Rob Lowe loves talking about health and fitness. He’s been a spokesperson for Atkins since January 2018 and has given plenty of interviews in the past about his healthy lifestyle, including his diet, sleeping habits, sobriety, and fitness routine. Now 61, Rob just sat down with USA Today to talk about his current lifestyle and share some tips for healthier living. For Rob, we’re all just running out the clock, but in the meantime, the key to a better lifestyle is healthy eating and balance.

Cheat days: “When I really cheat, I go ham. It’s hot chicken. When I’m in New York, it’s my favorite pizza place. Or, if I’m in Philly, I’m getting a Philly cheese steak with a whiz on it. Maybe I’ll get The Apple Pan in LA and get a slice of pie after my burger. I mean, I know how to throw down.”

Junk food in moderation: Lowe credits his ability to eat junk food in moderation, while maintaining an athletic body, to the Atkins diet, which involves limiting carbohydrates and prioritizing protein and fat intake. Lowe says that he doesn’t track calories, simply eating until he feels full.

Lifestyle over fad diets: “For me, it’s a lifestyle instead of a diet, because, to me, diets are unsustainable. You get on a diet, you go off a diet, get on a diet, you go off a diet. This is all about sustainability for me and ease.”

His food intake correlates with his level of physical activity: How much Lowe eats also varies depending on his activity level − something heavily determined by whatever role he happens to be playing. For instance, during his five-year stint as Owen Strand on “9-1-1: Lone Star,” he ate much more than usual, focusing primarily on meat and vegetables. “It’s a really physical role. It’s a fireman. I’m in buildings. I’m crawling. I’m up ladders. I’m hanging. It’s a lot of travel. It was sort of physically demanding, so I want to put on mass. But, overall, what I do in my life doesn’t change.”

On the Ozempic Era: The industry has changed a lot since Lowe became the face of Atkins seven years ago. For starters, Ozempic and similar weight-loss medications have burst onto the scene − becoming a hot-button cultural and political topic in the process. Lowe says he has no issue with people using weight-loss drugs and views them as the future; however, he recommends people use them alongside traditional healthy eating. “You want to be able to sustain those goals once you make them,” he says. “These types of products are amazing to maintain what you’ve got. Whether you’ve got it from traditional dieting or whether you’re on a GLP-1, at some point you need to maintain it.”

He loves red meat: Red meat consumption is another hot diet topic fiercely debated online, but, for Lowe, it’s not one he’s personally fretted over. “Some people are watching red meat,” he says. “I love red meat. I have no issues with it.” Especially steak frites, he adds.

He avoids sugar like a caveman: As a general rule, Lowe says, the closer one eats like a “caveman,” probably, the better. He’s not overly strict about it, but it does mean he tries to limit processed foods and refined sugars as much as possible. “I can tell you one thing: Cavemen did not have Fruit Loops,” he says. “For me, sugar is the devil. That’s really the devil. It’s the most addicting thing in the world. It is the most addicting thing in the world, and it’s hidden in so many things. And it’s also flipping delicious.”

Sobriety is his biggest secret: “You get to a certain age, you can see it in people’s faces,” he says. “I know somebody who drinks. They get to about 50, you see it in their face in a way that you never would’ve seen it when they were younger. It just takes its toll.”

Get lots of sleep: “Literally, you can’t have dreams if you’re not sleeping,” he says. “My entire life has been built around my dreams, and I’m lucky enough to have a lot of them come true.” For Lowe, that’s not just a figure of speech. He says his stepfather was a Jungian analyst − a type of mental health professional who practices the branch of psychology founded by Carl Jung, who famously analyzed his clients’ dreams. Lowe’s mother, he says, kept a detailed record of her nightly dreams. Lowe says he pays attention to his dreams, too, even getting the idea for a game show, which he later sold, from one.

Time comes for all of us: “You just get away with murder, until the day you don’t,” he says. The actor’s seen it happen with his own kids − Edward, 32, and John. “They’re starting to make choices in what they eat that they never would’ve considered earlier, nor should they have. So there’s a time for all things. And, if you want longevity and youthfulness and vigor and health, at a certain point, you have to make that a priority.”

[From USA Today]

I think Rob’s right about sugar. If you’ve ever given it up for even a week, you’ll find that you go through a detox period. Afterwards, it tastes different and you feel better. As a woman in her (very) early 40s, I also agree with him about sleep, junk food moderation, having cheat days, and sobriety. It sucks when you realize that you’re at that age when you have to make the necessary lifestyle changes in order to maintain your health! For me, it was the sleep thing. On days when there is a lot going on (personally or politically), I have to force myself to go to bed instead of staying awake and doom scrolling.

Stress is a real factor in aging, too. Rob is one of those celebrities that seems to never age, and I know it’s probably part good genes, part lifestyle, and having the privilege to not stress out about real-life situations. That said, he’s one to put in the work rather than just get plastic surgery and then preach about how we need to eat better. (Not that he hasn’t had plastic surgery.) Rob has played so many characters over the years, but I think that Parks and Recs’ Chris Traeger is the most true to his real-life persona. I read this interview in that character’s voice. Give it a shot. Once you hear it, you won’t be able to read his interviews the same way.

Embed from Getty Images

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Team Coco Podcasts (@teamcocopodcasts)

Photos credit: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, IMAGO/Dave Starbuck/Avalon, Getty and via Instagram