You don’t become the world’s biggest fitness influencer without knowing a thing or two about diet and exercise. And after years of study and even more of hands-on training, Kayla Itsines is more educated than most.
From the effectiveness behind supplements to the science behind detoxing, she’s learnt what works and what doesn’t—and applied it to herself. We caught up with the fitness mogul to ask her for her take on the latest health fads and to find out how she stays in bikini body shape, all year round.
Spoiler alert: she has two breakfasts but would never do a juice cleanse.
What are the secrets to your success?
Honesty is the biggest thing. Being honest with yourself and sticking to your morals. Having goals and having a great team who support you. And all of the girls who have finished my guides. All of the people in the photos I upload to Instagram so people can see others being successful. I think that’s what makes it so great. It’s not all about me.
Let’s talk about your decision to start selling your own Kayla Itsines products…
We had so many girls asking for products they can use with the guides, and I didn’t have anywhere I could send them that was fantastic for quality. So, we decided to create our own. One of our products is a foam roller. If you haven’t used a foam roller before, you can sort of lose motivation if you don’t know how to do it but it’s great for releasing any muscle tension, circulation and can even help with cellulite.
Check out Kayla’s SWEAT active accessories—they’re the perfect Christmas gift for your fit friend.
How do you start your day?
I get up every morning at 5 am. So I’m up really, really early! I run my boot camp with the girls for an hour and then I come home and eat breakfast. Actually, I always have two breakfasts. I’ll have something before I go, like an egg on rye toast and a green tea then I’ll come back and have the second half of my breakfast. So I’ve got an hour in between when I eat.
What does your diet look like for the rest of the day?
For a snack, I’ll have something like fruit or a little bit of yoghurt. For lunch, I think it’s important to have both protein and carbs. For example, a chicken wrap with some yoghurt, lettuce, cucumber and tomato. If I get hungry later, I might have a little can of tuna. For dinner, again it’s just quality protein and a small portion of carbs. If I’m craving sugar, I’ll have a cup of tea or something like that. I think a lot of people confuse hunger with boredom.
What would we typically find in your fridge?
My standard shop always includes rye bread, mint, basil, chilli, tuna and heaps of fruit and vegetables. I’ll always have bottles of water and also some natural yoghurt. I seriously buy the same stuff every time I go to the shops.
What health secrets do you swear by? Do you take any vitamins or supplements?
No, I don’t ever take supplements or anything like that. I swear by not cutting out your foods, not going on fad diets or doing detoxes. It’s just healthy eating and common sense and people need to realise that. It’s not hard. I don’t cut out carbs or cut out fats. It just takes real food and lots of protein. My secret is there are no secrets I guess! Don’t overcomplicate things.
For more information about Kayla Itsines Bikini Body guides and products visit www.kaylaitsines.com
This article was originally published in 2015.
