**By Sarah Blake
The Supermodel host reveals how you can look great for summer.**
She’s one of the world’s most beautiful women — the creative force behind Cozi swimwear and the face of Make Me A Supermodel — but even the former Miss Universe has days when she doesn’t want to look in a mirror. Jennifer Hawkins shares her bikini body secrets with Woman’s Day, and reveals how the right attitude, clever workout tricks and a healthy approach can make your summer beach body dreams an eye-catching reality.
Do you ever find it hard to get enthusiastic about exercise?
I’m lucky because I grew up doing lots of sports and I am always ready to exercise. I love it, I know it sounds weird but it’s sort of my favourite part of the day. But it’s also important to remember that you need to allow yourself some time off from exercise — if you keep going and going then your body can’t recover and you lose the motivation. I try to have a day off every three days or so.
I have friends who hate exercise and the best advice I can give them or anyone is to just give it a go. You don’t have to join the gym or be extreme about it — start by taking a 20-minute walk twice a week and then the rest will follow.
Everyone is different, though — some people just hate the gym and that’s fair enough. You just have to find what’s right for you and not give up if you don’t find it straight away.
How do you motivate yourself if you’re feeling sluggish?
If I’m sluggish, which isn’t too often, I have a rest… that’s your body telling you to rest. I eat pretty well, so I feel good most of the time. Sometimes the words Cozi Cozi Cozi come into my head and boom, I’m up.
Is there a healthy way to drop a dress size really quickly?
Quickly, as in a few weeks? Yes. Just cut out all starchy foods and ramp up the exercise — it really works. I try to avoid any processed foods and white food in my normal diet, but cut it out completely when I’m getting ready for a swimwear shoot. The white food ban isn’t a strict rule because life gets pretty boring when you make too many rules, but it’s a great one to keep in mind.
Also, drink lots of water in the lead-up to a big day — be it a wedding or a bikini unveiling — but don’t drink so much on the actual day that you will be feel bloated.
And replace your milky cappuccinos with macchiatos — I’m a big fan of caffeine and don’t think you need to cut it out of your diet.
Do you get ever nervous about wearing a bikini?
It’s one element of my job to look like I am comfortable wearing next to nothing, but that isn’t always the case. My work doesn’t have summer or winter — I have to be bikini-ready all the time, so I work off a very healthy base. I might have a period where I know I’m not doing swimwear so I can have a choc top at the movies, but I don’t really go crazy on the naughty food — I don’t really enjoy the aftermath.
For more from Jennifer Hawkins, see this week’s Woman’s Day (on sale Oct 20).
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