Courteney Cox Stays Thin By Eating This One Thing
She'll be there for you—every night, in re-runs and on Netflix. Thanks to the ongoing popularity of Friends, Courteney Cox remains forever in her 30s, and forever slim—her character Monica, the rare chef who never gained an ounce. (Maybe it's because she was once called Fat Monica.) But even at age 52, she looks the same. To find out how she does it, the team at Eat This, Not That! collected her best weight-loss tips.
She Eats Lean Proteins
Cox told New Beauty magazine that for lunch she eats chicken salad, with a lean protein—like fish, chicken or steak—and vegetables for dinner. Paired with a whole grain, that makes sense: "For every meal, you should be asking yourself: 'Where's my protein? Where's my fiber? And where's my healthy fat?'" says David Zinczenko, author of the Zero Belly Diet.
She Cheats…sometimes
"I do cheat, on occasion, with pasta or bread and butter," she told New Beauty. "And I do eat a lot of cheese and nuts, which is probably not the best idea." In fact, a weekly "cheat meal" has been proven to boost your metabolism and ward off feelings of deprivation—improving not only your ability to lose weight, but your ability to stick to your diet plan as well.
She Once Ate the Same Salad Every Day
"Jennifer and Lisa [Kudrow] and I ate lunch together every single day for 10 years," Cox told the Los Angeles Times. "We always had the same thing – a Cobb salad. But it wasn't really a Cobb salad. It was a Cobb salad that Jennifer doctored up with turkey bacon and garbanzo beans and I don't know what. She has a way with food, which really helps."
She Works Her Legs
Professional trainer Michelle Lovitt got Cox in shape for Cougar Town by targeting her legs and thighs for maximum weight loss. "Increasing strength in your lower body increases lean body mass, which raises your metabolism and helps your body burn calories at a higher rate, even at rest," Lovitt told Shape. "So the most important thing you want to do for lean legs is strength train them by lifting weights that will cause your muscles to fatigue after 10 to 15 repetitions."
She Has a New Motto
"Getting older is not the easiest thing," the Friends actress, seen here with boyfriend Johnny McDaid, told Bear Grylls, opening up about reported plastic surgery. "There's a pressure to maintain your looks, being a woman in this business. I think I was trying to keep up with getting older, trying to chase that…it's something you can't keep up with. Now I have a new motto: Let it be."
