Mark Abrahams/SelfGwyneth Paltrow has been busy making the rounds promoting her new cookbook, My Father's Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family & Togetherness. Yes, it's totally annoying that Gwyneth seems to be constantly telling us (via her website Goop.com) how we'd all be much better people if we could just be more like her, but is it really her fault that -- as her mother Blythe Danner says -- "she is so damn good at everything she does"?
In the May issue of Self, Paltrow shares an excerpt and a few supposedly yummy-yet-healthy recipes from her book. The Oscar winner, 38, also reveals how she maintains her fab physique and why she believes she's in the best shape of her life -- even after having two children!
Gwyneth Paltrow's Cardio Playlist
"I never thought that I'd be considered to have a good body," she admits. "I was bony up top and kind of dumpy on the bottom. But my trainer, Tracy Anderson, completely changed my legs, butt, arms, and stomach. I feel better than ever, too."
So how did Gwyneth transform her bod?
"I do 45 minutes of cardio five days a week, because I like to eat," she says. "I do Tracy's dance aerobics classes. It took me a long time to learn the choreography when I started. I was so uncoordinated! After 11 minutes, I'd pass out and cry and say, 'I can't do this anymore!' Now I can't live without it. I also try for 45 minutes of muscular structure work, which is toning, realigning, and lengthening. If I'm prepping for something or I've been eating a lot of pie, I do two hours a day, six days a week for two weeks."
Gwyneth's Tracey Anderson Workout
Gwyneth Paltrow, 38, says she started her workout regimen four years ago. Now, her husband -- Coldplay frontman …
OK, so most of us don't have an hour and a half to two free hours every day to hit the gym, but Gwyneth says that schedule is what works for her.
"I know if I put in an hour and a half, five days a week, I'm good. If I'm on vacation and, like, 'F--- it, I'm not working out,' I know what to do when I get back. A lot of women think, 'Oh, my God, I could never get there,' but I don't think that's true. It's simply relative to how much you put into it."
Gwyneth's Secrets to Healthy Eating and Her Rockin' Bod
Regardless of her intense workout regime, Gwynnie still has one problem area. "My butt! My butt, butt, butt," exclaims the actress. "When Tracy met me, she said that I had a long, square butt that she was going to redesign, and I was, like, 'Yeah? Good luck.' The amazing thing is, she was right! And it's still changing!"
Mark Abrahams/Self
Mark Abrahams/Self
Of course, when you have a fit figure like Gwyneth's, diet also plays a pretty big role. "I say I always eat right, but last night, I had fried clams, pasta with duck sausage, and two glasses of red wine. When I want to lose, I eat less pasta, bread and potatoes. Before last year's 'Iron Man 2' premiere, I did green juices and salads for three days."
But don't tempt her with a bag of barbecue potato chips. "They're my weakness," she smiles.
To read more with Gwyneth, pick up the May issue of Self, which hits newsstands on April 19.
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