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Adriana Lima Eats Almost No Carbs and Works Out Two Hours Every Day in the Weeks Leading Up to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show

Yesterday, upstairs in Bobo in the West Village, Adriana Lima personally greeted the 20 to 30 fashion bloggers who came to eat lunch with her in honor of Victoria’s Secret’s new $2 million fantasy bra. The long table set for the meal was flanked on one end by the 142-karat bra — made from diamonds, sapphires, and topaz set in eighteen-karat white gold — and a layman’s version that’s actually affordable, encrusted with Swarovski crystals. If eating lunch with one of the hottest women in the world to talk about a bra sounds awkward, know that it certainly doesn’t feel normal. But they could not have found a better spokesmodel than Lima, who is more stunning in person than her photos and quite charming. When she is not working or spending time with or simply gushing about her baby Valentina, who turns 1 next month, she might be in the gym, or meeting with her nutritionist. One and a half months before each VS show, she kicks her diet and workout routine into overdrive. “I’m doing a combination of different protein shakes — it’s called Metagenics. And also, I only can eat green vegetables, everything grilled or steamed, or four ounces of any type of protein,” Lima tells us in her slightly accented English. “And usually that’s what I have for lunch and dinner, and every three hours in between I have a protein shake or cereal bar.” Indeed, when it’s Lima’s turn to order her meal, she speaks to the waiter at length, finally telling him, “Whatever you can do.” Her entrée, which is not on the menu, is the last to be brought out: a piece of chicken including bone and skin set atop green vegetables and carrots. She pushes the carrots aside and eats the rest.

So her diet is very low-carb. “Definitely zero carbs for sure,” she says. How does that feel? “Better actually. I feel healthier, I feel much healthier.” The Cut noted that we would pass out without a simple sugar here and there. “Because everybody’s different — that’s why I have a nutritionist. I go there, and he checks my blood, my breathing, everything to make sure what’s going to work for your body, you know? For me, for example, if I eat chocolate or have dairy I will feel puffy. Sometimes carbs make me feel puffy — it makes me swollen.” Lima naturally looked the opposite of puffy. “Because I haven’t been eating them! But you have to know — you have to pay attention, usually, to how you feel when you eat something. And I’m really liking it, the diets that I do now. Plus the workouts that I do.” Lima spends two hours in the gym every day in the six weeks before the show. Her routine consists of jumping rope and boxing. “And I don’t lift weights, I don’t like machines — everything I do is with my body weight,” she explains. “Every day’s a challenge, every day you’re stepping out and learning something new. So it’s wonderful — I like it a lot. It’s very intense, but I like it.”

Lima, who is down-to-earth despite her practically inhuman physical gifts, is rare for a model mom in that she is so vocal about the great amount of effort she put into maintaining her post-baby figure. She doesn’t just say she did yoga here and there, and that was enough. “I wanted to do it healthy,” she says. “I’m really looking to my future. When I get older, I want to really be in shape. And also working out is a great source of detox, you know? You sweat out all the toxins, the impurities come out. Also it helps with your mood, you look great, it helps with your skin, and also it helps with my immune system too. I never get sick when I work out. I have actually more energy. Working out should be a part of everybody’s routine. I know sometimes you don’t have time — that’s why I love jumping rope, because you can take it with you anywhere and you don’t need to do it, like, one hour. You can do it ten minutes and it’s like 45 minutes of running. So take your pace, you don’t need to do it fast, double turns and all that, you don’t need that.” Right: Most of us aren’t walking down a runway on national television with $2 million glitter boobs.

Speaking of cleavage, Adriana is always a fan, though it just became trendy for this fall season. “I think cleavage is always classy. Think about Marilyn Monroe, think about Sophia Loren. Think about a movie like Dolce Vita — you know, there are many beautiful, different women who can still dress up sexy with cleavage and still look feminine.” But does she watch Jersey Shore? “No, I don’t have time!” she grins. “I’m with my baby Valentina when I’m home! And my attention is there — all I listen to at home is a kids’ channel and kids’ music. I don’t have time for that.”

Adriana Lima Eats Almost No Carbs and Works Out Two Hours Every Day in the Weeks Leading Up to the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show