America Ferrera, known for her roles in "Ugly Betty" and "Barbie," has consistently championed body positivity and self-love, both on and off-screen. Rather than striving for an unattainable ideal, Ferrera emphasizes gratitude for her body's capabilities and finding joy in movement.
Embracing Self-Love and Body Positivity
Ferrera has been open about her struggles with weight loss and body image, sharing that she prioritizes self-acceptance over perfection. She reframes her perspective, focusing on being "whole, strong, healthy, and enough." The actress emphasizes the importance of listening to one's body and trusting its wisdom to determine individual needs. "I do think that there's a deeper wisdom in our bodies and that if we can drop in and listen, our bodies will tell us what we need," she told Vogue. “Recently, I shifted and reframed my belief about myself: I am whole, I am strong, I am healthy and I am enough," she previously told Vogue.
Finding Joy in Movement: America Ferrera's Workout Routine
Staying active doesn't have to be a chore. Ferrera has transformed the way she views exercise. Ferrera prioritizes finding activities she enjoys, incorporating movement into her daily life in a sustainable and fulfilling way. She believes that "moving your body is essential for your overall health."
Zumba and Dance Parties
Ferrera's go-to workouts often involve dancing, particularly Zumba. “I’ll wake up the next day and I’m like, ‘I didn’t realize I was working that part of my arm, or that side of my abs,’” she previously told TODAY.com. She enjoys the full-body workout and the "boost of energy" and "bump of endorphins" she gets from streaming Zumba classes at home.
She also incorporates dance into her family life, making it a regular tradition. “We have family dance parties on Saturday and Sunday mornings, spontaneous dance parties, often to Latino music,” she previously told People. Ferrera sees these dance parties as a way to pass on to her children "the gift of how much joy there is in moving your body to music that you love."
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Shifting the Workout Mentality
Instead of viewing exercise as a means to fix flaws, Ferrera focuses on the positive benefits she gains from each workout. “My relationship with working out used to be about fixing flaws. For years, I was in a cycle of beating myself up,” Ferrera previously told TODAY.com. She emphasizes gratitude for her body's ability to move in ways that make her feel strong, joyful, and alive.
Prioritizing Workouts During Pregnancy
Ferrera prioritized working out during pregnancy, even amidst the challenges of "nausea & exhaustion" in her first trimester. She shared an inspiring message for other expectant mothers, emphasizing the importance of both feeling strong and being kind to oneself.
Scheduling Workouts and Seeking Support
Ferrera schedules her workouts into her day like important meetings and enlists her partner's support to stay accountable to her fitness goals. She underscores the importance of teamwork and creativity in finding time for self-care, especially for busy parents.
Weight Training
While chatting with Vogue in 2022, Ferrera opened up about her passion for weight training and revealed that it's helped her navigate a "history of injury and pain" that she's experienced since she was a teenager. The actor noted that she likes to "feel my strength" in order to "transform my story around that physical trauma."
Letting Go of Perfection
Ferrera emphasizes the importance of letting go of the idea that a fitness routine has to be perfect. She encourages others to show up for what they can, even if it's not a full one-hour class, and to let that be enough.
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Embracing Triathlons
Participating in several triathlons helped her feel ‘gratitude’ for her body. After an intense bout of training, the star said triathlons helped her feel a sense of ‘gratitude’ for her body. She altered her inner monologue as she trained for a triathlon. "With every step, stroke and pedal, I turned 'No, I can’t' into 'Yes, I can' 'I’m limited' into 'Look what I’m capable of,' and 'I’m weak' into 'I am whole, healthy and strong.'"
Mindful Eating and a Balanced Diet
Combining exercise with a balanced diet is a recipe for a healthier lifestyle. Ferrera emphasizes mindful eating and awareness of how food makes her feel. She focuses on foods that energize her and make her feel good. “More than anything, I just try to be aware of how does what I eat make me feel. Do I feel better? Do I feel energized? Does this make me tired and not feel great?” she told the publication.
Listening to the Body's Wisdom
Ferrera believes in listening to her body's wisdom to determine what it needs, particularly regarding diet and nutrition. She avoids restrictive diets and focuses on nourishing her body with foods that support her overall well-being.
Avoiding Scales
Ferrera "swore off scales" many years ago.
Gradual Steps to Healthier Living
While dialing in to what her body needed, Ferrera took gradual steps to get healthier.
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Navigating Diet Culture and Weight Loss
The body positivity movement started a much-needed conversation on the importance of self-love and acceptance. At the same time, weight loss is still on Americans' minds. Ferrera acknowledges the complexities of diet culture and the pressures it places on individuals. She advocates for focusing on healthy behaviors rather than striving for an ideal body shape or size. “Diet culture includes things like airbrushed images in advertisements, social media influencers promoting supplements and fad diets, and a society that promotes an ideal body shape and size,” says Anderson. “This leads us to focus on appearance and numbers instead of on a healthy lifestyle, but the reality is that healthy bodies come in all shapes and sizes,” Anderson adds.
Focusing on Healthy Behaviors
Instead of fixating on weight loss, Ferrera encourages focusing on nourishing foods, daily movement, and healthy stress management. She believes that these behaviors lead to greater overall well-being and avoid the trap of trying to fit into society's definition of "ideal."
Acknowledging the Challenges of Weight Loss
Weight loss can feel impossible at times, and progress can be slow at first. To complicate the process, what works for one person isn’t necessarily effective for someone else. Still, there are tried-and-true weight-loss methods that have helped countless individuals improve their overall health.