Lisa Haydon is making a splash on social media this week, showing off her figure in a swimsuit she’s owned for a decade-and-a-half. The Indian actress shared a photo and video of herself in the metallic swimwear. “Bought this swimsuit when I was 19…. Slurrrp,” she captioned the image. How does the 35-year-old keep herself in such fabulous physical form? Read on to see 7 ways Lisa Haydon 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!
Lisa, who was teased for being too skinny in her younger years, started working out in her teens with the help of her mom. “All credit to my mother who, despite having to look after eight children, always made time for exercise. She’d work out to Jane Fonda and later Kathy Smith and Cindy Crawford in between managing us. I soon joined her, as I loved aerobics and its accompanying music and the gorgeous swimsuits these women wore, showing off their super-fit legs that I desperately wanted. Then at 17, when I hit adolescence, I took to running for both the adrenaline rush and to blow off steam. I started with 10 rounds, then 20, and before I knew it I was running in professional marathons,” she told Vogue India.
Lisa revealed to Vogue that she dabbled with dieting once, but it didn’t work. “During my years in mid-west America, I had gained a lot of weight. I was eating a lot of country food like fried chicken biscuit. For someone who has always been skinny, and even bullied because of it, I wasn’t used to all the weight and was looking for a quick fix. My sister convinced me to try Atkins…I lasted for all of three days!” she said. Instead, she eats a healthy, balanced diet. “Today I ate fruits and eggs for breakfast and now I’ll have a chicken salad for lunch. I don’t think of it as a ‘diet’; that’s just how it is. Having said that, very often I’ll replace my dinner with dessert—pancakes are a favorite—and I love cheese!”
Lisa loves yoga. “I discovered yoga in Sydney during my ‘chubby’ phase at this school on the beach that taught ashtanga-hatha flow. I gradually moved towards ashtanga, going beyond the primary level, which is a feat in itself, and even did an internship as I thought I wanted to become a yoga teacher. But I was way too wild then to lead such a disciplined life. Today, yoga for me is an ancient Indian practice I find very useful, especially the breathing techniques. It’ll always be a part of my fitness regimen,” she told Vogue.
Lisa all about green juice. “It’s the only way I manage to consume greens, and I think the vitamins you get from this food group are extremely important. While I do end up taking a lot of supplements (fish oil, folic acid, zinc, iron, D3, B12—all twice a day), I strongly believe the best way to get nutrition is from actual, fresh food,” she told Vogue.
Lisa doesn’t view exercise as a chore, but instead a lifestyle, which involves waking up early to get her sweat on. “This is the only way I can be consistent—by 9am I’m ready to go about my day as needed. So I do Pilates at Namrata and Samir Purohit’s Pilates & Altitude Training Studio thrice a week, run at the race course the other two days, do yoga at home once a week and give myself a break one day. I don’t work out for a shoot or a movie. For me, it’s a lifestyle. That one hour a day really pumps me up. I exercise because it makes me feel good… looking good as a result is an added bonus,” she told Vogue.
Lisa didn’t stop working out during her pregnancy. “The first trimester I did nothing. I think with the first baby one is always more cautious. Plus I was working and filming until I was 5 months pregnant, so I had no energy to work out after the shoot. In my second trimester, I did Ballet Beautiful workout — you can find them on YouTube. They are mostly all floor exercises. I can’t do much for core toning, so keeping my bum and arms toned has been the focus. Around 6 months in, I started to mix up the Ballet Beautiful workouts with high resistance cross training for 20 mins, as well as SLT machine Pilates. Now in the final trimester, I’m probably working out four times a week as opposed to six — that’s all the energy I have,” she told Elle.
Lisa is all about cheat meals. When asked by Elle, she revealed that Chocolate is her go-to. “Something’s never change. Peanut butter has also been a big feature recently. I like to have chocolate granola for breakfast with whole milk and a big spoon of peanut butter in it. Or gluten-free bread with peanut butter and honey,” she added.