Kathy Kaehler's Celebrity Workouts: How to Get a Hollywood Body in Just 30 Minutes a Day

Book by Kaehler Kathy

Chapter 1

My Hollywood Fitness Secrets
. . . Revealed!

Psssst . . . Want me to let you in on a little Hollywood
secret? The beautiful, sexy bodies that you see on television
and the silver screen aren’t simply the product of good genes. Not
all of your favorite celebrities were born with impeccable figures, or have
been slim and sculpted their entire lives. In fact, most of them have to work
hard to stay so trim, toned, and youthful looking–just like you and me.

Though we tend to put them on pedestals, celebrities aren’t superhuman.
Some, particularly supermodels like Cindy Crawford and Claudia
Schiffer, may have genetic advantages. But they still have to exercise and
watch what they eat. And it isn’t always easy! Like you and me, they have
lazy days. They sometimes feel uncoordinated when trying a new workout.
They get bored when they do the same exercises over and over. They
have cravings for pizza, ice cream, and other fattening foods. They often
want to do nothing more than collapse on the couch after a long, exhausting
day on the set.

My celebrity clients may not have traditional nine-to-five jobs, but
they certainly don’t have all day to spend at the gym. Truth be told, none
of the actresses or models that I train typically exercises for more than an
hour at a time. These women are unbelievably busy! Whether they’re
working on a movie, a TV sitcom, a fashion show, or a photo shoot, their
schedules tend to be very demanding. I’m talking ten- to twelve-hour
days! On top of their chaotic careers, they have families, bills, grocery
shopping, errands, and countless other responsibilities, just like everyone
else. And most of them don’t have a team of personal assistants to help
them, either. Take Julia Roberts, for example. She doesn’t even hire someone
to clean her house. She washes her own dishes, scrubs her own bathroom,
and mops her own kitchen floor.

Celebrities are constantly subjected to the scrutiny of the camera,
whether they’re on a film set, walking the red carpet, or running from the
paparazzi. If you can imagine having your body magnified on screen, or
photos of yourself plastered all over the tabloids, then you may understand
the kind of motivation that they have to look good. Sadly, for some, the
pressure can be overwhelming. In recent years a number of them, such as
Paula Abdul and Carré Otis, have started coming forward and sharing
their struggles to remain so unnaturally thin. To keep the pounds off,
some have resorted to unhealthy, even potentially life-threatening tactics,
such as excessive exercise, vomiting, drug and alcohol abuse, cigarette
smoking, and harsh diuretics. Others have gone under the plastic surgeon’s
knife for procedures like liposuction and tummy tucks.

Fortunately, Hollywood has finally woken up to the realization that
super-thin is super-unattractive and super-unhealthy. A decade or so ago
in the entertainment industry, “skinny Minnie” wasn’t skinny enough.
Size Zero was the norm in Los Angeles. But in just the last few years, the
“ideal” body shape has started to change. The waif look is out. Fit and
toned is in! What’s sexy is looking strong, lean, and healthy. Many of our
favorite stars–including Catherine Zeta-Jones and Jennifer Lopez–are
now embracing their curves. And we all know that’s what men really love!

I know all about the dangers of trying to be skinny. Although I’d never
worried about my weight as a kid, I became unhappy with my appearance
in high school. I wasn’t overweight; I had a sturdy, athletic frame. But I
didn’t think I was thin enough. During my senior year, I started taking
over-the-counter diet pills to lose weight. This insane habit continued
into my college years, when I also battled bulimia. On a typical morning I
would swallow a diet pill, then go without food until I was absolutely
starving. After bingeing to satisfy my hunger, I’d run to the ladies’ room to
vomit. At one point I was taking up to five diet pills a day.

One afternoon during my sophomore year, it all started to unravel. As I
was walking out of my dorm room, I suffered a grand-mal seizure. I woke
up on the sidewalk with a paramedic kneeling beside me. Later, in the
hospital, I lied to my doctors, telling them the seizure must have been
caused by stress and lack of sleep. They believed me, and I was released
from the hospital. But even this scary experience wasn’t enough to make
me quit. I continued in the vicious binge-purge-pill cycle for another
year, until I finally had another seizure. Realizing that I would die if I
didn’t change my behavior, I vowed to stop taking diet pills and stop
throwing up.

With every bit of self-discipline I had, I took control of my life. I educated
myself about healthy eating and started giving my body the nutrients
that it so badly needed. I have never taken diet pills or vomited since. My
all-around good habits lasted about six years, up until the time that I
moved to Los Angeles. At that point, my career was going full throttle,
and I had a full schedule training clients and teaching aerobics classes. But
I was overexercising and not eating enough. At the same time, I was dating
a famous actor who liked to stay up all night and sleep all day. I was partying
too much and only getting a few hours of shut-eye each night. During
the day, I was drinking tons of coffee just to keep myself going.

Throughout all of this, my body was suffering. I felt tired and worn out.
I realized that I wasn’t living healthfully, and as someone whose career was
based on promoting health and fitness, I felt like a total hypocrite. Then,
in 1990, it caught up with me. I suffered a third seizure while hiking with a
client. At the hospital, my doctor threatened to put me on antiseizure
medication, which meant my driver’s license would be taken away. Since
my livelihood depended on driving to see my clients, I promised him that
I would change my habits the moment that I walked out the door. And I
did. After that day, I completely overhauled my lifestyle. I started eating
right and sleeping eight hours a night. I also pledged to give up caffeine for
good. Thankfully, I’ve been in excellent health ever since.

Over the years, I’ve learned a tremendous amount, both personally and
professionally, about how to stay fit, healthy, and looking good. Most of
my career has been spent sharing this know-how with a Who’s Who of
the entertainment industry. Now, it’s time for me to teach you. In this
chapter, you’ll find out all about my personal approach to fitness. I’ll outline
easy ways for you to squeeze more activity into your hectic days, and provide easy-to-follow eating guidelines. I’ll also discuss the basic principles
of weight loss, and tell you why a change in your attitude could be the
secret to your success.

But the most important thing to remember is: No matter how much
you want to look a certain way, no matter how badly you want to get into
those slim-fitting jeans, and no matter how many daydreams you may
have about looking like the fabulous women who populate our favorite
films and television shows, your health is so much more important. Trust
me, I say this to all my clients. In this book, we’re going to work hard to
get your body into amazing shape. But we’re also going to respect it and
embrace it–it’s the only one you’ve got.

The Exercise Equation

No matter who you are, in order to stay young and healthy, you need to
move your body. It’s as simple as that. Almost every system in your body,
from your cardiovascular system to your muscular and skeletal systems,
benefits from regular physical activity. By staying active you can reduce
your risk of numerous health problems, including heart disease, high
blood pressure, many cancers, diabetes, and osteoporosis. Exercise helps
strengthen your immune system, so you can fend off many of these life-threatening
diseases as well as ailments as basic as the common cold.

As many of you know, regular exercise is also essential for staving off excess
pounds. Despite the many fad diets currently making headlines, research
consistently shows that a combination of exercise and a healthy diet
is the best way to lose weight and keep it off. By getting up and moving,
you can burn calories that would otherwise be stored as fat. When you
build muscle, you also speed up your metabolism, so your body burns
more calories throughout the day, whether you’re pushing a cart through
the supermarket or sitting around watching TV.

But the benefits don’t end there! Exercise can also have a powerful effect
on your state of mind. During physical activity, your brain releases neurotransmitters
called endorphins that can help elevate your mood and reduce
feelings of stress and anxiety. Studies show that regular exercise can
be as effective as antidepressants in alleviating mild to moderate depression. When you’re feeling overworked and exhausted, exercise can help
restore your energy, optimism, clarity, and creativity. After a good workout,
you’ll be more productive and make better decisions. You’ll also be
much less likely to fly off the handle.

It follows, therefore, that exercise can have a huge impact on what
you’re able to achieve in life. When you’re better able to handle physiological
and emotional stress, you feel more in control of your life. You sleep
better. You feel better about yourself. You have more confidence, whether
you’re making a presentation at work or slipping into your favorite dr...