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 Texas beauty queen Julia Anderson, 24, earned $100,000 and the title of “America’s most beautiful person” earlier this year when she won ABC’s reality TV show True Beauty. (Supplied photo) |
It ain’t easy being beautiful — even for Julia Anderson.
The 24-year-old Texas beauty queen earned $100,000 and the title of “America’s most beautiful person” earlier this year when she won ABC’s reality TV show True Beauty.
The series, produced by Tyra Banks and Ashton Kutcher, featured 10 beautiful people in what they thought was a contest based solely on their outer beauty.
Unbeknownst to the photogenic contestants, they were also being judged on their inner beauty.
As part of her victory, Anderson was featured in People Magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People issue.
But as the down-to-earth brunette tells Sun Media in an exclusive phone interview from Los Angeles, she works hard at taking good care of herself, especially when it comes to keeping fit.
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“First of all, the camera really does add 10 pounds,” she says with a chuckle. “And because of that, you really have to make sure that you’re in tip-top shape.”
Anderson, a fit 130 pounds at five-foot-seven, trains with weights most days of the week at 24 Hour Fitness in West Hollywood.
The reality TV star does three exercises for each bodypart and three sets of each exercise.
“I like to do each bodypart at least once a week, but sometimes twice. It all depends on how committed I am that week,” she laughs. “I switch it up all the time. I like free weights, machines and medicine balls.”
Anderson follows up her weight training, which varies in duration depending on her schedule, with 30 minutes of cardio — usually the StairMaster.
And it doesn’t hurt that the Fort Worth product now lives in southern California.
“The lifestyle is completely different than it was in Texas. You really can walk to so many place just like in New York,” explains the correspondent for The Tyra Banks Show who has two dogs — an English bulldog and a miniature Maltese.
“So there’s a lot of walking.”
It’s only been in the last couple of years that Anderson has started pumping iron. Growing up, she was a dancer. Taking dance classes seven days a week kept her in amazing shape.
Then she stopped dancing. And then her physique started to soften, that is until about two years ago when Anderson got serious about working out.
She managed to firm up her body once again, although she didn’t see the change on the scale.
“I’ve lost inches, but I’m still the same weight just because I’ve gained a lot of muscle,” she explains.
“Now, if I don’t work out one day, I feel like crap. Exercise is one thing that I literally cannot live without.”
Another thing is sweets.
“Anything that has sugar in it, it’s so hard for me to stay away,” she confesses. “Right now in my purse I have Starburst, Hot Tamales and Skittles. I love my candy, but all in moderation. You just have to learn what your body can handle and what it can’t.
“I know if I eat 10 Starbursts today, then I have to go home and do some pushups or something.”
Sounds rather Spartan, but the former Miss Teen Texas — whose mostly clean diet includes lean meat, salads, vegetables, fruit and eggs — is careful not to fall into the unhealthy Hollywood trap of becoming a bony waif. She’s content with her curves.
“I don’t want to be one of those stick-thin people that girls look up to because that’s just not real,” she says. “Some people can do it. But for most of us in the world, that’s impossible. We would be sick and so ill forever.
“I just want to make sure I’m portraying a healthy lifestyle that other people can look up to.”
Indeed, for this American belle, beauty — and health — is more than just skin deep.
Julia’s fitness tips:
1) Drink lots of water.
2) Don’t deprive yourself of treats. Everything in moderation.
3) It’s not just about looking good. When you look good, you feel good. And when you feel good, you look good. The two go hand-in-hand.
Cary Castagna is a certified personal trainer through Can-Fit-Pro. If you have a story for Keeping Fit, e-mail Cary at cary.castagna@sunmedia.ca.