Megan Fox did this one exercise as soon as she could work out after having a baby

Megan Fox has always been candid about her physique.

Last year, the actor spoke openly about the plastic surgery procedures she’s undergone and told “Call Her Daddy” podcast host Alex Cooper she hopes her honesty “sets some people free.”

“I’m just going to go through all the things that I’ve done, because I feel like there’s this stigma, and I’m not gonna win,” Fox said.

The 38-year-old exudes confidence on the red carpet, but she’s also been real about her body image struggles over the years.

“The journey of loving myself is going to be never-ending, I think,” she told Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in 2023.

Fox’s refreshing honesty is one of the many reasons she’s so relatable, and she’s not afraid of bluntly admitting that staying fit isn’t easy. Wondering how she maintains her famous form? Here’s everything she’s said about diet and fitness.

She makes time for strength training

Over the years, Fox has learned to prioritize strength training.

“She’s resistance training with me at least three days a week,” Fox’s personal trainer Harley Pasternak previously told Us Weekly.

She’s had success using Helix Lateral Trainer machines

When it comes to cardio, Pasternak said she has seen results using a Helix Lateral Trainer machine.

“Look at her now,” he previously told Us Weekly. “She looks as good as she’s ever looked if not better.”

Per Helix Fitness, the machine works the body “in all three planes of human motion.” The machine resembles an elliptical but it moves side-to-side, powered by each of your feet moving in circles.

“This means that more muscles are being worked during every moment of a workout, translating to increased calorie burn and quicker achievement of targeted heart rates,” the brand’s website reads.

She worked hard to stay fit while pregnant

Finding the energy to work out while pregnant isn’t always easy, but Fox worked with Pasternak to stay fit while she was pregnant with her first child.

“We worked out throughout her entire pregnancy. She was a model of health through the whole process. She really educated herself big time and had a great relationship with her physician so she really understood the safe boundaries of how to exercise and eat well during pregnancy,” he told People in 2012. “As a result, she knew how active she could be and she was very consistent and didn’t overdo it.”

When necessary, the trainer modified certain exercises as Fox’s pregnancy progressed.

“As a result, she was so fit at the point of delivery that it actually went more easily and she was able to get medical clearance relatively quickly to come back and keep working out,” he said.

She hit the gym shortly after giving birth

After Fox gave birth to her first two children, she was eager to get back into her fitness routine.

“Definitely within a few weeks she was able to come back and (work out). We didn’t start at full speed — we eased into it,” Pasternak told People in 2012.

As for the contents of her workout, Fox stuck to the same exercises as she did before having a baby. “We just focused more on the process and adjusted our program to suit her specific needs and limitations,” Pasternak said.

To account for the special needs of a postpartum body, Pasternak also revamped Fox’s fitness routine a bit.

“(We’re) really focusing on the muscles behind her body and to draw her posture back. She was basically just pregnant for the better part of two years in between carrying babies,” he previously told Us Weekly. “So we got strength in her upper back with back rows, dumbbell rows, and the lower back with the Superman (stretch) for lower back.”

She’s into circuit training

Like any working mom, Fox’s time is limited, so every second of her workout matters.

“I exercise really hard twice a week. I got my a– kicked this morning before I came here! I do bursts of cardio with really heavy weights. Circuit training,” she previously told E! News.

While working with Pasternak, Fox tried the trainer’s Five Factor workouts, which he described while talking with People.

“They are five phases: a minimum five minute cardio warm-up, a lower body sculpting exercise, an upper body toning exercise, then an abdominal sculpting exercise, and finally, a five minute cool down,” he said.

She followed a disciplined post-pregnancy diet

As a mother of three, Fox knows all about pregnancy weight, but she has a hardcore approach to postpartum weight loss. While talking with E! News after the birth of her second child in 2014, the star said she followed a very disciplined diet to help her get back in shape.

“I cut out all bread and those sort of carbohydrates. No crackers, no pretzels, no chips. Nothing unhealthy,” she said. “The worst thing I put in my body is coffee, once a day.”

She eats ‘super healthy’

Fox’s on-again-off-again flame Machine Gun Kelly applauded her commitment to healthy eating while talking with People about their go-to late-night treats in 2020.

“She’s probably ordering sushi,” he said. “She eats super healthy. Everything is gluten-free and organic on her menu.”

Pasternak also told Glamour his client is a big fan of salmon.

“She will have salmon at least once a day. She’ll go have a bunch of salmon sashimi and she’ll have a cucumber salad and miso soup and some edamame,” he said.

While chatting with Us Weekly about Fox’s diet, Pasternak offered the following insight into her routine.

“She eats carbs,” he said. “She just eats the right carbs. She has a low-sugar diet. It’s so sustainable, it’s so moderate, she’s not doing any zero this/zero that.” 

Pasternak went on to share that Fox typically eats three meals and two snacks a day.

“She’ll have protein, fiber, and a healthy fat every meal. She is living a low-sugar lifestyle, definitely… She has definitely buckled down and she is amazing,” he said.

She prepares a lot of her own food

Eating out is fun, but Fox tries to prep her own meals at home when she can, per Pasternak.

“She’s sticking to it, and she realized she doesn’t have to make elaborate meals in the kitchen. In the morning she’ll do a smoothie or an egg white omelet with some avocado as healthy fats. And she’ll have hummus and cut veggies as a snack and a salad with grilled chicken for lunch,” the trainer previously told Us Weekly.

“Megan’s favorite is the red smoothie, which is whatever berries are in season, chai tea, a scoop of protein powder and (a) little bit of almond milk,” he told People.

She avoids alcohol

In a 2022 interview with Glamour UK, Fox said she hadn’t had a drink in over a decade.

“I’m always completely sober,” she said. “I don’t even drink a glass of wine. I don’t ever smoke. I don’t drink coffee. I’m super strict with my diet and I never deviate.”