Jennifer Aniston appears on the cover of People magazine's annual World's Most Beautiful Woman issue (on newsstands Friday), and we are thrilled that the fitness-loving star dished on her diet and workout habits in addition to her beauty regimen and home life with hubby Justin Theroux.
The gorgeous actress, 47, has long been one of our biggest body crushes. Not only is Aniston in incredible shape, but we can seriously get behind her philosophy on aging gracefully and striking a healthy balance between exercise and relaxation. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that her fitness routine isn't quite as intense as tabloids often make it out to be. In the People interview, she set the record straight on recent reports that she works out twice in a day: "Oh my God, no way! Are you crazy? [I work out] about an hour a day. And I usually take Sundays off."
She also doesn't shy away from the occasional indulgence, such as Taco Tuesdays with close girlfriends (can we get an invite, please?), "salty-savory" snacks like nuts, and homemade pasta carbonara, which she and Theroux have for dinner every few weeks.
Here, six more things we learned about Aniston in People's cover story—from how she gets those enviable arms to her biggest insecurity.
On what makes her feel most beautiful
"I feel really beautiful when I finish a workout. Because I've taken care of my body, my endorphins are going, my blood is pumping. I'm taking care of the one body I have."
On her workout routine
"Three days a week I'll do a spin-yoga class, which is 25 to 30 minutes of spinning and then 30 to 40 minutes of yoga. Three days a week I'll do a weight-training workout at home, which is hard to explain, but it's basically just using my own body weight. Or I'll just do cardio at home. I usually do a trifecta: 15 minutes on the bike, 15 on the treadmill running, and then 15 on the elliptical. You have to shake it up—you know, muscle confusion."
On how she stays motivated to hit the gym
"Bite the bullet. Just bite the bullet and do it. Think of a wonderful pasta or Mexican meal that you want to have on the weekend, and dangle that in front of you like a little carrot."
On her go-to protein shake
"I'll put in bananas, cherries, blackberries, a greens powder, a collagen peptide, a little cacao powder, chocolate stevia drops, and chocolate almond milk. You can see I like chocolate-flavored. I don't like protein taste."
On how she keeps her arms so toned
"Oh gosh, yoga. Lifting your own body weight. When I'm at the gym, there are the ropes. Grab little 5-pound weights if you have nothing else, and just move them around."
On finding body acceptance
"Well, I've never loved my butt. It's sort of a thing. I had a bubble butt and was teased. Now people are paying money to get things injected. Like, we're sitting here dying over squats, and I'm like, 'Wait, what's the trend?!' I think just my body in general. I used to be such a little round thing. Now I'm just, like, my body is my body, so I've embraced things overall."
To learn more about Aniston's diet and fitness routine, pick up People's World's Most Beautiful Woman issue on newsstands Friday, April 22.