"I think it’s safe to say we’ve all probably had a crush on Blake Lively at some point. From Gossip Girl to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to being adorably funny with husband Ryan Reynolds, she seems to epitomize a happy and healthy life. Blake looks like the confident, cool girl, yet girl next door we all want to be. So how does she do it? Upon further research (AKA looking through all of her interviews I could find online), it turns out that Blake has six healthy habits she always sticks to, and I tried them all. Because, who doesn’t want to strive to be healthy and happy? This is what happened.
1. She chooses non-alcoholic alternatives
Blake appreciates a party just as much as the rest of us, but she chooses to enjoy them without alcohol. “I don’t like the effects of alcohol, but I like being a part of it,” she said in a 2021 interview with People Magazine. “I like being social. I like people coming together.” My guess is that’s what led her to create her line of non-alcoholic mixers, Betty Buzz. I usually like to wind down on Fridays with a glass of wine and dinner with friends, but you may also find me in bed with Netflix and tea on a Friday night, so I get where she’s coming from.
My take: I spent this Friday at a friend’s birthday, and instead of nursing my usual cabernet sauvignon, I took a cue from Blake’s alcohol-free lifestyle and went sans alcohol (kombucha was my drink of choice). I had a memorable night of catching up with friends and woke up feeling refreshed, which I know from experience wouldn’t have happened had I opted for a glass of wine. Thanks to Blake’s influence, I now swap my wine for non-alcoholic beverages more often, especially in social settings. If you’re interested in limiting alcohol or just more mindful drinking, but don’t know where to start, here’s some sober curiosity inspo.
2. She never skips breakfast and prioritizes protein
We’ve heard it before: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Well, a study showed that people who skip breakfast may miss out on important nutrients. And Blake lives by that nutritional wisdom. Blake’s trainer, Don Saladino, told Cosmopolitan that her breakfast might look like a couple of eggs cooked in coconut oil with some vegetables, sometimes with gluten-free oats and fruit. As for the rest of Blake’s diet, Saladino has her focused on eating balanced meals with proteins, vegetables, fruits, slow-burning starches like sweet potato, and healthy fats, like avocado, coconut oil, and grass-fed butter. “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,” Saladino said.
My take: I’ve always looked forward to breakfast and I never start my day without it (Blake and I are so similar!), but I’m also guilty of reaching for sugary cereal or a bagel instead of a more nutrient-dense option for the sake of time. This week, I tried to incorporate some protein into each breakfast, whether it was eggs, a protein shake, or almond butter on my toast. I found that just by adding a form of protein, I felt fuller for longer and didn’t have the afternoon crash that usually comes with a sugary morning start. Safe to say, I’ll be sticking to this rule for a while.
3. She gets a jump start on hydration first thing
In the same interview with Cosmopolitan, Saladino revealed that Blake starts every morning by drinking a glass of water. After a night of sleep, your body is naturally in a dehydrated state in the morning, so drinking water first thing in the morning can help replenish fluids. It’s easy to let the body’s hydration levels deplete, even when sipping on water throughout the day and especially during the summer months when we sweat more than usual. So Blake takes her hydration a step further; she and hubby Ryan Reynolds reportedly drink hydrogen-infused water for its purported benefits of boosting energy and promoting healthy skin, thanks to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
My take: Staying hydrated has always been something I struggled with, especially first thing in the morning. But while channeling my inner Blake, I added a few hacks to make it easier: I filled up my water bottle the night before and left it on my bedside table (to take the guesswork out of the habit in the morning) and opted for a water bottle instead of a glass (so I could take it with me if I was running out the door). And while I didn’t try hydrogenated water (because of the cost factor and there’s no conclusive evidence of the supposed benefits), I managed to stick with the morning habit all week and did feel the difference. The occasional caffeine headaches were gone, and I was also less tired.
4. She starts her workouts with a mental and physical check-in
While her workout regimen consists of mostly full-body strength training sessions and ending them with walking on the treadmill 4-6 days a week, Saladino told Women’s Health that Blake begins each workout by talking through how she feels, how she’s been sleeping, and overall what her body is saying. And based on how she’s feeling that day, he’ll tweak her program accordingly. After all, with being a mom of four, traveling and changing time zones, and running her business, their biggest priority is Blake’s resiliency. “When her body doesn’t feel right or she gets a really bad night’s sleep, we might go heavier on the steps or we might do more restorative work,” Saladino said.
My take: My biggest takeaway was that Blake listens to her body and maintains consistency in her movement, whether it’s hitting her core and glutes hard when her body gives her the green light or going easier with walking and stretches on days she’s running on little sleep. I value incorporating some form of movement into my daily routine, but hitting the gym 4-6 times a week was unrealistic for me. Instead, I developed a consistent schedule that worked for my life, which meant a spin class every Tuesday, an at-home workout twice a week, and maybe another spin class on the weekend, depending on how I felt at the end of the week. But being Blake for a week taught me to tune into my body, and if I didn’t feel up for my Tuesday spin class or doing a HIIT workout in my living room, I’d take a 15-minute walk instead.
5. She follows the 80/20 eating rule (and never count calories!)
If you browse through Blake’s Instagram, it’s a combination of gorgeous fashion looks, her family and friends, and delicious baked goods (Blake has a passion for baking and a sweet tooth (I can relate)). So while she typically sticks to a nutrient-packed diet, she follows the 80/20 rule and makes room for not-as-healthy foods that she loves (a healthy, well-balanced diet makes room for all foods—including indulgences (AKA foods that bring you joy!)). The 80/20 way of eating suggests that 80% of your diet should consist of nutritious, whole foods while allowing for 20% flexibility to enjoy indulgent or less nutritious foods. The goal is to create a sustainable eating habit that doesn’t require you to completely cut out foods you love, but rather encourages overall balanced eating. According to Cosmopolitan, Blake’s 20% usually includes pasta and pizza, among her dessert splurges.
My take: Part of the 80/20 rule’s effectiveness is the fact that it’s adaptable and open to interpretation. Every person’s version of 80/20 may look different. So before I dove into the 80/20 rule for the sake of becoming Blake Lively, I decided to investigate why I was constantly craving sweets during the week. Was I bored, stressed, or needing comfort? Or does my body need this right now? If the answer was “yes” to the latter question, I would listen to my body. But I noticed that most of the time, I was just bored, and the dessert wouldn’t actually satisfy me. By the end of the week, I discovered it was easier to cut back on the indulgences because I was more conscious about why I craved them in the first place. But maybe it was more 75/25 than 80/20—I’m only human, after all.
6. She incorporates rest days and active recovery
Since Blake crushes her workouts sometimes up to six days a week, rest and recovery is just as important as the workouts themselves so she can keep at it. On days she doesn’t take a complete rest and doesn’t feel worn out, Saladino told Women’s Health that his approach is active recovery: “By keeping the heart rate slightly elevated and moving in a multi-directional way, using all of the planes of the body—the sagittal, transverse, and frontal—the amount of lactic acid (the stuff that builds up in your body during exercise and causes sore muscles) will reduce, so it’ll help your muscles to repair.” That’s why he has Blake perform dynamic exercises that cover every direction of movement on her active recovery days (think: cat-cow pose) and oftentimes splits her workouts into “linear days” where she works on bilateral moves (working one limb) and “lateral days” where she does unilateral movements (working two limbs).
My take: There can be a lot of pressure when it comes to working out, like you need to sweat it out every day, burn a certain number of calories, or go at a certain intensity for it to be effective, but that’s not true. Every length and type of movement adds up and is beneficial, and rest days are one of the most effective ways that you can improve your performance, fitness level, and relationship with exercise. This practice of Blake’s took all the pressure off on the days I didn’t have a workout planned and felt a bit lethargic, but still wanted to get some movement in. One day, I used habit-stacking and walked to the grocery store. Another day, I opted for a 10-minute yoga stretch. By taking complete rest days and active recovery days according to how my body felt, I noticed my energy levels were higher by the end of the week and any pressure to work out hard when my body was saying “no” was gone.
