You may know and love Lauren Conrad from her MTV days but the former TV star has come a long way. She's a New York Times best-selling author, fashion designer (for Kohl's and her own line, Paper Crown), lifestyle guru behind the site LaurenConrad.com, a philanthropist (her site TheLittleMarket.com helps empower female artisans around the world) and new mom to a seven-month-old. She also recently teamed up with Kellogg's to launch a cereal cafe in New York City (where you can of course, create the perfectly styled Instagram moment with your bowl of cereal).
We chatted with LC about her go-to time-saving wellness hacks—plus her refreshing approach to body confidence as a new mom.
Her quick go-to breakfast: "I created a bunch of recipes for Kellogg's cereal menu, and one that's off the menu is called the 'make me blush'—that’s probably closest to my everyday breakfast. I have rice crispies, almond milk, and strawberries so this is a version of that—but a little more fun because we added in some Sugarfina rose gummy bears and some strawberry milk, so it’s all pink! But I don’t get that wild every day. I do think it’s nice to get a little fruit in there. It’s quick. I've never been able to get into smoothies, but I’ve become much more of a cereal person in the last year or two."
Her approach to new year's resolutions: "It’s always nice to set goals for yourself and while new years resolutions aren’t always kept, it’s a nice reminder to look at the past year and see if there’s anything you’d like to change. For me, I’m pretty close to where I want to be health-wise. I would definitely like to be able to work out a little more this year— that’s more of a finding more time thing!"
Her time-saving workout philosophy: "If I’m going to work out I always do it with a girlfriend because if I’m able to catch up with a friend, and get in that time while also being active that’s always a win. One of my go-tos is a hike. We're so lucky in LA with the weather—this last weekend was like 80 degrees and we had a beach day! Or, I'll go to a studio class. I prefer boot camp like classes where I'm getting in my cardio, [strength training] floor exercises, and stretching all in one. I feel like I’m checking all the boxes and you do it in a short amount of time so it's great for my schedule. I’m not great with the slower stuff, I’ve never been able to enjoy yoga or anything like that. I like the more fast-paced, fun kind of classes."
How her approach to her body has changed: "I had a baby about 7 months ago so I’m pretty close to getting back to where I was—he’s very active so I spend most of the day kind of chasing him around, which helps! But I've realized that my body will never go back to what it was. It’s interesting because it’s something I was actually kind of worried about before getting pregnant—I thought it was going to be very difficult for me to adjust to my new body, because I obviously didn’t just expect to bounce back. Even though I look a little different, I’m just so in awe of the fact that I was able to make a person, so I'm proud of my body in that way. So the adjustments have actually been a lot easier than I expected it to be. I’m not so critical of my flaws because, big picture, it was a very small price to pay. I was much kinder to myself than I expected to be."
Her go-way way to de-stress: "There are a lot of things you can try to relax—like those sensory deprivation tanks. You basically sit in a tank of water for an hour. [The editors for LaurenConrad.com] tried that. I mean, that’s a bath to me, I have that at home! Getting in my car, driving somewhere, finding a parking spot, setting up a sitter to watch my baby, all of the things that would go into having a relaxing experience might make it not so relaxing! But [my husband and I] worked really hard to make our home a calm place, we’re pretty calm people and I find I don’t really have a lot of problem with stress. Most nights I take an epsom salt bath and just take my quiet time once my kid goes down. I do like adding lavender oil to relax, or sometimes if I just worked out and am sore I'll use a peppermint epsom salt. If I'm ever feeling sick I use eucalyptus oil—that’s as wild as I get with aromatherapy."
Her must-have beauty treatment: "I haven’t been able to do much to my skin or any intense treatments because of breastfeeding, so I do a lot of masks. I'll use a hydrating one, or a charcoal mask to detox. I’ve been keeping it simple and natural with my beauty routine since here's a lot that new moms can't use."
This article originially appeared on Shape.com.
