Kelly Ripa Says She Could Never Follow the Keto Diet: 'I'm Eating Whatever I Want to Eat'

Kelly Ripa at 2017 CNN Heroes
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for CNN

Kelly Ripa is another celebrity who's not a fan of the keto diet.

Kelly Ripa is another celebrity who's not a fan of the keto diet.

In a new interview with Bon Appétit’s Healthyish, the 48-year-old TV personality says she's not a follower of fad diets, including the super popular keto diet which focuses on high-fat, low-carbohydrate eating. Ripa reveals her husband, Mark Consuelos, adheres to the diet though she isn't able to. 

"My husband has gone full keto, which I don’t mind telling you is something I could never do," Ripa says. "I just don’t have that level of discipline. Mark says that I’m carb-o, because I always eat his bun if he gets a burger. And the fries. But you know, I work out, so I feel like I’m allowed."

"I’m 48, I’m entitled, and I’m eating whatever I want to eat," she adds.

Ripa says she loves to snack on nuts, dried fruit and high protein bars even if nutritionists tell her her food choices aren't the healthiest options out there. She also loves a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich as a late-night snack.

"I’m not sure why," she notes. "Even as a kid, I didn’t really like it, but now here I am. I get ciabatta bread, and now I eat half a sandwich before bed, with chunky Skippy peanut butter or Justin’s honey peanut butter and Bonne Maman strawberry or raspberry jam."

Ripa admits her diet has become much more relaxed with age.

"Here’s the thing: I’m 48," she points out. "These are things at 38 I never would have tainted myself with. But at 48, I’m sort of saying, Who cares? Life is short. Eat the peanut butter and jelly."

Of course, the mother of three also exercises religiously. Earlier this month, she revealed her intense workout schedule.

"I was talking to a cardiologist and he said to make sure your heart beats out of your chest every day," she told The Cut. "The more you exercise, the healthier it is. And I can be honest: My body looks like Peter Pan no matter what I do. I’ve never been a va-va-voom woman."

"I like to take AKT -- which is cardio-based dance classes -- about four to five days a week between 3 and 5 p.m.," she continued. "And I like to do SoulCycle on the weekends. In the summer, I like to run in Central Park because I think it’s so gorgeous."

Today show co-host Al Roker and Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels recently got into a public argument over the keto diet, after Michaels slammed the diet multiple celebrities have credited for their weight loss -- including Roker, Jenna Jameson and Sherri Shepherd. 

"I don't understand, like, why would anyone think this is a good idea?" Michaels said bluntly in a video for Women's Health magazine's "Rant or Rave" series. " ... No -- bad plan for a million reasons."

“Your cells, your macromolecules, are literally made up of protein, fat, carbohydrates, nucleic acids," she continued. "When you do not eat one of the three macronutrients -- those three things I just mentioned -- you’re starving yourselves. Those macronutrients serve a very important purpose for your overall health and wellbeing -- each and every one of them. ... To make a very long story short, avoid the keto diet. Common sense -- balanced diet is key."

Roker fired back, tweeting, "So @JillianMichaels says #Keto is a bad idea. This from a woman who promoted on camera bullying, deprivation, manipulation and more weekly in the name of weight loss. Now those sound like bad ideas."

"My point is, what works for you, works for you,'' he later said on Today. "There's science on both sides that says it's not a great idea and science that says it is a great idea. I think it's up to people, with their doctor, with their medical professional [to make their own decision]."

For more on another popular celebrity diet -- intermittent fasting -- watch the video below:

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