Cameron Diaz Says She Hasn't Worked Out in 8 Months Thanks to an Injury: 'It's Been a Process'

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic Cameron Diaz

Cameron Diaz is learning to take it slow when it comes to working out.

The 49-year-old actress is in the process of getting back into exercise after hurting her Achilles tendon and has found it to be a humbling change from her usual high-intensity workouts, she explained in the latest issue of close friend Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop newsletter.

Along with sharing her favorite skin products and wines, Diaz wrote about recovering from her injury.

"I'm still healing from an injured Achilles, so I've been away from working out for eight months," the Charlie's Angels star said. "I used to be really strong and really active, and I was made to sort of be still for a while."

"And for anyone who's been trying to come back from something like that — it doesn't have to be an injury; it can happen after giving birth or any process in life that stops you in your tracks — going easy on yourself is the way through it," she continued. "Being so strong most of my life, I was used to going hard and leaning into my strength, and I've had to do the opposite."

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The mom to daughter Raddix, 2, with husband Benji Madden said that she had to take "so many steps in my mind before I took an actual step," and tried to really consider what would make her feel better in each moment.

"I did a lot of lying on my floor, being with my body to understand what it needed: Maybe my hips needed to twist or my back needed to arch," she said. "I didn't force it into anything and just honored the fact that I had an injury."

"It wasn't about jumping back into my usual workout. It's been a process of building myself back, and I feel like I'm stronger now than when I started."

Diaz, who turns 50 on August 30, said that she thinks this recovery process will make a difference in her next decade.

"I'm looking forward to all the aspects of growth to come in my 50s," she said. "I'm working on building my muscle mass so I'll have it as my hormones change."

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And generally, she adds in the newsletter, Diaz is feeling ready to enter the second half of her life. She's prioritizing feeling good in her body rather than obsessing with how it has changed with age.

"I want to feel youthful, of course — we all look in the mirror every once in a while and go, Oh, that looks different. And I'm not opposed to whatever interventions people want to do. But as women in our society, we spend so much time under pressure to be highly sexualized, thinking we need to be desired sexually at all times," she said. "I'm here to say I'm moving past that: I don't care! I want to be strong and healthy, to have the stretch and resilience in my body to be able to do the things I want to do."

"It's a tough society we live in. It comes with all kinds of benefits, but living in the public eye can be very damaging to your soul," she continued. "No matter who you are, it's important to take care of the whole person — not just the visual, not just what people think of you, but all of you."