Yes, I'm Obsessed With Carrie Underwood.

Women's Health

I've got her new album Play On literally playing on repeat at the moment. But even if you're not a fan of her catchy country tunes, you might get something from this interview with Women's Health I dug up from the archives... 

When we catch up with Carrie a few weeks later, she's on the road again. Touring in more than 100 cities, she admits, can be tough. "I sleep with a light on in the bathroom so I can see where I'm at, because I wake up and have no clue!" Adhering to a disciplined lifestyle helps. "I'm very health conscious," she says, explaining that exercise and good nutrition aren't luxuries, but imperatives that pay dividends. "This whole tour, I haven't been sick once, and I think it's from taking care of myself."

Sticking to a fitness routine is actually easier while touring, thanks to the structured schedule. "Some weeks I'm super-duper busy, so I can only fit cardio in here and there," she says. On the road, however, "a lot of stuff happens in the afternoon, so I can get up and have a workout, which makes me feel awesome for the rest of my day." Plus, "there's just something sexy about feeling strong," she says. Carrie averages four to six morning sessions with her tour trainer, Eve Overland, each week. "And every night I'm onstage, I get another workout," she says.

Squeezing in sessions sometimes requires improvisation. "This morning I was told the equipment at the hotel gym was old and dangerous!" she says. "So we moved the furniture back and did squats, lunges, and crunches." During a stop in Florida, "we did a beach workout, running on sand, which is hard!"

When she's back in Nashville, Carrie hits her home gym, which has an elliptical machine, a bike, an abs ball, and free weights. She also uses kettlebells ("They don't take up much space and work a lot of different muscles"). Cardio workouts, like boxing and jumping rope, are her faves because "the endorphins make me feel good."
So does feeding her body healthy food. Though she grew up on a farm in Oklahoma "where everybody eats every kind of meat there is," Carrie became a vegetarian at 13. "Animals were my pets, and the thought of eating my pets freaked me out."

Carrie hits the local Whole Foods Market or farmers' market when she's on tour, and keeps a diary of what she eats. "Once you get into a routine of eating healthy, it hurts twice as much when you fall off the wagon," she says. "But it's nice to have a few bites of something you like. I'm not a sweets person, but I love pasta and pizza—oh, buddy!"