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Tyra Banks has done it all, including modeling, starting businesses, inspiring millions, writing books, acting, and, yes, experimenting with more than a handful of diets.
“I used to feel like my body was not mine,” Tyra told People in 2018. “I’ve been too thin or too big. And I used to feel like I was betraying people if I lost weight.”
And though she used to fall for fad diets, she's focusing on balance and feeling healthy these days. “I do not believe in diets. I have been on diets in the past. They are a bunch of bologna," Tyra said in a statement. "This is a lifestyle change. It’s not about being skinny. It’s about being in the best shape you can be.”
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To get there, Tyra has kept food journals and worked with a nutritionist. “My nutritionist says, 'If you bite it, write it,'"she previously told Women's Health. "Writing down everything that you put in your mouth really helps. I don’t count a damn calorie. But when I’m really trying to eat healthy, I write everything down. It really holds me accountable and puts me on a healthier path.”
Now, she's hosting Dancing With the Stars and launching a whole new business venture focused on her fave food: ice cream. (Yep, her latest creation is an ice cream brand called SMiZE Cream.)
“Right now, I am 25 pounds heavier than I was on the cover of a very famous swimsuit magazine that came out last year,” she told Harper's BAZAAR in a video. (She's talking about the 2019 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.)
Here's exactly what Tyra eats in a day to feel her healthiest and happiest.
Breakfast
Tyra starts her day with black coffee. But, she gets plenty of flavor in before she pours it in her mug, because she usually goes for vanilla- or caramel-flavored beans, she told Harper's BAZAAR in a video. She's also a matcha fan.
She has a whole bagel routine that's seriously impressive:
"I cut the bagel I half and then I scoop out aaaall that extra bagleisation and put that on the side," she told Harpers BAZAAR. "Then I take my whipped cream cheese and I dig deep into that pot if it. And I fill up the entire scooped out bagel rounds like a moat." She pops her cream cheese-filled creation in the microwave to make it warm and creamy as-can-be.
Lunch
Finding time for lunch is tough for the multi-business mogul slash supermodel slash TV host. Lunch isn't often a sit down affair, so Tyra's solution is snacks—and lots of them, she told Harper's BAZAAR.
When she does have a second to sit down, though, Tyra loves eating at a local diner. "Diners are a girl's best friend," she wrote on Instagram.
Another quick-but-fun lunch solution: Tyra hits up multiple fast food restaurants, orders burgers, and compares them, she told Harper's BAZAAR. It may not be scientific, but sounds delish.
Snacks
Tyra doesn't skimp on healthy snacks, and has a dedicated "snack box" at her office. In it, you'll find everything from natural licorice, to bean chips, to corn chips, to cauliflower puffs, she told Harper's BAZAAR.
She's also "nuts for cashews," according to a recent Instagram post. "They are so rich and tasty to me," she wrote.
Though she's all about convenient grab-and-go eats and isn't much of a chef, Tyra has perfected on go-to snack: candied bacon. She makes it by coating bacon in Sriracha and maple syrup and topping it with black pepper. Then it goes in the oven until starts to caramelize. “It’s almost like candy,” she said in the Harper's BAZAAR video. “It is so good.”
Dinner
Tyra goes all-out at dinnertime, doing taste tests of different restaurants' versions of the same dishes with her son. "For dinner, I love doing something that's a little special and a little bit indulgent," she shared in her Harper's BAZAAR video. “We line it up and then we score the different restaurants with the same item. The next time you order, you know where to order from."
Often on the trial list: hamburgers and Mexican food.
Dessert
Considering Tyra is working on her own ice cream brand, it's no surprise she loves herself a nice frozen treat.
"One of my favorite things in the world is ice cream," she wrote on Instagram. "As an avid entrepreneur, I’ve always wanted to create an ice cream company with amazing flavors for you to enjoy. But great ice cream just wasn’t enough. I wanted to surprise and delight you, too. SMiZE Cream is debuting early Fall! So, what IS SMiZE Cream? Well…it’s a new, premium ice cream packed with sweet, savory, and scrumptious goodies PLUS a super-secret edible surprise inside each serving called a SMiZE Prize."
Sign me up.
Jennifer Nied is the fitness editor at Women’s Health and has more than 10 years of experience in health and wellness journalism. She’s always out exploring—sweat-testing workouts and gear, hiking, snowboarding, running, and more—with her husband, daughter, and dog.
