Riverdale star Camila Mendes appears to be confirming something her fans have suspected for a while; she is possibly dating her co-star Rudy Mancuso. The 28-year-old star posted a series of photos on Instagram, including one of herself wearing a bathing suit as she embraces someone who looks very much like Mancusco. “Life update,” she captioned the post. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Mendes stays in shape and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don’t miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!
Mendes sees a therapist on a regular basis, and finds it incredibly helpful. “I see a therapist once a week—it gets me through a lot,” she says. “I also have a gratitude journal. I got it from a costar. You write a few brief things each day that you’re grateful for. I never thought I’d be one of those people, but I love it. I’d love to journal more in-depth every day but just don’t have the time. So with this, it’s great because you’re still checking in with yourself and you feel good because you’ve done something for yourself.”
Mendes has spoken out about her past struggles with body image, saying she will never follow a restrictive, damaging diet again. “I was really obsessed with dieting,” she says. “I don’t know if it was psychological but [when I quit dieting] I felt like I was gaining weight. Just that fear of ‘oh my god I’m gaining weight now,’ but I’ve really made this promise to myself that I’m gonna stick to this… It’s fine to eat dessert when I want to eat dessert, because that will give me the peace of mind I need. I’ll know that if I ate chocolate cake, maybe I won’t the next day. I’ve learned to trust myself that I’m going to make healthy choices because I care about my health.”
Mendes makes a point of getting enough sleep every night. “The base is always getting eight hours of sleep,” she says. “When I feel like I’ve slept good, and I wake up feeling refreshed I feel like I make better choices throughout the day. And staying hydrated. Honestly the simplest things make such a difference.” Mendes is smart to focus on sleep—getting the right amount of quality sleep (at least seven hours a night for adults) is a non-negotiable for health. “The shorter you sleep, the shorter your life span,” says sleep scientist Matthew Walker, PhD, author of Why We Sleep.
Mendes is a big fan of yoga and Pilates, and says she became “addicted” to hot yoga at one point. “That’s probably the most fit I’ve ever been in my life,” she says. “We were addicted and fell in love with the spirituality of it. That was when I felt really connected, mind and body.”
Mendes always makes time for her skincare routine, no matter how busy she is. “I always do my skin-care routine before I go to work, which can be therapeutic,” she says. “When I get to work, I always sit at the mirror and do my eyebrow for five minutes. Literally every day I have to tweeze a unibrow hair. I love makeup too, but doing my skin care does feel really ritualistic. Either I’m preparing for the day or I’m winding down. That relationship with skin care is really personal and soothing. However, my relationship with makeup is more exciting and fun. Usually, I’m listening to music and really feeling myself. I love the process of putting on your foundation, checking yourself out, maybe adding a little more. Then there’s that sense of pride at the end — like, ‘Hey! I did that. Face beat by me!'”
