Newly-crowned Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters has a crazy-busy schedule that leaves no room for routine. Here are the hacks she uses to stay in shape.
In the early hours of this morning Miss South Africa Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters became the second South African to be crowned Miss Universe. As Miss South Africa, Demi-Leigh already had a hectic schedule, packed with appearances, charity work and other responsibilities. And as Miss Universe, those commitments are going to increase tenfold!
Watch Demi-Leigh being crowned…
Demi-Leigh has always been a sporty girl. At school she played hockey and ran short and long distance. “Fitness is in my blood, I love keeping fit and healthy. It’s ‘me’ time,” she told us at a PopUpGym event in Sandton just days before jetting off to Vegas for the Miss Universe pageant. But when you’re always on the go, that doesn’t leave much time for a gym routine. Here are the sneaky fitness and diet hacks she uses instead…
READ MORE: This is the exact workout Lesley-Ann Brandt used to get in shape for action roles.
1. Prep is everything.
“When Miss South Africa happened, I had to adapt quite a bit and what I learnt was to prepare,” says Demi-Lee. On a Sunday she preps her meals for the coming week and freezes them. That way, she has a healthy meal ready to defrost and there’s no temptation to swing by the drive-through. “Don’t cook your veggies fully,” she advises. “That way when you reheat them in the microwave they won’t go soggy.”
Demi-Leigh getting her fitness on with PopUpGym’s Khethiwe Mlangeni and Letshego Zulu, WH deputy ed Wanita Nicol and Next Fitness Star Inge Viljoen
READ MORE: This woman’s amazing 45-kilo weight loss was a big middle finger to the mean girls at school.
2. Eat before you go out.
When your job is to attend events, there’s a kaleidoscope of cheat meals just waiting for your willpower to falter. And Demi-Leigh’s sweet-tooth doesn’t exactly make things easy. “Before I go to events, I always eat. I don’t fall for the cupcake temptations,” she says.
Watch the video of Demi-Lee’s interview with Women’s Health…
3. Get a workout to go.
“I’m in hotels basically all the time, I live out of a bag,” says Demi-Lee. “So my trainer designed a hotel room workout for me.” When she doesn’t have access to a gym or equipment, she uses this body-weight routine as her go-to workout. Push-ups don’t require equipment and a hotel bed is the perfect height for triceps dips! “Or run the stairs,” says Demi-Leigh. “Do whatever you can. You can always make a plan.” She even confesses to doing squats while brushing her teeth!
Looking for a great hotel room workout? This full-body fat-burning routine uses zero equipment and tones you up in just 15 minutes!