This Is How Your Favorite A-Listers Get Snatched for the Oscars, According to a Celebrity Nutritionist

If you've been watching week after week as stars including Mikey Madison, Zoe Saldaña, Demi Moore and Colman Domingo turn the red carpet into a runway in one stylish look after another — and wonder just how they stay so fit, glossy-haired and dewy-faced through all of it — it shouldn't surprise you to know that a killer awards show style moment doesn't just happen by accident.

In order to get through awards season looking and feeling their best, your favorite A-listers have to implement some disciplined habits. According to celebrity nutritionist, wellness advocate and Rooted in Wellness podcast host Mona Sharma (who has worked with Will Smith, Julianne Hough and Jay Shetty) the secret to getting through all those long flights, promotional tours and red carpet chaos is in keeping a steady (read: extremely disciplined) routine. That includes not just their eating habits, but also their wellness regimen.

Below, see how Sharma prepares some of the world's biggest stars to get through awards season — from the Golden Globes in January to the Academy Awards in March and every appearance in between.

Related: 2025 Oscar Nominees Gather for Annual Class Photo: See the Star-Studded Group Pic with Demi, Ariana, Timothée and More!

It starts with an anti-inflammatory diet

The good thing about awards season is that it lines up nicely with the beginning of the New Year, when many people are already in "reset mode" and thinking about taking a closer look at their food and beverage consumption. For Sharma's clients, it starts with implementing a four- to six-week-long anti-inflammatory diet plan that's not necessarily about "detoxing" but about eating foods that are good for the body.

"That means avoiding ultra-processed foods — ones that often come in packages and have a lot of inflammatory oils," she explained. "We're also cutting out sugar because we know sugar is not good for our bodies. We're limiting or removing alcohol because it disrupts our digestion."

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To ensure they stay on track, many stars will turn to a special chef or food service that caters to their goals.

"[We make sure] every meal contains a good quality protein, tons of fiber (like veggies) and then really good quality fats," she says. "It's really about balance so that they're not starving themselves getting through the day."

Hydration is key

You have probably heard this ad nauseam, but staying hydrated is key to any fitness plan. And there's no secret hydration hack for celebrities, either, though Sharma's A-list clients add some supplements to their H2O for even more impact.

"We focus on adding minerals to purified water," she says. "A lot of people will add some great electrolytes or high-quality sea salt also."

To take it to yet another level, "the people that I work with will generally run their blood labs every January, and this is to understand what their deficiencies are — because yeah, it's about looking good, but it's also about feeling really good," Sharma says.

So rather than grabbing a multivitamin, the celeb will have a specific supplement schedule designed to target any low levels they might have.

Getting on the right sleep cycle

Again, this may sound cliché, but getting an adequate amount of sleep really does make a difference in their health.

"We are really aiming to get about seven to nine hours of sleep every single night," Sharma says. "Every person is different, but making sure that they're going to bed and rising at the same time [is key]. Our bodies love circadian rhythm, so the more that we're consistently going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time, the rhythm of our body and our body's functions will be at their best."

What does a day in the life of an A-lister doing an awards circuit look like?

For Sharma, nutrition is of course a big part of the journey, but that means nothing if it's not part of a good routine. She breaks down a typical day in the life of her clients in the space of those four to six weeks.

Morning: The point here is to start the day calm and grounded, so she implements a method she calls RPM: rise, pee, meditate. After meditation comes hydration, which can be a "big glass of water with minerals or an herbal tea." At this point, Sharma encourages people to go outside and get some sunlight to really just ensure they're starting the day in a calm state.

Next comes the morning coffee, which "might include some creatine and collagen in it," before they head to the gym.

A gym routine might vary for everyone, but celebrity trainer Chase Weber (who works with Kylie Jenner and David Beckham) clients working on strength training the week before a big event — "We like to peak toward the week before by putting on some muscle; this means we are lifting four to five times a week with high intensity training in the mornings" — and then the week of, taper off on strength training, doing only a couple of those workouts and instead doing a "45 minute walk in a 12 incline every day leading up to the day of."

After working out they then get in their high-protein breakfast, aiming to get between 30 to 40 grams of protein, whether that's through a protein smoothie, veggie frittata, or loaded omelet. Both Weber and Sharma stress that protein is the key component to their clients' clean meals.

Afternoon: The next order of business is to let the client go about their day as planned, whether that's taking meetings, running errands or going into work. The next meal would be lunch around noon, and it would feature something like a "really big roasted chicken salad with some beets and squash and potato and asparagus and radicchio and broccoli sprouts," Sharma tells PEOPLE. She recommends another herbal tea and a 20-minute walk after the meal to help with digestion.

Evening: "Dinner for my clients is typically pretty early, between 5:30 and 6:30" Sharma says, "because I want to make sure that they're eating at least three hours before they go to bed."

Dinner could include spaghetti squash bowls, turkey with marinara on top, roasted fish with some veggies or other low-carb, high-protein meals. After dinner, Sharma advises they go for another walk because, again, it not only helps them digest their food, but a walk also "breaks the cycle of like, 'Oh, I want dessert now. I want to sit down. I just want to do nothing'."

And how does that change on the day of the Oscars?

All of it, of course, culminates in the grandest night of them all: the Academy Awards. An almost four-hour long show, the Oscars are notorious for not only running long but also not having food during the live taping.

So, when gearing up for the long night, Sharma ensures her clients take in a good amount of high-quality protein to sustain them — even for those who choose to start the morning with a fast.

"One of my clients starts the day with tons of hydration first thing in the morning. After working out and doing their lymphatic drainage massage or maybe doing their facial lasers and stuff like that, they'll then have breakfast," she revealed.

"Lunch might be a smaller meal, so it might be a simple chicken breast that they're consuming. They might have a protein smoothie if their body can digest that okay," she said.

But what if someone wants a burger?

Even the most disciplined fitness fanatic may occasionally crave a cheat day, and for Sharma, it's not about restricting them, but about taking inventory and seeing how her clients feel after consuming junk food.

"It just comes with the awareness: I ask them how they felt after most people say, 'Oh, I was bloated. I didn't have a bowel movement. I got a headache. I was just craving sugar all day.' It's really about taking ownership, making the connection of how eating out makes you feel," she says.

Another point to remember is that these celebrities' bodies are their are the moneymakers, so they also treat them as such.

"People who are going to the Oscars ... their bodies are their vessel for work. It's a prize, and it's almost like, 'Why would you put sugar water into an expensive car?' You would never do that. So why on earth would you put processed fast food into a body that is allowing you to shine on stage?"

(We bet that won't stop them from the requisite In-N-Out stop at the end of the night, though!)

What's in those purses?

Though not much fits in those teeny-tiny clutches, in addition to mints, lip gloss and maybe some blotting paper, some of Sharma's clients will pack some nuts to much on — walnuts or Brazil nuts, to be specific — because they are convenient and satiating.

"Nuts are also really great because when they're sitting down and drinking alcohol, it's just like having sugar water. It could spike their glucose," she said. "So having nuts to balance that out will help them feel a bit more grounded."

They might also have some ginger or digestive tea because while the Oscars themselves don't have food, those afterparties are loaded with decadent spreads. That kind of meal can be hard on someone who's been eating clean for weeks, so keeping a good digestive tea handy can stave off bloating and other issues.

For those who may not be drinking but don't want to be left out, Sharma will recommend an LMNT electrolyte stick to "mix with sparkling water, add a lime and make it look like a mocktail."

Read the original article on People