry/peach mix or Mango.) You can swap flavorings, fruits, cocoa powder, and nuts in and out. Just don’t overdo high sugar fruits, honey, or nuts.

Here’s a video on how to make a Chocolate Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie inspired smoothie from Holly…

and here is a Funky Monkey Smoothie option also from Holly:

Lunch -
LARGE leafy salad with lean protein, vegetables, and nuts. I think Mark Sisson explains how to make the BEST lunch salads. (Of course, you don’t have to folow his primal eating plan – feel free to add garbanzo or black beans if you feel like it. Just make sure you cut back a little on your dressing or added nuts to keep the calories reasonable…)

Snacks options-

• Greek yogurt (if you are not eating for breakfast)
• Smoothie or protein shake
• Boiled egg
• String cheese
• Small portion of nuts
• Lower calorie protein bar
• One apple, orange, or bowl of mixed berries

Try Holly’s baked kale chips if you are craving chips or popcorn -

Dinner -

Broiled or grilled lean meat (with spice rub of some kind) plus steamed or stir fried vegetables. Add in a whole or half baked potato (or yam.)

Soup! Soups are a great way to feel full without a lot of calories, plus they are easy to cook (don’t need a lot of attention) and can last a few days in the refrigerator.

Most models spend a lot of time traveling to and from photoshoots – say two to three days per week. Unlike most of us, most models do not seem to eat when they travel (perhaps they sleep on the plane?) Nor do they pack meals or snacks. What they do pack – LOTS of water.

Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Drinks LOTS of Water

Water is both overrated and underrated as a weight-loss essential. In my experience I find that water is not that effective for dulling your appetite. What water IS good for is flushing out excess water weight and bloat. This is the big weight loss that most people experience during the first couple weeks of a diet – easily 7-10lbs of water. You can lose this extra water weight (which makes you look puffy and far less lean than you are) without dieting but simply by drinking a lot more water than you do right now.

Most people underestimate how much water you need to drink to see a weight loss effect. The average woman will drink 1-2 quarts (size of your average water bottle) of water per day, see no effect, and conclude “drinking extra water doesn’t help.” In truth, you need to drink a LOT more than that to flush out significant water weight. In my experience, you want to drink TWO 48oz bottles of water for 2-3 days straight. This is easily 6 times more than what the average person drinks. This will also send you to the bathroom constantly. But after 2-3 days, you should be noticeably leaner – at this point you can reduce the amount of water you drink to just 48oz or so (the exact amounts will probably vary per person.)

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out our previous posts on Candice Swanepoel’s workout, How Victoria’s Secret Models Are Chosen, Fit Yummy Mummy, Visual Impact for Women, or Eat Stop Eat before you go!