Rob Lowe’s Secrets for Staying Fit, Full, and Forever Young at 61

Rob Lowe doesn’t do chaos. While some people age with dread, he recently hit 60 with a chocolate protein shake and a pre-packed gym bag. Whether he’s filming on location, podcasting from set, or planning a summer trip to Italy, Lowe is proof that wellness doesn’t have to mean restriction—for him, it’s about rhythm, not reinvention.

Lowe opens up to The Healthy by Reader’s Digest about why he’s training smarter (not harder), how sleep became his number one health flex, and what really makes a lifestyle sustainable. Plus, he shares his comfort-food philosophy, his thoughts on GLP-1s, and the one rule he swears by.

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The Healthy by Reader’s Digest: Rob, you’ve been living the low-carb lifestyle for decades. Has anything shifted for you nutritionally or mentally since turning 60?

Rob Lowe: I would say my journey—my health food, Atkins journey—continues as it has been. And that’s the gift of [this] lifestyle: it’s sustainable and yields long-term results if you’re consistent. So keeping it simple is not only valuable, but it works. I’m doing exactly at 60 what I did at 40, and that is high protein, low carb, and using my favorite Atkins products to maintain those goals. At night, it’s a chocolate shake to combat my sweet tooth instead of having a dessert. I avoid letting myself get ravenously hungry during the day because that’s when you make bad choices. I do that by maybe hitting a protein bar when I realize I’ve got another hour of work before I can eat—keeping that kind of healthy Atkins stuff I can grab on the go. That’s the lifestyle, and that’s what has worked—and continues to.

The Healthy: Your recent Instagram gym photo with your son got the internet all wild. Tell us a little about your fitness routine lately. Is it similar to your son’s? What do you change at different ages, and how do you fuel those workouts?

Rob Lowe: The main thing I want to say about workouts for me is: the more I work out, the hungrier I get—and that has to be managed. If I’m doing a role where I want to put on size and get jacked, I’ve really got to manage the appetite and be more consistent with healthy protein, low carb, and really watching the sugar.

As I’ve gotten older, I’m lifting heavier for more muscle mass. But the other thing is, you’re more prone to injury—so you’ve got to be really, really careful. The big change is, I’m not killing myself in the gym anymore. It used to be, if I didn’t feel like I was about to die at some point in the workout, it wasn’t really a workout. That’s the kind of animal I am…and now I’ve realized that’s a young man’s game.

The Healthy: Do you change your wellness plan with the seasons at all? What does summer look like for you?

Rob Lowe: Summer I always look forward to, because the hotter it is, the less interested in eating I am. Winter is brutal—I literally might as well be a bear. I just want to start stuffing my face, go into my cave, watch football, and sleep. That’s where it’s like, when the days start getting shorter…

But summer, I’m great. I wake up, I’m out of the house, I’m in the water, I’m surfing, I’m out at the beach, I’m playing tennis, I’m playing golf, I’m on a hike, I’m sitting outside, we’re playing with the dogs—and then the next thing you know, I realize, “Oh, I haven’t eaten anything yet.” So summer’s good for me. Summer salads—you want to eat light, it’s great. Winter is where I’ve got to watch myself. So I’m very happy summer is here.

The Healthy: You’re one of the main celebrities who gets mentioned when people talk about aging really well. What do you think people are missing about real longevity?

GILBERT FLORES/CONTRIBUTOR/GETTY IMAGES

Rob Lowe: Consistency. It has to be earned. There’s no magic pill—I mean, although there are the GLP-1s. I guess those are kind of magic shots or pills or whatever, and they’re helping a lot of people, particularly people who really are struggling with obesity. That’s a huge thing as you get older. But the main thing is I’ve been working out regularly, taking care of myself.

I’m not drinking—haven’t had a drink in 35 years. I’m not saying that’s for everyone, but for me, it’s a tangible example of consistency, and that’s what keeps you going. Pick your level of what you can do every day for the rest of your life. That is the secret sauce.

The Healthy: Between hosting the TV show The Floor, podcasting, acting, and producing—how does your wellness routine support your energy on long workdays?

Rob Lowe: If I’m training a lot at night—and a lot of times you’re in a calorie deficit—I’ll literally wake up and feel like raiding the kitchen. And instead of having something I shouldn’t, I can have a protein shake. The Atkins chocolate banana—I also like vanilla—it’s really good. And I feel like I’ve had something sweet and yummy, but I haven’t had anything I shouldn’t have. So those are actual things that make a real, practical difference in my life. Keeping some of that stuff in my car is good, too, because I have a tendency to not eat until I’m famished—and you’re setting yourself up for really bad choices.

The Healthy: What projects or trips are you looking forward to this summer?

Rob Lowe: The family, and I think we’re going to go to Italy and have some yummy, healthy pasta. There’s no high protein [or] low carb over there—I’m going for it, and it’s going to be great. I’m looking forward to that. I’m always looking forward to getting out on the water as the ocean warms up, doing some surfing. But the big trip, I think, is we’re going to take a little jaunt to Italy—and that’s going to be fun.

The Healthy: You’ve talked with us before about how sleep is a priority for you. Is that still your number one self-care habit or ritual, or have you added others?

Lowe: Sleep is still, I think, the most important thing. And it’s interesting that the culture has caught up with it. Not so long ago, it was about bragging how little sleep you could get by on. Now it’s changed to people bragging about how much sleep they got and the quality of it—and that’s where I’ve always been. I don’t know, maybe it’s because so much of what I do is around creativity and dreams. I’ve literally had ideas come to me in dreams—and you’re not having dreams if you’re not sleeping.

The Healthy: Lastly, we know you stick to the low-carb lifestyle, but what’s your favorite comfort?

Lowe: I don’t deny myself—and I think that’s really important. I’ve been consistent. In addition, I’m aware that sustainability is helped by cheat days for me. I don’t want to feel like I’ve given up the ability to have a double-double, fries, and a chocolate shake at In-N-Out here and there. Or when I go to New York, I’m going to my favorite pizza places. When I’m in Italy, I’m going to eat every pasta they put in front of me. But my favorite comfort food? It’s carbs. It is. You want to be comforted—you’re going to have your pizza, you’re going to have your pasta. And I love doing that. It’s a fun, cheat, comforting thing; it’s not a lifestyle.

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