12 Things Blake Lively Did to Get the Body She Has Now

From Cosmopolitan

In what is sure to be the greatest shark movie of our time, The Shallows, Blake Lively spends 90 minutes being really active. She's on the beach, she's on a rock, she's in the water, she's doing her own stunts - in short, she's getting a lot of exercise.

She signed on to do the film not long after giving birth to daughter James in December 2014 and knew that her body would need to at peak form in order to get through shooting the movie. Enter Don Saladino: the celebrity trainer and owner of the Drive Clubs in New York City has been working with Blake for around five years, and she relied on him to help her get back into shape.

Saladino, who says he trains Blake to "look runway-ready all year long," also says that "this is about 365 with Blake Lively." He spoke to Cosmopolitan.com about what she does to maintain her amazing body.

1. She never, ever counts calories. Instead, Blake has trained her metabolism to burn more efficiently, which you can't do if you're starving yourself, according to Saladino. "I don't think putting someone into a caloric deficit, meaning restricting their calories, is the right thing to do," Saladino says, "and this is why a lot of coaches and a lot of people are unsuccessful."

2. She only eats high-quality, nutrient-dense foods. Especially after giving birth to daughter James, Blake was worried about the nutrients going into her body. Saladino's plan revolves around "eating organic, balanced meals consisting of proteins, vegetables, fruits, slow-burning starches like sweet potato, and getting healthy fats like avocado, coconut oil, and grass-fed butter." Blake stays satisfied throughout the day instead of crashing and bingeing.

Here's an example of a protein-rich meal that Saladino stands behind (and ate himself):

3. She cooks a lot of her own meals. "She's a great cook," Saladino confirms. (He was skeptical about it himself, but after being invited for a big feast at the Lively-Reynolds house, he's now a believer.) Because she frequently prepares her own food, Blake maintains a lot of control over her nutrition. "She and Ryan really enjoy shopping at farmers' markets, and they pay really good attention to the things they put into their body," Saladino says.

4. She starts the day right. She always begins by drinking a glass of water when she wakes up. For breakfast, "Blake might make herself a couple of eggs cooked in coconut oil, and she might throw some fresh vegetables in there," Saladino says. "If she's really hungry, because the human body changes all the time, she may add some gluten-free oats with some fruit. Early in the day, a big priority is hydrating, feeding her food with proper nutrients, which balances her sugar levels, and then not depriving [herself] of everything she loves."

5. She doesn't overeat. "The one thing she's always done a good job with is that she doesn't overeat," Saladino says. "She's not shoving big meals on her throat. She's never really in the mood to because she's keeping herself properly fueled throughout the day."

6. She maintains a consistent, balanced exercise regimen. Five to six days a week, Blake can spend anywhere from 30 to 75 minutes working out. The routine usually begins with foam-rolling, then five to seven minutes of mobility work. After that, she's doing a variation on a jump, throw, carry, and doing that for three to five rounds. "That gets her body temperature up, that gets her really athletic, and it's my way of doing an upper body, a lower body, and a core movement," Saladino says. From there, the days get broken up into upper body, lower body, arms, and an interval day, with a mobility or accessory day after that.

7. She breaks a sweat for at least 10 minutes every day. Even if life comes up - she has work, or she's traveling - and she can't work out, it's not the end of the world. Blake hops on the elliptical for 10 minutes, and that's enough to "put gasoline on the fire, the fire being her metabolism," Saladino says. "Very rarely can someone get in day in and day out religiously and be perfect on a regimen. We're showing you right now that you don't have to be. Blake's being realistic."

8. She follows an 80–20 rule. That means that "80 percent of the week, you're really good, and 20 percent you leave for error and having fun," Saladino says. Blake doesn't drink, so that's not really been an issue, but she does like pasta and pizza, and she has the ability to make room for that once in awhile.

9. She lets herself splurge. Most of the time, she keeps the bar high on her splurges, using quality ingredients in her desserts instead of "stuff packed with chemicals and junk." And, it all goes back to that efficient metabolism strategy: "She can handle a meal here and there during the week if she wanted to dive into something that she enjoys, she can do that and not be all screwed up," Saladino says.

10. She listens to her trainer. Saladino says one of the great things about working with Blake is that "she never questions me. She always does what I want her to do." But Saladino isn't pushing her to any extremes. "If she comes in, and being like any other mom, she was up all night with the baby and didn't sleep well, I'm not going to beat the crap out of her. That's the worst thing to do for someone."

11. She listens to her body. "Most people want to sit there and put the throttle down," Saladino says. "You do not need a Rocky-type mentality to get in shape. You cannot sustain that. It's about listening to your body day in and day out, and it's about going in and applying the right amount of stress to the body on any given day." Blake will continue to work out during her second pregnancy, but her fitness program will be structured around how she feels throughout it.

12. She doesn't stress out over this stuff. Even though the first time, she really gained a significant amount of weight was during her first pregnancy, and there might have been "a little bit of fear there," she maintained a positive attitude during her pregnancy and after having the baby.

"She enjoyed loving her baby, exercising, and eating healthy foods," Saladino says. "It was something that she made part of her everyday life. Because she took a good attitude on that, she saw success. Now, if she came into it and she was panicked about what she was going to look like eight or nine months from now, I don't know that she would have had the same success. It would have added such a stress on her body and her life. The stress hormone can make you look different, it can cause you to gain weight. But she was relaxing, and having a lot of trust in me and the process."

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