James Macari/SHAPE MagazineIf you’ve wondered how Carrie Underwood regained her figure after giving birth to her son Isaiah 10 months ago, she’s spilling the secrets in November’s issue of Shape magazine. The health and fitness devotee exercised through her pregnancy and only gained 30 pounds, the recommended amount.
The fact that she had to have a C-section did slow her down, since you have to wait six weeks before you can work out after the operation. “Within 20 days, though, I was able to begin walking slowly on the treadmill and around my neighborhood,” she recalls. “It felt so good to be active! Now we box and we hike trails, among other things. I like to continually mix up my routines to stay motivated.”
But Carrie does have one go-to routine. “My favorite workout is Tabata, which I can do at home in about a half hour. I’m in love with it! It’s hard, but it really works,” she says, going on to reveal the specifics. “I choose seven different exercises, like squats, lunges, or pushups, and do eight rounds of each — 20 seconds on, 20 seconds off for eight rounds. It really revs up my metabolism. When I’m done, I can handle anything.”
As for what she eats to stay thin, she does have a secret for waking up with a flat tummy. “I’m vegan and I love bread, but recently, I started making dinner a breadless meal,” she says of her daily routine. “I’ll have a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, and I’ll make a sandwich on Ezekiel bread for lunch, but in the evening I’ll have protein and vegetables and no bread. When I wake up, my belly is flat!”
But you shouldn’t think Carrie’s vigorous exercise and clean eating means she doesn’t enjoy herself. She says she’s learned to give herself a break, enjoying her coffee in the morning and trying to take 10 minutes every day to simply sit quietly. And sometimes at night, she confesses she’ll let herself sip a glass of red wine and just relax.
You can read more in the November issue of Shape, which comes out next Tuesday, just ahead of the Friday release of Carrie’s Storyteller album.
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