She may be tall, thin, beautiful, and, of course, a famous movie star, but Gwyneth Paltrow dealt with post-baby body issues just like many other women, she tells Redbook, after she gave birth to her second child, son Moses, back in 2006.
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"With my daughter [Apple, born two years prior to Moses] it had been easier, but this time, no matter what I did, I felt stuck. I couldn't shift the weight," Paltrow says in the magazinea's January issue in a joint interview with her trainer, Tracy Anderson. Anderson was the one whom Paltrow eventually turned to for help to get in shape for her first role in 2008's "Iron Man" and for some brutal honesty. "I met Tracy and she was this force from the second I met her. She pulled my pants off. I'll never forget it. She was like, 'Oh, my God, wow, I just am so surprised, because you look so good in clothes. I wasn't expecting this.'"
Getting into tip-top condition has other perks as well, explains Anderson. "When you feel your best, you're more confident in bed. It's not lights-out, under-the-covers sex. It's more like, 'Take a look at this!'"
And Paltrow admits she's experienced those benefits first hand thanks to her training regimen with Anderson. "It did such wonders for my life, my confidence, my sex life, everything."
The "Country Strong" actress also confesses to the magazine that while she was anxious about approaching 40, she's now at ease with the big milestone. "I feel really happy being 40, now that I'm on the other side of it. There was definitely some uncomfortable anticipation. But I'm amazed at what I've been able to accomplish, that I've maintained my important relationships and have such incredible women friends, that I have two funny, beautiful children who can give me a real life," explains Paltrow. "In a way, I feel like no one should make big life decisions until 40. It's when it all starts to settle and become clear."
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The mother of two may have a reputation for being out of touch with most of the world, thanks to her lifestyle website GOOP, where she encourages readers to buy $60 olive oil and hawks $90 plain white T-shirts and her 2011 cookbook, in which she writes about the life-changing benefits of having your own in-home pizza oven. But in the Redbook interview, Paltrow admits she's not perfect.
"I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I have the good fortune of knowing what they are," she shares. "I can recognize my limitations, forgive myself, and celebrate the fact that I have made it to this important birthday with the information I need to keep making corrections."
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