If you’ve scrolled through Khloe Kardashian’s Instagram feed in the past year, you’ll know that girlfriend has made health and fitness a serious priority. The reality star has recently spoken of the healthy eating habits and intense workout regimen. Now, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star is giving us an even deeper glimpse into her healthy life in her new memoir Strong Looks Better Naked ($18, amazon.com), available now.
In her memoir, Kardashian opens up about the relationships, personal struggles, and lessons that have helped her become the strong woman she is today. She recently spoke with Health to share her tips for finding your own strength and beauty—both inside and out.
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What made you want to write a memoir?
I wanted to be able to share my experience with my fans. Working on myself and my body has given me the strength to ultimately change my life for the better, and I wanted to share that with everyone. I also thought readers would be entertained by some of the funny things I've done to work on myself every single day. This past year has been really transformative, and I want to be open about it.
You recently turned 31. What about your body now (as opposed to when you were in your 20s) makes you feel strong?
Over time, I’ve come to believe your body starts and ends with knowing that life, health, love, and beauty is a journey, not a destination. This book outlines some of steps in my own journey, some hard-won wisdom and some great entertaining and fun-filled ideas and tools to make your own journey one that's filled with love, beauty, health, fun, and strength. With strength of heart, mind, body, and soul, all things are possible. As I started to build my physical strength I also started to build my mental, emotional, and spiritual strength.
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In general, what makes you feel body-confident?
I don't believe it's one-size-fits-all, nor do I believe that my plan is the only plan. I do believe that with strength of heart, mind, body and soul, all things are possible and that feeling is what makes me feel body confident.
A couple of months ago, you shared a picture on Instagram with the caption, “Looking back at pictures of myself I didn’t realize at the time how unhealthy my lifestyle actually was.†What led you to want to make a change in your lifestyle, and lead a healthier life?
Over time, I’ve come to realize that you can only control yourself—nothing else. I decided that it was time to take control and focus on improving myself overall in my mind, body, and soul.
Everyone has times when they don’t feel like working. How do you motivate yourself to get to the gym on those days?
Don’t get me wrong. Like anyone else, I have my days where I’d rather sleep in or do something else. When those days do come around, I have to remind myself of how far I’ve come and that I can’t stop now.
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When you haven’t worked out in a few days (or weeks) and find yourself making less-than-healthy food choices or just feeling unmotivated, what do you do to help yourself feel better?
I remind myself that I am human and full of imperfections and zigzags on the road. My journey is by no means a straight line!
You’ve said that exercise is a form of therapy and a great stress reliever. How so?
My time at the gym is the one time a day that I’m able to block out the noise from the rest of the world and truly dedicate [everything] to myself.
Fat-shaming seems to be the norm these days, and the media has often been quite mean to you as it relates to your weight. How do you stand strong in the face of such negativity?
I choose to believe that negativity comes from a place of unhappiness and insecurity. When I find myself in the cross hairs of negativity, I try to remind myself of this and send love to the haters, as they usually need it more than me.
What is your advice for women who may not feel comfortable in their own skin?
One baby step at a time. That is my philosophy. Small changes and small steps lead to big changes and a new you.
Looking back over your journey to fit, what would you say is the major lessons you’ve learned about body image, loving yourself, and just finding physical and mental strength?
I know that no matter what your challenge or obstacle might be—whether it's losing weight, a serious health crisis, the loss of a loved one, or simply a broken heart—the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
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