Jennifer Hawkins Diet and Body Advice

The former Miss Universe and model says no to booze, does regular boxing and Pilates classes, avoids salt in her diet and keeps up her water intake to maintain her glorious figure.

Jen displayed the results of her discipline and hard work while shooting her new Cozi by Jennifer Hawkins bikini collection. She shares her secrets to maintaining her shape. 

"I laid off alcohol for three weeks and I feel good for that. I always am quite healthy but I like to have a glass of wine every now and again. I have a new (personal) trainer, so that has been really fun to do something different. I've been boxing and doing weight training and doing lots of repetitions. I've also been doing yoga and Pilates.

I find that sticking to a low-carbohydrate diet most of the time works for me; it doesn't work for everyone but if I make an effort to eat more protein I'm not as hungry as often. Carbs taste good, but my body doesn't work as well if I have too many.

I do a little bit of cooking, but it's purely for practical purposes, not anything fancy – I wish I could!

When I'm at home one of the meals I love to cook is really lean mince with broccoli and a nice sauce. That's my favourite meal, I always love it. Breakfast is usually either Special K or Weet-Bix, or I'll have eggs on toast. For lunch I have a chicken or tuna salad or a beautiful sandwich with wholemeal bread.

Diet is particularly important before a shoot or parade, so then I really take note of the amount of carbohydrates I'm eating.

Socialising is a challenge when it comes to my diet – when you go out to lunch or dinner there's always amazing food. You might have a drink, too, or a bit of bread on the side – it's so hard to say no.

If I have a shoot the next day or coming up soon, I'll just have one cocktail and get my girlfriends to keep the bread basket away from me. They're good about things like that – they understand.

Exercise makes me feel energised. Even just getting outside for a walk helps to release stress. It's like a moving mediation – you come back a different person.

I work out most days. It depends on my schedule. If I can, I will exercise six days a week. On average I do cardio five times a week, either walking or running, and I love Pilates so I do that twice a week, too.

Pilates is great because I can target the areas of my body that I want to work on. I use the cadillac – that's a special piece of Pilates equipment, also known as a trapeze table – plus another machine called a reformer, and I do mat work.

It's good for your core. The day after my sessions I'm really sore but that's good because I know it's working.

If I'm sluggish, which isn't too often, I have a rest... that's your body telling you to rest. I eat pretty well, so I feel good most of the time. Sometimes the words Cozi Cozi Cozi come into my head and boom, I'm up.

To quickly drop a dress size, eliminate carbs. I try to avoid any processed foods and white food in my normal diet, but cut it out completely when I'm getting ready for a swimwear shoot. The white food ban isn't a strict rule because life gets pretty boring when you make too many rules, but it's a great one to keep in mind.

Also, drink lots of water in the lead-up to a big day — be it a wedding or a bikini unveiling — but don't drink so much on the actual day that you will be feel bloated. And replace your milky cappuccinos with macchiatos — I'm a big fan of caffeine and don't think you need to cut it out of your diet.

I might have a period where I know I'm not doing swimwear so I can have a choc top at the movies, but I don't really go crazy on the naughty food — I don't really enjoy the aftermath.