Eva Mendes’ Post-Baby Diet and Workout Revealed by Trainer Harley Pasternak

Eva Mendes
Photo credit: Imdb

Bombshell actress Eva Mendes seems to have gone back to her pre-baby weight and figure and all within five months after giving birth to her second child with Ryan Gosling.

The star’s post-baby figure looks fantastic; so much so, that she showed it off on the May cover of Women’s Health magazine. Harley Pasternak helped get Mendes’ body back by having her follow his five-factor diet, a program many stars, including Halle Berry, follow. The basic premise of Pasternak’s program is to eat five meals a day and work out five days a week.

Eva Mendes

Photo credit: Imdb

Celebrity fitness trainer Harley Pasternak created the 5-Factor Diet not so much as a traditional diet, but as a lifestyle plan to be followed regularly – not just when you need to lose weight. The main idea behind Pasternak’s diet is that everything, even exercise, is done in fives.

The five meals a day that are eaten on this diet are made up of five parts:

#1. Lean protein such as chicken, low fat dairy, and fish;
#2. Complex carbohydrates (quinoa, lentil, beans, and oatmeal are good examples);
#3. Good sources of fiber;
#4. Healthy fats such as olive oil;
#5. Water or sugar-free beverages.

Foods recommended for this diet are low-glycemic, low in sugar, low in carbs, gluten-free, and high in fiber and protein. Processed and junk foods are not allowed. Foods that are recommended for consumption include chicken breast, salmon, seeds, nuts, egg whites, fish, cottage cheese, and low-fat milk.

Mendes has said that she believes eating what you want in moderation is a good idea, and presumably, she does this on the two days a week she isn’t following the 5-Factor Diet.

She also doesn’t eat meat because she doesn’t agree with factory farming practices that are prevalent in the U.S. A great side effect of dumping meat for her, she says, is brighter and healthier skin – a claim a few other celebs have said about their vegetarian lifestyles.

Eva Mendes’ Workout Routine

Some exercises that the actress does to stay fit are running, sprinting, yoga, weight lifting and hiking; sometimes she takes her daughter, Esmeralda, with her.

Like many people, she admits to not loving having to work out but does it because she knows it is necessary. She runs four to five times a week and does a variety of styles: distance running, intervals, and running uphill. Pasternak works with Mendes on her strength training a few times a week.

When not running, Mendes follows the 5-Factor fitness plan Pasternak developed to go along with his diet. This fitness plan lasts 25 minutes and is done in five segments:

  • Cardio warm-up
  • Upper-body strength training
  • Lower-body strength training
  • Core exercises (lots of crunches and twists)
  • Fat-burning cardio work

The five steps help develop a toned, muscular body and focus on each part of the body.


Sources:
“EVA MENDES LIKES TO DIET & EXERCISE IN FIVE’S,” Daily Vitamina web site; http://dailyvitamina.com/12544/eva-mendes-likes-to-diet-exercise-in-fives/, last accessed September 9, 2016.