Bella Hadid is reminiscing about summer, especially a vacation she took back in July. The 25-year-old model posted a picture of herself relaxing on that trip, wearing a tiny black bathing suit with a white two-piece slip on top. “Angel,” said one admiring commenter. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Hadid 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!
Hadid has been riding since she was a little girl, and adores her horse Blue. Riding a horse for 45 minutes at a walk, trot and canter can burn up to 200 calories,” says Dr. Dennis Sigler, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horse specialist and professor in the department of animal science at Texas A&M University in College Station. “If you do something a bit more strenuous such as cutting or reining, that can come out to nearly seven calories per minute for the entire length of the riding period.”
Hadid makes a point of having a “work” persona that she keeps separate from her real authentic self. “The majority of the time when I meet people, they say, I just didn’t think you were going to be nice, that you were going to be this mean, scary dragon lady, or some kind of a sexbot,” she tells VOGUE. “That’s just not me, and if people have a better understanding of who I am, then I feel less alone within myself.”
Hadid kicks off her mornings by journaling and enjoying a healthy smoothie. “Using a combination of fruit with veggies will help keep the sugar content of your homemade smoothie down,” says registered nutritionist Kerry Torrens. “Lower sugar fruits include berries, fruits with stones such as peaches, apricots and plums, as well as citrus fruits, kiwi and avocado. These may be combined with vegetables including leafy greens like spinach and kale, as well as celery, cucumber and beetroot.”
Hadid enjoys Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food, especially hummus and gyros. “The classic ingredients involved in making a traditional hummus like chickpeas, sesame seeds and olive oil have beneficial properties including being anti-inflammatory,” says registered nutritionist Nicola Shubrook. “In fact, virgin olive oil is said to have an anti-inflammatory action which is on a par with ibuprofen.”
Hadid describes herself as deeply spiritual and says she has a deep interest in all religions. “Prayer is a lot like cognitive behavioral therapy,” says Stanford anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann. “It’s a way you attend to your own inner experience, let go of distracting thoughts and focus on more positive thoughts. By expressing gratitude, you shift attention from the way that things are going wrong to the ways they are going right.”