MIDLIFE FITNESS FILES
AFTER A LIFETIME OF DIETS, I REALISED I DON’T HAVE TO COMPARE MYSELF TO OTHERS
Bobbi Brown, 62, is founder of Bobbi Brown cosmetics, a brand she left in 2016 to pursue a career in wellness. She lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with her husband Steven, a commercial real estate developer. They have three children, Dylan, 29, Dakota, 27, and Duke, 21.
“I’ve always struggled with my weight. I’m five foot and only need a week of bread and cookies to put on 10 pounds. When I graduated college at 21 and moved to New York City to work in fashion, I was surrounded by the Eighties supermodels – and full of insecurities. I joined a slimming club and went on my first calorie-controlled diet. For the ensuing decade, I was always on some cleanse or starvation diet.
“At 30, while pregnant with my first baby and doing a live swimsuit show, I looked up and saw Linda, Christy, Naomi et al, each of them 21 and perfect and thought: ‘I can’t compare myself to these women, I am always going to lose. The only person I have to compete with is myself.’ After that, I started taking better care of myself, eating healthy and moving my body.”
My workout week
Yoga, Peloton and circuit training
I’ve never felt better, fitness-wise, than I do now – at 62! Until two years ago, I would do the most intense moves in classes of thirty-somethings and without modifying, then my back would go. I have learnt where to adapt, and where to push myself.
On Mondays, my yoga instructor comes to the house and my husband and I do an hour and a half of vinyasa flow yoga, followed by 20 minutes in our infra-red sauna, which helps muscle recovery.
Tuesdays and Thursdays, my trainer comes and we do circuits – planks, squats, lunges and weights. I have a Peloton bike in my bedroom and do a class a week with [instructors] Ally Love or
Alex Toussaint.
How I eat
Intermittent fasting
I’ve tried everything – plant-based, keto, alkaline – but what works for me is an intuitive eating style.
Anything restrictive makes me want to eat more. Now, I eat healthy, quality food and avoid sugar and white flour – but if I’m in Paris, I’m eating the baguette at every meal.
The only trendy thing I do is intermittent fasting. I finish eating by 8.30pm and start again at 10.30 the next day. It’s been a miracle. I’ve suffered with gut issues all my life, but since starting last October I’ve lost four pounds and I no longer get stomach ache after eating.
What I eat in a typical day
Breakfast: None. 11.30am: Scoop of chocolate protein powder in almond milk made into a hot cocoa, or plain yogurt and berries.
1pm: Salad with salmon or tuna, two rice cakes, two squares of dark chocolate. 4pm: Two crackers with mozzarella cheese and salsa, microwaved and made into mini pizzas. 7pm: Grilled fish, a green vegetable and, if I had an intense day, a carb, cup of blueberries.
Bobbi Brown’s supplement line Evolution_18 is available online and in selected Boots stores