Size 10 Serena Williams: “I don’t even know the D(iet) word”
July 5, 2010 in Beauty & Body Image, Serena Williams by Versus
Wimbledon Winner Serena Williams is in Harper’s Bazaar this month and she shares a lot of thoughts on body image, not dieting and workouts. Let’s take a look!
After she won the Australian Open in January she worked out a lot: “I wanted to get really fit. I wanted to lose some weight. So I’ve been doing Pilates and yoga, trying to lean out my body so I won’t be bulky.” Her regimen: Pilates two or three times a week and when she’s training for a tournament, “a couple of hours of hitting, then an hour or two of cardio and strengthening in the gym.” Also, when she’s at home in L.A., she runs the half mile up a hill to Venus’s house instead of driving.
But no dieting. “I don’t even know the D word,” she says with a laugh. There is a training eating plan, though: “Smaller portions of every meal, a lot of grilled or baked chicken or fish, and steamed veggies.” Her weakness? “ I can never turn down a good piece of cherry pie, but,” she continues, “all I know is that in 10 years, I don’t want to be as wide as this couch.”
It’s working: Williams, who adds that “Pilates gave me results within a week,” looks the best she’s ever looked and is now a size 10 instead of a 12.
Read more after the jump! And see Serena in a bikini HERE!
“Owning” her athleticism: “When I was six or seven in a swimsuit—I look back at those picture, and my arms are cut and my legs are strong,” she says. “I didn’t realize that I was really fit and most people aren’t. To this day, I don’t love my arms. People want more fit arms, but my arms are too fit. But I’m not complaining. They pay my bills.”
Serena’s body comparison to Venus: “I was 23 when I realized that I wasn’t Venus. She’s totally different,” she explains. “I’m super curvy. I have big boobs and this massive butt. She’s tall and she’s like a model and she fits everything. I was growing up, wanting to be her, wanting to look like her, and I was always fitting in her clothes, but then one day I couldn’t.” She pauses. “But it’s fine. Now I’m obviously good, but it’s a weird thing.”
On her favorite body parts: “Since I don’t look like every other girl, it takes a while to be okay with that. To be different. But different is good,” she says. She’s loving her new bob too. “I feel so much sexier with short hair. I wanted to reach inside me and feel better. I don’t want to hide behind a facade of hair.” Her favorite part of her body? “My smile. Does that count? I think a smile can make your whole body. Models, they look fabulous, but they don’t smile and they look so mad. But I like my smile, how it’s bright and it’s nice. Good thing my braces worked out.”
I have a lot of admiration for her as an athlete. She’s a beautiful, strong woman with a knockout smile.
She’s a great athlete, but I don’t think she’s pretty AT ALL. and she’s too toned. Just my opinion.
she’s an athlete. that’s why she is so toned.
Exactly she’s an athlete, what do you bloody well expect!
She’s too toned for my taste, that’s all. I know it’s because she’s an athlete but I still have the right to give my opinon.
nobody said you don’t have that right but because she works out she will be toned everywhere. she can’t help it.
Fair enough, but Serena is not some VS model who’s only job is to look good….she’s one of the few decent female tennis players in the world, so I’d rather see her muscular and play good tennis than look all dainty yet play like sh*t.
She’s toned, she’s sexy and she can play tennis exceptionally well – a total package!
Dear god people chill down.. she said she’s a GREAT athlete, DUH that is why she’s toned! ‘Golden Girl’ knows that. She just meant that it doesn’t suit her and she doesn’t look pretty because of it. I agree, she’s a great tennis player and YES it is good that she is toned, otherwise she probably wouldn’t win a single match, but she still looks ugly because of it.. in my view that is. Not that it matters, she sounds like a great person too.
That’s THE way to lose weight, simply by having fun and exercising, however since she’s an athlete, that’s all she does. Working out up to 3 hours a day ain’t a option for people who study/work/have kids or whatever. Doesn’t make it impossible to lose weight though so don’t use that as an excuse
very true,i agree with your opinion
I disagree with U. Serena is beautiful & has one of the BEST bodies in Hollywood, Sports & Entertainment. And of course, THE BEST butt. No one could disagree with that!
i agree with golden girl…shez not attractive or pretty 2 me either!
Serena is good looking, PERIOD! And Men go CRAZY over her Body, especially..Her backside. Serena is well endowed with great boobs, thighs & butt. Women would luv to have her body!!!
She’s not a conventional beauty, but there’s something so sexy about her strength! She’s a well-oiled machine…it’s like when you see a fast sports car, you must admire. I would take that any day over skinny-mushiness like Agyness Deyn, or over the euphemised “curviness” of some of those sized 18 plus sized models.
That sounded like a diet to me.
I think that’s just the lifestyle she has to lead to maintain her athletic body, not something she does only sometimes to lose weight.
Oooh to be a professional tennis player…
She is looking more fit these days. Good for her!
That’s her training diet plan, take note future commenters. Sounds like when she’s training she’s exercising most of her day. Sounds funnnn.
Versus, isn’t this comment a bit extreme?
Yes, it was very extreme. Anya writes the meanest comments I have ever read… luckily, you guys didn’t get see many of them. I banned her three times (!!), but she switched computers. Just ignore her comments… in case they pass through again. Sorry, I am not at the computer all the time to delete them right away.
@ anya : you know, writing such mean things about people isn’t gonna make your life any better. and i hope you get banned….for like, forever.
Serena is very muscular, but she also has the weight in feminine places – big bust and butt, with a super toned stomach. She’s an excellent example of a woman who has a larger skeletal structure and is therefore designed to carry more meat on her bones. Yet she is incredibly fit and healthy, and nowhere near overweight. She is the ideal weight for her bone structure, infact.
Serena is also proof of how misleading BMI is. She may well have a BMI in the supposed “overweight” range (that’s above 25), yet she is in fact nowhere near overweight. Someone could have a lower BMI than Serena, and they might be overweight because they have a smaller bone structure and higher body fat percentage (note that i said percentage, not amount… because it is the ratio which counts) than Serena does. Serena has a fair bit of body fat, but it’s a low percentage of fat in relation to her heavy bones and high muscle mass.
Asthetically, personally i prefer a daintier figure, such as Nina Dobrev or Leighton Meester. However, i have heard of some men who think that Serena is smoking hot! It just goes to show how tastes differ, don’t you think? =D
Regarding your comment on the BMI calculator, it wasn’t intended to be used for athletes; afterall, BMI takes no account of body fat and muscle mass.
A lot of people criticise BMI but I think they forget that it is used a rough guide for an ordinary lifestyle, i.e. a lifestyle that would not involve everyday high activity like atheletes, dancers etc. Even for an ordinary lifestyle it can only be used as an indicator.
she needs muscle to perform her best. i think she is pretty and tries to work what she has. Her smile is gorgeous….models may get paid to be skinny and look good in lingerie but serena gets paid to win tennis games so of course she is going to have to work out like crazy and be extremely fit
agree. that muscle is what makes her a tennis legend. i think she’s pretty. her face is symmetrical and she does have a gorgeous smile. the braces did pay off! I’m very partial to strong/curvy bodies so I think she looks awesome on the court… she does sometimes look awkward when they try to dress her up like a model though.
sorry but she looks more like a man than a woman. not attractive IMO in the least.
Never seen a man with a figure like that before!
she’s looking great, much prefer the bob to the cornrows!
I respect this woman and I think she shouldn’t care about warped beauty standards…she’s an athlete after all, and naturally very muscular, which is a good thing IMO. I like her body and admire her for what she does. Good that she sounds confident.
I remember reading a few articles comparing weight training to pilates and many people in favour of the former argued that pilates hasn’t produced any outstanding atheletes but it would seem that some top athletes do use pilates.
Even though I don’t look at her body and wish I looked like that (though I doubt I’d have any complaints if I did!) I’m in complete awe whenever I look at her. She looks as though she was carved by Athenian sculptors!! No wonder men drool all over her!
Honestly, she has a great body. I love really fit women. It doesn’t suit everyone, but if you can work it, good for you!
in addition to being a legendary tennis player, she sounds like a really nice, down to earth person. somebody you’d like to have a cocktail with… or jog up a hill for half a mile lol I like her even more after reading this.
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In a street fight, I bet she can beat up Andy Roddick any day.
if she can marry me i will appreciate
I love her. It’s great to see a natural woman I can look up to as beautiful. Not the over addicted plastic dolls that cover most of the magazine covers. We need to teach our children beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.