Naked Sports Illustrated Model Diet Tips

So, you may have heard about Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Christine Teigen posting a fully nude (but not really showing anything) picture on Instagram to celebrate 200,000 followers.  Even with all of the drama around the photo being taken down for violating Instagram’s no nudity rules, I couldn’t help but notice…

that girl is in WICKED SHAPE!

Not surprisingly, she has some awesome things to say about working out and nutrition:

“I don’t do many of the high-fashion shoots where you have to be super thin. Instead, I do a lot of swimsuit and lingerie shoots, so you have to have all of your curves and look strong, so I have to prepare a bit differently.”

Lets take a look at things she’s said she does in interviews:

1.) Chrissy says she doesn’t believe in eliminating foods, she just eats smaller portions

2.) She works out 3-4 times per week, and thinks she’d get burned out if she worked out more often

3.) She believes longevity beats intensity with workout routines

4.) She gets bored doing cardio, so she never does any cardio machines

5.) Her workouts are all strength training circuits

6.) She mixes up squats, lunges, sprints, and medicine ball moves

7.) She cooks like a pro, but has all the same food cravings we do

8.) She cuts salt, pasta, and potatoes 2 days before a photo shoot so she isn’t bloated

Ok, so before I move on at all – you TOTALLY have to check Chrissy Tiegen’s food/cooking blog http://sodelushious.com/ – it’s real, raw and hilarious.  Note – don’t check it if you can’t handle f-bombs.

There’s so much good stuff in what she says about working out and eating, that it’s almost hard to know where to start.

Cardio vs. Strength Training

First, the obvious part that she does all strength training and sprints, and no *traditional cardio* at all.  I know all the long time readers get this, but I’m amazed every time I start with a new client that this still isn’t common knowledge.

What long time readers should really take from this is that you don’t need to get too exotic.  She does SQUATS and LUNGES.  I mean, you’ve heard of those right?

It goes to show that it’s more about consistancy than it is about secret tricks.  Which brings us to the next point:

Consistency Beats Intensity

Intensity has become a religion in most gyms and bootcamps these days.  Look, I’m a fan of pushing workouts sometimes, but it’s not the holy grail it’s made out to be.  Ever.

You don’t need to get crazy about puke-inducing-workouts or sore-for-seven-days-workouts.  You don’t even need to workout every day.

You just need to get the strength training workouts in, and you need to get the food right.

Something that I’m on my soap-box for for 2013 is that simple workouts and a smart program for getting stronger are absolutely all you need workout wise, and that that leaves space and energy for you to work on what’s usually the biggest area of opportunity for people to get leaner: Food.

The Food, The Food, The Food

What’s great about her blog http://sodelushious.com/, is that she shares ALL OF IT.

She shares the really cool healthy meals she eats, some really great low carb meals she eats.

She also shares the unhealthy things she eats.

She also shares straight up stupid things she eats.

She also shares crazy things she does that she doesn’t recommend to get ready for bikini shoots that she does.

Here is the takeaway – she’s very aware of what she eats.  And she’s human.

It’s great.  I love reading her blog so much that there aren’t words for it.

You already know what to eat: Get protein at every meal, don’t fool yourself about how much quantity matters to your scale weight, and the quality of carbs and fat has a major impact on your leanness.  You already know that.  Here is what it can look like when it’s done right, for years:

Workout And Eat Right Like It’s Your Job

One thing that’s super clear in every interview Christine Tiegen has done about her workout or diet is this: She eats like it’s her job.  She works out like it’s her job.

It actually is her job.

She still is human, she still eats crap food sometimes, and she’s very concious about what the cost is going to be – how much she can have of it, and how close she can do it in relation to a photo shoot.

It would be easy to dismiss anyone in the SI Swimsuit issue as having ridiculous genetics.  And maybe they all have something going for them there…  but it’s also refreshing to read Chrissy Tiegen and see that she does work for it.

And for someone who has to work for it, she has a remarkably healthy attitude about it.

And she isn’t joking – she really isn’t fashion model stick-thin.  She looks like a very lean healthy woman who does strength training and eats right.

by Josh Hillis

Josh is the Chief People Officer and Fitness Content Lead for One by One Nutrition,
the author of Fat Loss Happens on Monday,
and writes the Habit Coaching System column for Strength Matters Magazine