5 Exercise and Diet Secrets That Zendaya Follows to Stay Fit and Sexy

Zendaya is a 25-year-old American actress, singer, and dancer who appeared on Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People of the Year list in 2022. She has received many awards and accolades, the best of which is her Primetime Emmy Award.

The actress is famous for her slim figure and impeccable sense of style. She is a vegetarian and although she doesn't have a fixed diet and workout plan, she makes an effort to stay fit by including healthy food options as well as some generic workouts.

Zendaya's Diet and Exercise Secrets

Here, we will look at some of the features of Zendaya's diet and exercise plan that you may use to stay fit.

1. Know Your Body Type

In your fitness journey, the first step is understanding your body type. Zendaya is an ectomorph body type, which means that her body is naturally slim. She doesn't gain fat or muscle easily, even on having a lot of carbs and protein.

You would think that is a big blessing. However, like Zendaya, you need to be mindful of staying clear of unhealthy food and making the right food and exercise choices. If you are someone who piles on weight really quickly, you should choose a whole grain based diet and regular strength training along with cardios. Many actually have a combination body type, so experiment to see what works for you.

2. Keep Up with Daily Physical Activity

Zendaya doesn't workout in a gym regularly, but tries to keep her NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) high throughout the day. Being physically active and moving about as often as possible are absolutely necessary.

For example, the actress gets her exercise through her dance choreography practice, boxing, fight choreography practice (for her shows), and pilates. Zendaya also works out in preparation for her movie roles, where she may have to perform stunts or complicated dance forms and moves.

For instance, she built up her upper body and core strength to perform stunts on the trapeze for her role in The Greatest Showman. She worked with a personal trainer to gain muscle for the role of Anne Wheeler. She increased her upper body and core strength to do the aerial circus moves and acrobatic stunts required for the role.

Climbing stairs, carrying your grocery, mopping the floor, and gardening for a few hours are some non-exercise activities that will burn calories quickly.

3. Follow an Exercise Routine

The Shake It Up star does have a generic workout plan that she uses to stay fit on the days she doesn't have her choreography practice or pilates. She does the following exercises to maintain flexibility and keep her muscles strong.

Stretching

15-30 minutes of yoga

Jogging (800 m)

Knee push-ups (3 sets of 10 reps each)

Air squats (3 sets of 15 reps each)

Boxing (3 sets of 60 secs each)

Jump squats (3 sets of 30 reps each)

Wacky jacks (3 sets of 10 reps each)

Burpees (3 sets of 20 reps each)

Sit-ups (3 sets of 10 reps each)

Wide leg squats (3 sets of 15 reps each)

Inchworms (3 sets of 20 reps each)

Lunges (3 sets of 30 reps each)

4. Eat a Healthy Diet

Zendaya turned vegetarian at age 11, after she came across a slaughterhouse and was horrified to learn how meat came to her plate. She loves animals and became a vegetarian mainly for ethical reasons.

The actress, however, is not vegan and enjoys dairy products in moderation. She tries to eat a healthy and balanced diet, even though her ectomorph body allows her to binge on her favorites without guilt.

5. Keep It Simple

Consistency is the key to sustainable and long-term fitness. As you explore options, adopt simple practices like Zendaya does so you can be happy on your journey toward physical fitness. You will not feel guilty for occassionally going easy on cheat meal.

Although she's a vegetarian, the 'Dancing with the Stars' actress is not a fan of vegetables. With meat and vegetables out of her diet, it becomes difficult for her to get all the right nutrients. However, she does try to include vegetables in her food through her rice salads, in which she combines brown rice with vegetable broth, olive oil, sautéed veggies (onion, mushrooms, zucchini, and carrots), lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Her favorite breakfast is anything which has Nutella on it. Pancakes, berries, and nutella is her go-to choice when it comes to breakfast.

Zendaya doesn't drink coffee, energy drinks, or soda and hates plain water. She loves drinking juice, 'but not fancy people juice' - in her words. She usually drinks Tropicana or lemonade to stay hydrated.

In her busy and hectic schedule, she sometimes forgets to eat, for which she has snacks throughout the day. A cup of noodles with hot sauce is her go-to snack.

Takeaway

Zendaya's current diet and workout plan suggests she needs to make certain improvements for an overall healthy lifestyle. Although this routine works for the actress, you need to tune it according to your body type and lifestyle factors.

If you wish to try going vegetarian, there are plenty of vegetarian diets you can follow. So listen to your body and make a plan for diet and workout that you can follow through every day.