Julianne Hough, known for her dancing prowess and vibrant energy, approaches health and fitness with a holistic mindset. She emphasizes the importance of nourishing the mind, body, and soul through a combination of diet and exercise. Let's delve into the specifics of her food choices and workout routines.
Diet: Fueling the Body from the Inside Out
Julianne Hough sees food as fuel for her body, and over time, she’s learned what fuels her best. The Dancing With the Stars cast member eats a vegan and gluten-free diet-not because she wants to be trendy or cool, but because her body loves it. “I sound so L.A. right now,” she said in a “What I Eat in a Day” video with Harper’s Bazaar, referring to her special dietary needs. “But it’s because my body needs it. Because trust me, do I love flour, I love sugar, I love cookies, I love all the things. But I’m really just trying to focus on my health from the inside out.”
Morning Rituals:
She drinks lemon water as soon as she wakes up. “The first thing that I do when I open my eyes, I drink my lemon water that I’ve prepped the night before. And that usually consists of lukewarm temperature water with half of a lemon-and sitting overnight, really getting all of those juices flushed out in there,” she explained. “The reason why I take it first thing in the morning is we’ve just been laying down, we’re sleeping, and anything that was kind of left-residue from the night before-I can take that lemon water and feel like I’m cleaning my system out, starting with a fresh palette for the day.”
Then, she gets a little something in her system before working out-usually green juice. “It kinda depends on what my morning routine looks like as far as my exercise, my breath work, my meditation. But usually I find a way to do some sort of celery juice, or something that also gives me a little bit of sugar before I go do a quick workout,” she said. “Or I’ll do like, amino acids [vitamins] or something like that to give me that support, that energy that I’m looking for.”
When she does make green juice, the recipe varies depending on what’s in her fridge. “I usually like it a little sweeter, less bitter, so I put in a green apple, some spinach, kale. Again, if I want it sweeter, I’ll put some carrots in. But I love ginger, and lemon too, so I’ll put that in,” she told Elle in 2016. “Cucumber, celery, anything green, really. Sometimes I'll add beets too, depending on my mood. And then I’ll go work out, it just depends.”
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She has a warm (sometimes caffeinated) beverage every day. For Hough, coffee is a special treat. “I drink coffee not because I need it, but because I love the ritual of having something warm, that smell, and I just love the taste of coffee,” she explained. “I’m technically not supposed to have it.” So when she’s trying to stay away from java, she’ll go for a matcha latte or herbal tea.
Lunch and Dinner Choices:
For lunch, it’s usually soup and salad. “I love soup, and I’ll usually make a lot so I can freeze it so I can have it throughout the week,” Hough explained in the video. She doesn’t always make the same one, but she shared a favorite: vegan butternut squash soup with carrot, typically paired with a salad. “[Today] I’m going to keep it really fresh with some asparagus, broccolini, beets, watermelon radishes, with some ginger on top over a bed of spinach,” she said. For dressing, she likes to stick to straight up apple cider vinegar, claiming that it helps with her digestion.
Dinner is always different. Hough is a fan of variation, but said one of her favorite dinners is mung daal (sometimes spelled moon dal), a lentil-based Indian dish. She likes serving it with gluten-free crackers, toasted black sesame seeds, and a generous helping of vegetable sides including sweet potato, asparagus, ginger, collard greens, Swiss chard, and spinach. “This is really nourishing, really yummy, I feel really full by the end of it,” she said.
Indulgences and Balance:
For Hough, pleasure in food is a priority. Although she likes to eat relatively healthy, Hough makes it a point to indulge. “I do love making sure that I’m still having pleasure with my food throughout the day, and that’s when I either choose to have a glass of wine or a cocktail,” she explained. She told Elle that she’d rather have a drink than dessert. “I used to be a huge dessert person, but now I’d rather have a glass of wine," she said. “But if I do, I love ice cream. I love like a sticky toffee pudding or something like that. But when I go to my Sunday Funday, I go to the movies usually, so I like Milk Duds and Sour Patch Watermelons. I think that’s my go-to candy.”
The actress signed off with some important words of wisdom. “If I could give you any words of encouragement with what you eat, it’s enjoy yourself, everything in moderation, and if you love your body and love what you’re putting into your body, your body’s gonna know,” she said. “So if you’re gonna have a drink, if you’re gonna have a yummy sweet tooth, enjoy it.
Read also: Walnut Keto Guide
Juicing:
Fitness is at the heart of Hough's lifestyle: "For me, it's not necessarily about my physical shape that I'm in, it's more of an internal shape. "My fiancé and I just bought a juicer, so we try to juice as much as we can. In the morning, I'll have a green juice or something. Whatever's in my fridge, I'll just throw whatever's in. I usually like it a little sweeter, less bitter, so I put in a green apple, some spinach, kale. Again, if I want it sweeter, I'll put some carrots in. But I love ginger, and lemon too, so I'll put that in. Cucumber, celery, anything green, really. Sometimes I'll add beets too, depending on my mood.
Workout: Variety and Internal Well-being
Julianne Hough emphasizes variety and internal well-being in her workout routine. "I get bored very easily, so I like to switch up my workouts. I'll do yoga, I'll go spinning, I'll go on a hike, I'll do a personal training session where I lift weights. I like to do a lot of cardio. "I usually try [to work out] five times a week…I love to start my day off with a workout. It doesn't have to be high-exertion, two hours, let's go. But anything that gets me up and going. "I'll come home [after exercising] and I usually have some sort of eggs. I like to steam my eggs, and then have tomato and avocado. "I'll usually do like chicken or fish with some sort of vegetables. But I don't eat like that every single day.
KINRGY:
That mantra aligns with her dedication to fitness that feeds the mind, body, and soul, represented by her exercise program, Kinrgy. On Saturday, November 15th, we’re gathering at Stanly Ranch in Napa Valley for a transformative KINRGY One-Day Retreat-a full-body reset designed to help you restore energy, reconnect with yourself, and feel nourished from the inside out. natural elements - Earth, Fire, Water, Air. Recalibrate your system with a collection of harmonizing practices of breathwork, meditation, sound, and mindful movement. Move your body and ignite your energy with easy-to-follow dance cardio that boosts endurance and honors your authenticity. Our signature method empowers your expression by immersing you into a full-body journey of dance, meditation, breathwork, and strength training. Invigorate your muscles with sections of targeted exercises and full-body sculpting, designed to build strength and embrace movement. Fuse the vibrant energy of dance cardio with the muscle-focused intensity of sculpting to elevate your mind and enliven your body. Over the years, Julianne has tried just about every fitness and wellness practice out there. Through this journey, she found the quickest and most sustainable way to connect with your greatness is through dance. Our diverse class offerings provide your daily dose of self-care that increases mental clarity, physical strength, emotional wellness, and energetic health. Unlimited access to hundreds of dance fitness, strength training, meditation, yoga, pilates, mindful movement and sound healing classes. A white check mark in a black circle on a white background. A white check mark in a black circle on a white background. Take class from home with new classes added to our digital library every week. A white check mark in a black circle on a white background. Exclusive access to nourishing and conscious recipes from certified nutritionists. A white check mark in a black circle on a white background. Free access to all virtual workshops and 10% off our KINRGY retreats. I’m grateful to have found the KINRGY community and continue to channel its energy and power into my daily life as it transforms me into a happier, healthier, and truer version of myself. A pair of black quotation marks on a white background. A pair of black quotation marks on a white background. To say that I'm completely overwhelmed with emotion is an understatement. I'm totally hooked! This has impacted my life in a way that I'll never be able to thank you enough for. A pair of black quotation marks on a white background. KINRGY has been for me the perfect combination between afro dance, contact, expressive movement, breathing, spirituality, and, after all, feeling alive. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART. Inspired by the Elements. Powered by your Expression. Connect to a happier and healthier you. Fitness is at the heart of Hough's lifestyle: "For me, it's not necessarily about my physical shape that I'm in, it's more of an internal shape.
Burlesque Workout:
Former Dancing With the Stars pro Julianne Hough is no stranger to a stringent workout--a major plus when she signed on for the dance drama Burlesque. The star called us from the gym to chat about her fitness routine.
SELF: So, what'd you do at the gym today?
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Julianne Hough: Everything! When I work out, do a lot of combination exercises, like a dance/pilates/weights combination. I might start off with weights on my ankles and do a ton of leg exercises, then put three-pound weights in my wrists and do some arm exercises. I don't do bicep curls, I prefer circling my arms and twisting them and stuff, so it lengthens my muscles. Then after that, I do a ton of sit-ups and then cardio for about 45 minutes to an hour. Finally, I do more arms, this time without weights, and then I do standing abs.
Dance your way slim!
Do you do all this with a trainer, or just on your own?
Right now, I'm using a trainer. It's funny, I've never had an issue with my weight, because I've always danced. I could eat whatever I wanted--obviously in moderation--never gain a pound and always have a ripped body. Then I stopped dancing, I did Burlesque, I was busy, I was writing, I was doing a bunch of things, so I never prioritized time to work out, and I still ate whatever I wanted, so I actually gained 15-20 pounds like that. That's the most I've ever weighed in my entire life. For me, I was like holy crap, what is going on? It was really tough because I was still doing red carpets and people would comment be like you know, Julianne looks really different, I wonder if she's had work done. No, it's just my face is fat. It's kind of funny. Then I was like you know what, I really want to get back to Julianne, how I know I feel the best. It's not so much about how I look, it's more like I just feel like Julianne again. I feel healthy, I feel fit, I feel confident, you know what I mean? I literally lost like, 15 pounds in two to three weeks. It was pretty intense.
Find your own happy weight.
How did you lose the weight so quickly?
I ate a lot of protein and no sugar, everything gluten-free, but I had meals all day and juices and protein bars and energy drinks that were really great.
If you're having a healthy week but not a crazy week, what would your meals be?
When I'm shooting, I'll probably have salads and fish and chicken, some vegetables, I could do roasted or steamed with just a lot of lemon and try to stay away from oils and salt. My go-to breakfast is always scrambled egg whites, spinach and tomatoes or something like that.
Eat like a star!
What was it like working with Cher, your Burlesque co-star?
Oh my goodness, it was unbelievable. It was such an experience. You know, I was always a fan of Cher, but she was kind of before my time. I obviously knew things she had done, but I didn't really follow it. It was a huge honor to be with her, she's a legend, but I didn't really--she's such a cool, down-to-earth person and I actually really connected with it, you kind of forget all that stuff. Then after the movie, I was in Vegas for the ACM awards and I went and saw her show and it shows the timeline of everything she's done and I was literally sitting there like, holy crap. Kristen Bell was sitting next to me and we were texting each other like oh my god, Cher's a badass, we totally just did a movie with her, this is awesome.
What kind of things did you connect about?
She would always talk to all the dancers about stuff and then she'd be like, 'Julianne, you can relate to me with the music.' It's like, this is so cool. In the movie, I do a really, really intense emotional scene with her and--this was my first film, I'm still learning--and I did it seventeen times, then the close-up comes and I was like, how am I going to get the emotions and the tears out again? I think Cher could tell that I was kind of like oh, crap. So she comes out there and talks to me, and she's so encouraging because she's been in the business so long. She just knew exactly what to say and man, did the emotion just fly out of me. Compliments with some sassiness, telling me how great I was and how I needed to show all these bitches up.