It’s the often- heard line that stick-thin celebs spew out, making us sick with envy: “I eat like a pig and I hate the gym..I just have a really fast metabolism.”
But Glee’s Lea Michele has a refreshingly honest approach to her perfectly-toned physique is down to good old fashioned slogging it out at the gym.
The all-singing, all-dancing 24-year-old watches what she eats – she tries to stick to a vegan diet – but doesn’t obsess about food, and still tucks into big Italian Sunday dinners when she visits family.
Not only is Lea honest about her diet and exercise regime, she’s also practical about it.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Shakira may follow the Tracy Anderson diet plan, which involves two hours working out six days a week and depriving your body of practically all food stuffs, but what normal person has the time or the will power for that?
Just like her level-headed Glee character, Rachel, Lea exercises in a practical way; taking hikes, going for bike rides and practising yoga. Or when she’s tight on time, she works out with the new Nike Training Club app on her iPhone, which is basically like a personal trainer in yo\r pocket, allowing you to fit in your workout anytime, anywhere.
The 80\20 rule (being good 80 per cent of the time, but allowing herself the odd treat) is her secret.
“I’m a part-time vegan because it’s not always possible to eat vegan when you travel with work,” says Lea.
“But the great thing about Los Angeles is that you can get loads of delicious vegan food. My favourites are began burrito and chocolate and coconut ice-cream.
“I’m a girl who eats, and I have my family to thank for that. My mother’s side is Italian, my father’s is Jewish. We’re the kind of family who, every Sunday night, have dinner with all 19 of my cousins.
“So I’ll have a big Italian dinner and I don’t give a crap because it makes me happy.
“Visiting my family in New York really re-charges my batteries”.
To counteract these big Italian feasts, Michele has a healthy, active lifestyle and job – her athletic figure is down to hard work and not ‘lucky genes’ like most actresses claim.
“It sounds cheesy, but I really believe that your body is a temple,” she says.
“I exercise and eat well and take good care of mine, which has given me a lot of self-confidence. Having a strong body has made me feel like a stronger person.
“I get outdoors a lot, I love to hike, ride my bike and rock-climb. They’re not just brilliant workouts, they’re like my therapy as they clear my head.
“I also do Bikram Yoga – I could be in that hot room all day”
Her high-octane role in Glee also gives the star a money-can’t-buy-you cardio workout.
“The dance routines are pretty punishing, especially when you have to do 50 takes”, she says.
“But when I realise how much fun I’m having with my best friends it just makes me want to do it again.”
Like her strong, determined character in Glee, Lea’s always been driven, and never succumbed to the pressures of Hollywood to conform to a certain image.
Self-assured but never cocky, she knew from a young age that she had what it took to make it in the acting world, although there were always people ready to knock her down because of her unique looks.
“I didn’t know I could sing until I auditioned for Les Miserables when I was eight years old”, she reveals.
“My friend was auditioning so I wanted to try out as well.
“My mother was like: ‘You can’t sing’, I’d never even tried. After the audition, I said: ‘Mom, I think they like me’. She said: ‘If we ever hear from them again, it’ll be a miracle’.
“I was a ballsy little kid, I felt no fear at all”.
Lea did get the part, and then spent her childhood acting on Broadway. After school, she went to L.A to break into TV and film.
“When I was growing up, so many people told me there was no place for me on TV, that I wasn’t pretty enough.
“L.A. is a tough city, when I first moved here from New York I wasn’t sure I’d fit in as there’s a definite idea of what’s beautiful”.
With Italian-Jewish heritage, Michele didn’t fit into the blonde-haired, blue-eyed ideal of what a young actress should look like.
“I was the only girl in high school class not to get a nose job,” she laughs.
“The great thing about Glee is that it gave me a chance – and proves that you don’t have to look like how everyone else looks to be beautiful and successful. Differences should be celebrated.
“I want to show young girls that you don’t have to do what all the cool kids do to turn out OK in the real world.
“I never was a party girl, even in high school, that wasn’t my scene. If you want to come over to my house and stay up all night, I think that is more fun”.
