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"Carrie Underwood&amp;#39;s No-Fail Workout\\nand Diet Favorites\\nThe country superstar shares her preshow food and exercise routine (plus her guilt-free treats!) and how she stays healthy, happy and in love.\\nSeven jam-packed years after winning *American Idol*\u2014years filled with three albums, 14 number-one hits and five tours\u2014Carrie Underwood, 29, decided to do something uncharacteristically crazy: She slowed down for more than a second.\\n\\n\\\"I see people who are on tour nonstop, and I think, When are you just a person? When do you go grocery shopping?\\\" she says. \\\"I don't ever want to not buy my own [groceries](/fooddiet/2012/01/grocery-store-deals-slideshow)!\\\" Predictably, the Checotah, Oklahoma, native did a lot more than hit the produce aisle during her downtime last year.\\n\\nAmong other things, she savored finally being able to live in the same city as her husband, hockey pro Mike Fisher, 31, now playing for the Nashville Predators. She [overhauled her eating habits](/fooddiet/2011/06/12-ways-to-think-slim-slideshow) and became a [vegan](/fooddiet/2012/04/5-satisfying-vegan-meals-slideshow). And she spent time writing and recording a new album, due out May 1. \\\"It was nice to have a life and make this album more slowly and thoughtfully,\\\" she says.\\n\\nAs she got back into performance mode, Underwood took a day to do her [fourth SELF cover](/healthystars/2012/04/carrie-underwood-video) and talk with us about her eating habits, her workout routine (hint: It involves playing cards) and what life is like in Carrie's world.\\n\\nLeft: Aqua tank, $68; [Bloomingdales.com](http://www.Bloomingdales.com). J Brand/Christopher Kane pants, $285; [Barneys.com](http://www.Barneys.com). Earrings, $25,000; [HeartsOnFire.com](http://www.HeartsOnFire.com). Frieda&amp;Nellie by Stacy Herzog and Sarah Reid necklace, $200; [FriedaAndNellie.com](http://www.FriedaAndNellie.com).\\n\\\"I love eating and talking about food. I've been a [vegetarian](/fooddiet/2011/03/5-reasons-to-go-vegetarian-slideshow) for seven years. But after seeing a friend who looked amazing and had recently gone vegan, I thought, What's holding me back?\\\"\\n\\n\\\"Now I'm 95 percent vegan. Sometimes you're at a birthday party and there's cake and...you know, you can't resist. My veganism is based on a concern about where my food is coming from. In my perfect world, I'd have webcams wherever food is processed so I'd know how clean it is.\\\"\\n\\n\\\"I'll never eat meat again, because I look and feel better without it, but if I could raise my own cows and chickens and produce my own eggs and cheese, it would be awesome! The food would taste better, because the animals would be happy.\\\"\\n\\\"I'm a very regimented eater. I've kept [food journals](/mylogs) for years. Now I do it with the [LiveStrong.com](http://www.LiveStrong.com) phone app, which is great with nutrition info for restaurant meals.\\\"\\n\\n  \\n__[Start Your Own Food Log With SELF's Drop 10 Diet](/drop10)__\\n__Her A.M. Kick-Starter__  \\n\\\"A vanilla [smoothie](/fooddiet/2012/03/drinks-made-healthier-slideshow) with pea protein powder, half a banana, a cup of berries, almond milk and ice. Or I'll make a tofu scramble with whatever I've got in the fridge, like spinach, onions and peppers, with salsa on top. If I'm [working out in the morning](/fitness/2011/10/exercise-and-appetite), I'll also have an orange or a grapefruit. And black coffee. I like a little caffeine boost!\\\"\\n\\n__A Delish, Filling Lunch__  \\n\\\"I do a [stir-fry](/fooddiet/2010/02/healthy-and-delicious-carbs-recipes-slideshow) with precut veggies. I like broccoli, carrots, broccoli slaw, fake chicken and onions. I eat it with brown rice and season it with Bragg Liquid Aminos, then I'm good to go. It's a lot of food but not a lot of fat or calories.\\\"\\n\\n__Her Go-To Dinner__  \\n\\\"I'll always be a fan of [veggie burgers](/fooddiet/2011/09/guilt-free-burgers-slideshow#slide=3)!\\\"\\n\\n__Her Pre-Event Diet__  \\n\\\"I lay off starches. I'm not a fan of the nocarb thing; you're going to get yourself in trouble that way. So I have lots of veggies and fruit but no other starches or bread.\\\"\\n\\\"My husband would rather go out to restaurants than eat at home\u2014it makes me mad! I really *enjoy* cooking and eating together at home. If he's watching TV and I'm cooking, I'm like, 'Hey, you're being lazy\u2014come help!' It's a nice time to be together and talk. Plus, I don't know what to do with meat, so if Mike wants it to taste good and doesn't want to end up in the hospital with food poisoning, it's best if he makes it himself.\\\"\\n\\\"I've been pretty consistent with exercise for the past several years. Growing up, I was semisporty but didn't really do much. If I'd kept on that path, it wouldn't have ended well! I'm from the South, where there's a lot of fried food, and that's bound to show.\\\"\\n\\nLeft: Fishnet tank, Isabel Marant, $170; 212-219-2284. White tank dress, $26; [AmericanApparel.com](http://www.AmericanApparel.com). Earrings, Suzanne Felsen, $325; 323-653-5400. Necklace, Kate Spade New York, $128; [KateSpade.com](http://www.KateSpade.com). Bracelets, $78 and $110 each; [NissaJewelry.com](http://www.NissaJewelry.com).\\n\\\"I have a game I love for when I'm working out on my own, without a trainer. I take a deck of cards and assign each suit a body area\u2014say, diamonds for arms, hearts for legs, spades for core and clubs for cardio. I split the deck in half and write down exercises for each suit, a different one for each half.\\\"\\n\\n\\\"So, if I flip over the six of hearts, I'll do six squats. If the next card is ace of diamonds, that's 14 push-ups. Sometimes I'll make spades boxing and beat the crap out of the bag for however many punches the number on the card says.\\\"\\n\\n\\\"Having different exercises for each half of the deck keeps me from getting bored. I make sure there's a joker in each half\u2014that's a mile run on the treadmill. Then I go through the whole deck. With a 15-minute warm-up on the elliptical, it takes about an hour and a half total, but it's fun because you've designed the workout yourself.\\\"\\n\\n__[Try Our New Free Drop 10 Diet!](/drop10)__\\n\\\"Mike and I [worked out together](/fitness/workouts/2007/01/partner-body-toning-slideshow)\u2014once. He wanted to do leg throws, where I lie down, he stands up and I grab his ankles and raise my legs in the air. The idea is for him to push my legs down so they touch the floor, then I lift up again. But he pushed them down so hard, my legs just hit the floor. I was like, 'I'm smaller than you! Lighten up!'\\\"\\n\\nLeft: \\\"I love going to live sports events. It's fun to have a beer and watch Mike play,\\\" Carrie says.\\n\\\"I do more cardio and fewer weights than usual. Although strength training is important, I don't want to look too muscular on the red carpet. On the morning of this shoot, for instance, if I'd done weights, my muscles would be puffy and I'd have felt bigger all day.\\\"\\n\\\"In the beginning, my biggest fear was being criticized. Now I'm a lot better with saying, I feel good about myself and that's enough.\\\"\\n\\n__[Try Our New Free Drop 10 Diet!](/drop10)__\\n\\\"I get texts from Mike when I'm on a [red carpet](/healthystars/2012/03/2012-oscar-awards-slideshow) that read 'You're so hot!' I like that. Words of affirmation mean a lot to me. But my husband is also pretty conservative. When I'm wearing some outfits, he'll say, 'That dress is a little short, don't ya think?'\\\"\\n\\nHe would never tell me I can't do or wear something or make me feel bad, but I'm a married lady now, so I try to be respectful of my husband. I want to look sexy for him, and I appreciate that he wants to look nice for me, too.\\\"\\n\\nLeft: \\\"I felt really good in my own skin the night of the ACAs [American Country Awards]. Those shoes were really funky!\\\"\\n\\\"[Get plenty of water](/health/2011/05/harness-health-benefits-of-water) and sleep. That's it! I've heard horror stories about people who've done peels or fake tans before events. What if my face melted off? I'll stick to hydration and a little extra night cream.\\\"\\n\\n[Try Our New Free Drop 10 Diet!](/drop10)\\n\\\"I don't feel like I have as much to prove,\\\" Underwood says. \\\"I want to look and feel good, and do well onstage, sure, but I also want to enjoy myself.\\\"\\n\\n  \\n__[Carrie's Favorite Comfort Food Recipe](/fooddiet/2011/07/country-stars-comfort-food-slideshow)____[Try Our New Free Drop 10 Diet!](/drop10)__ Left: Tank, $17; [Gap.com](http://www.Gap.com). Bracelet, $220 [Dannijo.com](http://www.Dannijo.com)."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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