Lauren Ash is an extremely successful actress. She first broke out playing the character Dina on the hit NBC sitcom, Superstore. Ash currently plays Lexi on the ABC sitcom, Not Dead Yet. In January, Ash shared a humorous reel on Instagram. In it, she was working out in black clothes and stared at a fire alarm, as if she were going to pull it to get out of exercising. She captioned the post, “Love at first sight.” How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Lauren Ash stays in shape and the photos that prove they work.
Ash is open about her struggle with PCOS, and she’s not afraid to defend herself from hateful comments. She did this in the caption of this Instagram post talking about a surgery she had. “For now, I remember that day 5 years ago that was absolutely terrifying and I am so happy that my body is so strong and healthy today,” she wrote. “And for everyone making assumptions about my weight loss, accusing me of secret lipo and all sorts of madness, just stop. I am a person who lives with chronic illness. It can take years or a lifetime to get chronic illnesses in line. And I have. It’s a major accomplishment in my life. I didn’t go on a diet. And when I’ve tried to explain publicly, I’ve been called a liar. So just remember, you never know what someone is going through behind closed doors. My personal motto is ‘I never regret choosing kindness’. And I recommend it to all.”
In an interview with Women’s Health, Ash talked about her fitness secrets. She says that she works with a personal trainer. “I know that fitness is an important part to not just managing my illness but also staying healthy throughout my life. So I found a way to love it even when I hate it: I partnered with my friend Alicia Todisco who also happens to be an amazing personal trainer. She makes it fun by changing up my routine constantly (we mix circuit training with strength training) and it keeps me accountable because I love hanging out with her.”
Ash tells Women’s Health that she wants to help others who have PCOS get access to important resources. “Since my Twitter reveal, I’ve also created the Instagram account PCOS Sisterhood to share my experiences and connect with other brave women dealing with this issue. It’s been life-changing. Talking to all these other women has helped me realize that if I—a privileged white lady with access to great health insurance, meal delivery services, and personal trainers—am struggling this much with PCOS, then I can’t imagine how much worse it must be for women without my resources.”
During the pandemic, Ash shared some of her wellness secrets with HollywoodLife. She says that she started growing her own vegetables. “I also planted a vegetable garden unrelated to quarantine, but the vegetables just kind of started to grow very conveniently, and I have these two different kinds of beautiful tomatoes that are basically going into everything we’re eating.”
Ash shared some of her favorite workouts with HollywoodLife. “A group of my girlfriends and I just started doing Zoom Zumba. So what we do is we put Zoom on our laptops and then we put a Zumba class that airs live on Instagram from this gym back in Toronto called Elle Fitness. And our beautiful instructor, Emily, leads us through some of the most flailing, ridiculous arm choreography dances. I’ve got to tell you, it’s the highlight of my week. It’s first of all, the only thing that has been making me want to exercise. I just want to nap. But this has been really joyful. It’s also been fun because we never would have done that. This group of girlfriends, we were all spread out in many different time zones and we never would have done this. So it’s been a nice silver lining.”