For all the twists, turns and characters coming back from the dead, one thing remains consistent in the world of soap operas: the stars stay fit. After all, some cast members appear for decades at a time, and the audience craves familiarity; like any stars, the actors and actresses here have to remain recognizable. They do so with a combination of nutrition, exercise and mindfulness techniques, as well as a unique approach to a long-lasting career. As a result, these stars are iconic. Here are the wellness secrets from Kelly Ripa, Lisa Rinna, Susan Lucci and many more.
Before becoming a TV host, Kelly Ripa appeared on All My Children as Hayley Vaughn. In an interview with Closer, she shared her favorite post-show breakfast. “What I will have is a green apple, cut up, and then I take two tablespoons of almond butter and a teaspoon of cinnamon. I blend it all together, I put the apples in there and then I eat that like a porridge, if you will. That is my first chewable food of the day.”
Galen Gering plays Rafe Hernandez on Days Of Our Lives. He revealed to Soap Opera Digest that he does calorie deficiency. “You have to look at the overall calories that you’re putting into your body on a daily basis and really pay attention to that. Once you do that, you can figure out how you get a calorie deficit. You obviously have to burn more calories in a day than you’re putting in your body [in order to lose weight]. It’s a simple formulaic thing that a lot of people fail to do. Once you do that you’ll realize how much you’re snacking throughout the day and adding calories to that pile, when you may not even be hungry. For me, when I want to lose weight, that’s the first thing that I look at.”
Lisa Rinna played Billie Reed on Days Of Our Lives. She shared her wellness secrets in an interview with People. Rinna says that she makes sure to do some exercise each day. “I just think it’s really good to move everyday. I really love the combination of SoulCycle and yoga. It keeps me balanced and sane.”
Shemar Moore played Malcolm Winters on The Young & The Restless. He shared how he got in shape for his role on S.W.A.T. to Men’s Health. “I gained 10 pounds. It changed my physique,” said Moore. “I’m looking to gain more. It’s just hard with the schedule that we keep, when we are working 12-16 hour days. Ideally, I would like to be 200-205 pounds, so I can add more muscle. For me, that’s a good weight in terms of flexibility, being able to move, be nimble and do all the action.”
Eileen Davidson plays Ashley Abbott on The Young & The Restless. She shared her hair and skin care secrets with Woman’s World. “I have gone the route of the super expensive before, but I guess I’ve just gotten kind of bitter. I’m wondering if it really makes a huge difference. So now, I use Cetaphil as a daily facial cleanser. I use Eucerin as a body lotion. Just your basic things. I do use Aveda hair products but every once in a while, I throw in Pantene. “
Lauren Koslow plays Kate Roberts on Days Of Our Lives. She shared her fitness secrets with Soap Opera Digest. “In terms of exercise and diet, I find it helps to think in terms of health and wellness and not necessarily in terms of weight. Make it a decision to be in the most healthy condition that you can be in. Some of the tips along that line, especially if you’re thinking about a plant-based or more healthy diet, is when you’re at the supermarket, read labels. Also, try to shop the outside aisles of the market, where they have fruits and vegetables, and stay away from processed foods. Try to shop organic, when you can, or sustainable or local.”
Kirsten Storms has appeared on both General Hospital and Days Of Our Lives. She notably had to have brain surgery in 2021, and shared her gratitude for her loved ones and medical team on Instagram. “I feel very fortunate that my situation wasn’t more serious and that I had a wonderful neurosurgeon who immediately knew how to fix it,” she said. “I’m not gonna lie, brain surgery had me nervous, but I’m immensely thankful to my family, friends, and incredible ‘work family’ who have been supportive, kind and loving during a time when I’ve been feeling a lot of emotions.”
Katherine Kelly Lang plays Brooke Logan on The Bold & The Beautiful. She tells Soap Opera Digest that she believes in moderation when it comes to food. “I generally eat healthy but I love to snack on potato chips. I love a hamburger and French fries once in a while. I’m not so much a sugar person, but I do like chocolate sometimes. You have to have a good balance. You can’t be too strict and you can’t just eat whatever you want, especially as you get older. You really need to watch what you are taking in because it’s easier to put on the pounds the older you get. But if I eat too much one day, I’ll eat less the next day, or have more green drinks or try to put more vegetables in my diet. Try to eat organic and fresh food as much as possible.”
Camila Banus played Gabi Hernandez on Days Of Our Lives. She tells Soap Opera Digest that she meal preps. “It really helps for me to meal prep at the beginning of the week, whether that be Saturday or Sunday. I’m okay to eat the same thing, although maybe one day I’ll eat something different, for the entire week. I love that. But I do have a huge problem with drinking [enough] water. Nothing worked except two things. One of them is a really cool bottle I purchased on Amazon. It keeps me motivated. It has little positive notes on the outside of it for every hour, like, 9 a.m., ‘You did it,’ 10 a.m., ‘Good job, keep going.’ The second thing is I add a couple of pineapple chunks to that bottle of water. It gives it a little bit of an acidy pineapple taste and makes it really easy to drink.”
Prior to starring on Selling Sunset, Chrishell Stause appeared on All My Children and Days Of Our Lives. Her personal trainer, Ocho, shared her workout secrets with Women’s Health. “A week of workouts for Chrishell can vary,” he explained. “Her schedule is very hectic, so we get in what we can, and HIIT training is one of the most efficient ways she can build muscle and burn fat at the same time.”
Before appearing on Supernatural, Jensen Ackles played Eric Brady on Days Of Our Lives. To get in shape for The Boys, Ackles told Men’s Health that he turned to a certain website. “I’ll make a little shout out to beachbody.com because I went on there and that’s how I got my cardio in… I just followed the random videos. All I had was those adjustable power blocks, so I utilized those as my weights.”
Arianne Zucker, who plays Nicole Walker on Days of Our Lives, talked about her fitness on her blog. “I can’t stand the gym. I will do anything else, but go to the gym. I did work out with an amazing trainer for 3 years, so that he taught me a lot. I bought my own weights for home, so I could at least work out my arms while watching a movie or listening to a great podcast like Everything From A to Z. Shameless plug. I also just recently started working out with a system called TAPfit. It’s like these taps shoes that fit over your work out shoes and you can do a tap dance work out with it. I love tap dancing and I thought this was a fun way for me to do both.”
Justin Hartley played Adam Newman on The Young & The Restless. He talked about his approach to fitness in an interview with Men’s Health. “As you get more and more into working out and fitness, you start to understand it starts to impact different phases of your life,” he says. “It can impact your emotional state, it can impact your stress level—it’s way more important than just physique and looking good.”
Josh Duhamel’s acting career began on All My Children, playing Leo du Pres. He shared his fitness routine with FabFitFun. “It includes a lot of circuit training lately with cardio and weight training intervals, but I’ve really started doing a lot of yoga lately — which for me is so important. My flexibility has gotten better, and I feel stronger than I have in a really long time. I’m not as injured as I was before because of yoga, so that really has helped.”
Melissa Ordway plays Abby Newman on The Young & The Restless. She shared her approach to wellness in an interview with Food Republic. “I tried going on diets, or saying, I’m only gonna eat healthy this week and eat salads, or I’m gonna go on a juice cleanse, and I last like half a day. I find it important to eat what I want and then go to the gym and run on the treadmill. I’m lucky that I can do that so I don’t have to do some crazy diet. I just try and do outdoorsy things and keep active.”
Kimberlin Brown plays Sheila Carter on The Young & The Restless and The Bold & The Beautiful. She shared her diet secrets with Soap Opera Digest. “To lose weight, you have to cut your carbs. You really need to cut out the white flour and the sugar. When I found out I was coming back to the show, I really hit Keto/Atkins. To me, Keto and Atkins are basically the same, and that’s just the removal of sugar and flour and that helped the pounds come off super-fast, which is hard for me because I love my bread! But, it was something I was willing to give up to get myself back into soap opera shape. I still have a ways to go, but I’m really happy with where I started and where I’m at now, and that is important.”
Kelly Monaco plays Sam McCall on General Hospital. She shared some of her favorite workouts in an interview with SheKnows. Monaco says that her workout routine is quite varied. “My workout regimen varies. I do everything from the gym to yoga to cardio classes, hiking and swimming. I’m pretty active. I’d rather stay outdoors than be cooped up.”
Krista Allen stars as Taylor Hayes on The Bold & The Beautiful. She shared her favorite vegan recipes with One Green Planet. “Burgers and Fries are my specialty. I am a Texas gal so the grill is my significant other at this point! I also have been doing some very cool raw dishes and I’m enjoying that, too. So, I have a group of hungry beach goers coming over at 8, and I am making some Hang Ten Burgers (a Veggie Boom Boom original) and super crispy oven baked steak fries. I’ll maybe throw in a cool micro brew for the drinkers and some organic sparkly soda for the non-drinkers and I usually do some chocolate chip cookies for dessert, or some fresh organic fruit with mint if it’s hot outside.“
Tanisha Harper, who plays Jordan Ashford on General Hospital, shared her fitness secrets with Soap Opera Digest. She says that she does a variety of different workouts. “I go to a place called Natural Pilates that uses the Reformer machine. I do that about three days a week. I also incorporate yoga at least once a week, and occasionally, I will work out with a trainer, lifting weights, which is really great for the body and helps you be strong. I hike about two days a week, but I don’t even really consider that exercise; it’s more about being out in nature. Maybe once a month, I play tennis just to stay active and keep my body moving, and occasionally I do boxing, which is great for strength conditioning and keeping my stamina up.”
Susan Lucci played Erica Kane on All My Children. After having two heart surgeries, Lucci told FOX News that she has changed her diet up. “My doctor told me, ‘You keep doing what you’re doing because something good will come from that.’ It started with superfoods. I do have the occasional pasta and carbs. But the key is moderation.”