Cameron Diaz Reflected On Aging and Listening to Her Body

Cameron Diaz wants to live to be 110. The actress and entrepreneur quite literally wrote the book on aging, and based on her recent comments, she's excited about — not fearful of — the thought of growing older. Diaz opened up about her approach to aging and listening to her body in the latest Goop newsletter. (

"The whole concept of aging has just changed completely, even in the last 10 years," the 49-year-old told Goop. "I'm excited. I've got 50 or 60 years to go — I want to live to be 110, since I've got a young child," she added. (See: Jane Fonda's Perspective On Aging Is So Refreshing)

Diaz believes that staying active at every age is in her DNA. "My family's from sturdy stock," she said. "My grandmother was running around in the hot San Fernando Valley sun at 72, hauling big bags of rabbit feed and chicken feed around. I think I've got some of that."

That said, she's not opposed to scaling back her fitness routine when necessary. She's currently recovering from an Achilles injury, explained the Charlie's Angels star in the newsletter, revealing that she's taken eight months off from working out. "I used to be really strong and really active, and I was made to sort of be still for a while," she said. "Being so strong most of my life, I was used to going hard and leaning into my strength, and I've had to do the opposite." (

Whether you're healing from an injury or recovering after giving birth, "going easy on yourself is the way through it," according to Diaz, who noted that she's focused on intuitive movements, including stretches, during her time away from her regular fitness routine. "I did a lot of lying on my floor, being with my body to understand what it needed: Maybe my hips needed to twist or my back needed to arch," explained the actress. "I didn't force it into anything and just honored the fact that I had an injury." Now, she's looking forward to the future and working toward building muscle mass, "so I'll have it as my hormones change," said Diaz.

While she clearly knows how to listen to her body and go easy on herself, Diaz is aware of society's expectations for women, especially as they age. "We spend so much time under pressure to be highly sexualized, thinking we need to be desired sexually at all times," she explained. "I'm here to say I'm moving past that: I don't care! I want to be strong and healthy, to have the stretch and resilience in my body to be able to do the things I want to do."

Diaz's philosophy for living a long, healthy life is refreshingly simple and practical. Here's to listening to your body and focusing on the big picture when it comes to health.