Don't Believe Her Sports Bra

She sweats! High School Musical sweetheart Vanessa Hudgens tells us how she quit junk food, shed kilos and uses exercise to stay energised for her new role in Powerless.

- Claire Connors

In the satirical comedy TV series Powerless (on M-Net), Vanessa Hudgens plays an office worker trying to lead a normal life, despite the fact that “normal” involves a gang of superheroes battling mid-air, leaving death rays and random objects shooting through the sky.

Vanessa’s life off-set presents a similar challenge, minus the electromagnetic weapons. In her trailer, a deflated “happy birthday” balloon off them up in a corner, Vanessa is just trying to eat a healthy salad in a world that’s raining pizza and doughnuts. “I did indulge [lately],” she says, nodding to the balloon and her 28th birthday. (Double whammy? It falls right around the holidays.) She ate more and exercised less and the scale crept up. But rather than beat herself up, she returned to her usual eating plan. “High fats and no carbs,” she says, spearing a hunk of avo in her lunchtime salad. (More on those avos later.)

“When I ate carbs, I would get that dip in the afternoon, where I felt really sluggish,” she says. “When I’m off them, my energy stays consistent throughout the day.” And though Vanessa insists this isn’t a diet – it’s “a lifestyle” – “since I got back to eating like this the last month or so, I’ve lost 10 pounds (4.5kg). That’s a lot for my height.” (She stands at 1.55m.) Working out, likewise, is now a crucial part of her world. “I don’t even have a choice anymore,” Vanessa says. “I work out to feel good and eat right to feel energised. It’s my life.”