Drew Barrymore Only Wears Vintage Tees to Work Out—Proof She's Still the Coolest

We already love Drew Barrymore for her movies (Never Been Kissed is on my list of all-time faves), red carpet looks, beauty and home décor brands, and just her general charming and delightful personality. Honestly, raise your hand if you love Barrymore and consider her a close, personal friend even though you've never even met her. Yeah, I thought so.

So when we found out that Barrymore is also big into the health-and-wellness scene, that might have made us love her even more than we thought was possible. She has been candid about her own wellness journey, from talking about weight loss to posting about her favorite workouts to sharing the supplements that help her during her workouts because she has "the hips of an old German shepherd."

Her honest, very real approach to wellness is much appreciated and needed more than ever—because who hasn't looked on Instagram and seen the "perfect" wellness and fitness routines of some of your favorite influencers only to feel intimidated and discouraged?

Barrymore currently has a partnership with Emsculpt, a noninvasive treatment that targets fat cells and strengthens and defines muscles, and we got a chance to chat with the actress, producer, and entrepreneur about all things wellness. See what she had to say about her wellness routine, her favorite workouts, and what she considers her feel-good meal below.

What's your definition of wellness? Do you have your own personal wellness motto?

I think my own personal wellness motto is just to be kind to myself because when I beat the shit out of myself, I don't tend to look any better, and I never feel better. So, you know, knowing what I need to do in order to take care of myself, whether that's reading with my kids and getting my daughter to the library to check out that book so her summer reading list is being checked off or getting to an exercise class or seeing my friends. And then, of course, [asking myself], have I checked all the boxes at work today? We all have so much on our plates, and yet we get really frustrated with ourselves if we're not ticking off every box. And it's really hard to do that in the day of a life. So this whole elusive bitch called balance, I'm still waiting to find her. I've got her in my sights, though, for the first time, so that's kind of exciting. I think she's going to call me back.

What are some ways that you incorporate fitness and wellness into your everyday life?

Well, I don't do it every day. Now, thanks to Emsculpt and the pelvic floor Pilates trainings I've been doing, with those in tandem, [it has] made me have a really strong core, and so I'm able to work out much more and much more consistently. So that is a personal miracle in my own life because I was always getting injured, and then that would sideline me for weeks on end. It was just frustrating and disheartening, and it's just awful, like a bad cycle that I have finally broken. I'm so happy I can't even tell you, because I really do like working out. I don't go to clubs anymore with my friends, so I like dance cardio with my fellow moms in the morning, and when I can't go because I'm injured, it gets me really depressed.

I can't do it every day; I don't do it every day. But I do it many times a week. And when I'm really healthy and fit, I can keep that up, which is really important to me. I don't have some type of checklist where I get this done for my kids, then I go do my workout, and then I meet my friends for lunch. That's a good day. Then there's probably some alarm bells going off at work, or you're running late to get your kids to camp. You're like, "I worked out yesterday, and I've got to just get some work stuff done. So I'm going to take a day off and then go tomorrow," and then you're foraging out of your fridge eating crap because you don't really have a meal to assemble together. That's probably more what your day looks like rather than my 8 a.m., my 10 a.m., my 12—I don't live that life. I just don't. So I probably work out on the average four days a week, maybe five.

Do you have any favorite workout places, workout studios, or classes that you like to go to?

Yes. I love Marnie Alton in Los Angeles. She has a studio called Barre Belle. It's the best workout. It's like the best hour. She's super positive, [has the] best playlist. [It's] very body-changing. It's amazing. Her whole system is so effective. She's the one who trained me every year for Santa Clarita Diet, and I would lose 20 pounds and have the best body I've ever had, and then I would finish shooting the show and sabotage it all. I like The Class by Taryn Toomey in New York.

I like going to a Zumba class randomly or a SoulCycle class randomly or trying a 305 Fitness and dancing to Miami techno beats for an hour or so. I try to mix it up. I love hot yoga, and it's so good for stretching. Again, physical therapy Pilates—I do that at least once or twice a week now just so that I can be constantly training myself to not lose the connection to my core because that's what was getting me injured.

Do you have any favorite activewear brands you love or only wear?

I only wear vintage T-shirts because I just do not have thin arms. I wish I was the girl that could wear a sports bra and tight leggings, but I'm not. So I tend to wear exclusively vintage T-shirts, like tight ones so that they fit my body like a suit. I love '70s athleisure wear. I can't stand the modern aesthetic. But I do think it's evolving and changing, really. There are a lot more light colors and interesting color-blocking. For a decade it was all black and kind of felt like everyone was walking around in it all day long. I feel like right now, thanks to a bunch of different companies, I like the aesthetic of sportswear. Outdoor Voices and those kind of brands are just bringing in a nice, new modernity to it.

We like to talk about mental health a lot on THE/THIRTY—taking care of yourself and your mind in addition to your body. What are some things that you do for your mental health?

Well, definitely working out. I think that's probably my top priority of what gives me so much joy and pleasure, and [it] makes the rest of the day fall into place. But you know, just going to sleep with my kids and asking them our daily question of what was your favorite part of the day and ending an evening on that note and waking up with them. We usually start giggling when we see each other because they still sleep in my bed.

I feel like being connected to my kids probably brings me the greatest sense of mental ease and spiritual wellness, and then, everything else really will fall into place. It isn't perfect all the time; they're kids. You're constantly learning lessons, growing, and evolving. It's the best thing in the world that's also one of the hardest things. But when things are stable and just good and happy and functioning with my kids, everything else feels like, "Okay, that's fine. It's all going to be okay."

What's your favorite feel-good meal or meal that you like to eat after you work out that makes you feel good and healthy?

There are two different meals there. What makes me feel good and healthy? I love carving out a head of iceberg lettuce and creating perfect taco cups with them. It's so satisfying and crunchy without the grains or the carbs. You can put beans, meats, lettuce, and cilantro. You can make any kind of taco. And then, if I'm having a cheat meal for some reason because it's cold and rainy: pasta carbonara. Oh my god. I'll wear it all over my thighs because that's where it's going anyway. I like that and a nice delicious red glass of wine.

You've spoken a lot (and very candidly) about your weight loss and getting fit. What advice do you have for other people who are looking and trying to get healthy?

I think accepting what your body type is. You know, we are literally genetically made the way we are. And to try and aspire to be something else is… It's incredibly frustrating, and I think it actually is like the fastest road to wanting to give up. So if we accept who we are and how we're made and we know what the best version of that is—what's the healthiest, not the thinnest and the strongest?

[Do] something that makes you feel good—you know, not dread getting dressed. Go clean out your closet and get rid of all this stuff that you look at and you're like, "Oh, but I can't wear that." Then don't. Get rid of it. Go into your closet with "Oh I love that thing. I feel good in that thing. I feel comfortable in that thing." Do a summer clean-out so that there's less mental gymnastics every time you open your closet door. We have to be good to ourselves, which isn't easy. Even when I'm saying it, I'm laughing because I know how hard this is.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Next up: Halle Berry Continues to School Us in Fitness—and We're Not Complaining.