Supermodel admits she needs to work harder to stay in shape now

May 6, 2010 17:41 GMT  ·  By

At 39, an age that is synonymous with retirement in modeling, Naomi Campbell continues to rank highest with haute-couture designers. Even though she’s always had good genes on her side and even bragged once about how she did not need to go on a diet, these days, Naomi works harder to stay in shape. Her best ally remained the Maple Syrup Detox Diet, she said in a recent interview with Oprah, as cited by the Daily Mail.

Detox diets in general are seen by nutritionists and health experts as a complete waste of time and money, while also being very detrimental to the slimmer’s health because they’re nothing short of a fancy way of starving oneself. However, Naomi doesn’t quite see things that way, admitting that, every once in a while, she needs to give her body a “breather” by putting herself on one such diet. Her choice is the Maple Syrup Diet, which Beyonce also used once when she had to drop a few pounds fast for a movie role.

“Naomi Campbell once claimed she preserved her good looks by smoking, drinking occasionally – and never dieting. Eleven years later, the supermodel has to work rather harder at maintaining her beauty. Miss Campbell – who turns 40 later this month – has revealed that she diets on a cocktail of Maple syrup, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and water. ‘I try to do this three times a year,’ she said. ‘The most I’ve ever done it for is 18 days. It’s good just to clean out your body once in a while.’ Her comments, made in an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey on US TV, are a far cry from her remarks in 1999,” the Mail wrote.

Other allies Naomi has in the fight against the extra pounds include her boyfriend Vladimir Doronin and a fun outdoor activity, jumping rope. “If there is bread on the table, he’s like: ‘Don’t eat bread’,” she said of how Doronin, whom she calls her “fitness guru,” helped her fight temptation when around food. As for sports, Naomi likes to keep the weight off while also having fun. “The rope is great for your face; you lose a lot on your face when you do the rope,” she explained of her favorite workout exercise.

In the same interview with Oprah, the highly controversial model also explained where her temper issues stemmed from, saying they weren’t due to a diva behavior but rather a sense of “abandonment” she’d been experiencing ever since she was a child.