Never one to shy away from revealing details of her personal life, supermodel Paulina Porizkova shares the good, the bad, and the challenges of aging she’s faced with her fans. The 58-year-old keeps things real on social media and addresses her blessings and struggles, including the obstacles she’s endured to stay fit. “Staying in shape after menopause takes a lot of frickin’ work,” she wrote on Instagram. “Especially when you have wonky hips.” She added, “One has to work a lot harder on things that were taken for granted. On the outside. On the inside, however, all the hard work already done is finally paying off.”
Porizkova has found a system that works for her and we take a closer look at her diet and workout routine and ask fitness experts what they think.
In 2021, Porizkova said she had so many people asking about her diet and fitness secrets, so she decided to post an Instagram video detailing her regime. “I do the 16/8 diet, which just means basically that you don’t eat for 16 hours and then you eat for eight,” she said. “I eat whatever I want for eight hours because I like food, but I also tend to like more healthy food.”
What the Expert Says: “Intermittent fasting is a practice that can be adopted to aid with weight loss when traditional methods aren’t plausible or sustainable,” sports performance dietitian Destini Moody, RD, CSSD, LD, says. “It is an ideal method for those who have issues controlling their portions throughout the day, as eating too large meals can make it difficult to maintain the calorie deficit needed to lose weight. However, by giving oneself a designated ‘feeding window’ of just a few hours, it can become much easier to eat the reduced daily calories and make losing weight more manageable.”
After fasting for 16 hours, Porizkova shared that she breaks her fast with a nutritional vegan smoothie with protein powder that she orders online so it’s ready to go when she wants to eat during her eight-hour window.
What the Expert Says: According to Moody, “Vegan smoothies can be a quick and convenient way to get key nutrients, especially for those struggling to include enough fruits and vegetables in their day. In order to use vegan smoothies to stay healthy and in shape, however, it needs to contain the components necessary for a balanced meal.” She adds, “This means fruits and vegetables along with fats and protein. Just kale and ginger aren’t enough to cut it as a daily smoothie. However, if you were to add in chia seeds and soy milk or flaxseed and vegan protein powder, it would make for a substantial and satisfying drink that would help one control their hunger and stay well-nourished.”
While Porizkova said she does love healthier food, if she wants fried chicken, she’ll eat it. She explained she kicks her eight-hour window of eating off with a smoothie or soup so she can indulge for dinner. “I do this so I can eat whatever I want for dinner, and that includes a glass of wine or a cocktail and dessert. This way I don’t feel deprived.”
What the Expert Says: “Allowing oneself occasional indulgences can be crucial for a couple of reasons,” Nutrition Coach Paul Bailey explains. “Firstly, from a psychological standpoint, being too restrictive can lead to feelings of deprivation. Over time, this can backfire, resulting in binge eating or developing a negative relationship with food. Indulgence, in moderation, can help maintain a balanced mindset.” He continues, “Secondly, food is often intertwined with our cultural and social experiences. Occasionally indulging allows us to participate in these experiences fully without feeling left out or guilty.”
READ RELATED: 65 Healthy Weight Loss Dinner Recipes for Busy Weeknights
In addition to fasting and making healthy food choices, Porizkova works out regularly and posted a video of herself doing dumbbell shoulder presses.
What the Expert Says: According to M.A. Sports Performance and USAW National Coach Jarrod Nobbe, dumbbell shoulder presses are a great workout for several reasons.
Why It’s Effective: “The dumbbell shoulder press is a go-to strength movement for increasing your upper body vertical pressing mechanics and strength,” Nobbe says. “Utilizing dumbbells improves the stability of the shoulder joint, elbow, and wrist. It is shown to have quicker increases in strength and hypertrophy in the early training phases compared to barbell variations.”
How-To: To do the exercise effectively, here’s what to keep in mind Nobbe explains. “Focus on keeping the dumbbells stacked on your shoulders as you drive the dumbbell straight to the ceiling. As the arm extends, the shoulder-elbow wrist continues in that stack-like motion. Exhale as you press up, inhale as you press down, keeping the core braced at all times. I cue my athletes and clients to “keep the bicep by the ear” to ensure a more stable press as the arm extends. Use a full range of motion, and a controlled lowering during each rep.”
How Many: To see results, Nobbe suggests the following:
- “3-5 Sets
- – 5-8 repetitions for strength
- -12-15 repetitions for hypertrophy
- – 20+ reps for muscle endurance”
The model also does seated machine rows, which is a good upper-body move that can tone the arms.
Why It’s Effective: Nobbe says, “The seated row allows you to isolate the back muscles: lats, rhomboids, and lower traps, while also allowing the primary muscles responsible for pulling actions in the arms to be trained (biceps, brachialis). The seated position keeps you stable, often allowing you to row more weight than you would if you brace yourself freely without bench support.”
How-To: Here’s how to do the exercise properly, according to Nobbe. “Focus on rowing the elbows down and back to keep an active angle of pulling through the whole motion. As with any exercise, the main goal should be to work through a full range of motion (think: big reach, big pull). Feel the back muscles engage throughout each rep, and finish the row with a strong squeeze of the lats before returning the weight to the starting position with control. Exhale as you pull, inhale as the weight returns. These breathing patterns will improve core stability and promote better tempos for each repetition.”
How Many: Nobbe recommends the following reps:
- “3-5 Sets
- – 5-8 repetitions for strength
- -12-15 repetitions for hypertrophy
- – 20+ reps for muscle endurance”
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