Who’s in love with the KoKo?! Khloe Kardashian stripped down to nothing but a pair of bikini bottoms and an open shirt on the September 2015 cover of Women’s Health, and revealed in detail about how she achieved that coveted body of hers.
“It started around 2012,” Kardashian said of her incredible physical transformation. “I was having a hard time with Lamar [Odom, her soon-to-be ex-husband]. It was toward the end of our union, and there was so much drama. I needed a release. At first it was so hard. It was baby steps, but I started feeling so much better.”
Khloe reached out to celebrity trainer Gunnar Peterson, whom she’s known since age 15. “My mom would take me to school, but I would have to go early for her training session,” she shared. “And I’d see Puff Daddy, Jennifer Lopez, and Cameron Diaz. So when I was like, ‘I’m going to [start] a fitness routine,’ that’s who I called.”
The reality star — who smolders in the spread wearing nothing but a trench coat in one pic and a form-fitting, leg-baring black dress in another — said her initial pursuit of a fit and healthy lifestyle was terrifying.
“The first 45 days you’re like, ‘F–k this s—.’ You’re exhausted, you’re sore, and I actually felt fatter because I was swollen,” she recalled. “If you keep going, you’re eventually like, ‘Wow, is that an indentation on my arm?’ Yeah, it’s a revenge body. But it’s just as much for all my critics who called me ‘the fat one’ for my entire existence.”
Even with her slimmed-down physique, 31-year-old Kardashian still likes to indulge in her favorite meals. “I love treating myself. I’m a foodie,” she dished. “If I could control what I eat, I would have the best body ever. But because I have no self-control, and I don’t really care to have it, I have to work harder. I would rather work out harder and eat what I want, in moderation. I’m not going to eat a whole cake, but last night I had pizza. If I want a pizza, I’m gonna have it. So I had pizza last night and it made me very happy.”
It’s also part of her famous family’s gastronomic culture. “Being of Armenian descent, we don’t make small dinners,” she said of meals at Kris Jenner‘s Calabasas, Calif., home. “I love to cook and have my wine, but I’m more aware now.”
Like her momager and big sister Kim, Khloe also has plans to release an upcoming self-help book. “It’s about mind, body, and soul becoming stronger,” she shared. “I think the beauty of growing up is not really knowing and figuring it out for yourself… I do love the evolution of people in general. I think it’s a beautiful thing when someone progresses and evolves in life.”
After all, the youngest Kardashian daughter has experienced her fair share of ups and downs in recent years — with her family’s steadfast support.
“If it wasn’t for my family and us doing it all together, I don’t think this would be a bearable thing,” Khloe reflected. “I think because all of us are going through the same thing, so say if we’re overwhelmed with something, we can vent to each other about it and we all understand what we’re going through. I think if you’re the only one and you have no one to talk to that has to be so hard, or you have people to talk to but they really don’t understand what you’re going through. In this, we all give each other advice, we’re all sounding boards. It’s a blessing that we all have each other. I understand why people go crazy. It’s very easy to do so.”
Khloe lends support to her siblings by hearing them out. “I’m a good listener,” she told the mag. “I like to listen to people and give advice from an honest, personal standpoint rather than being judgmental. I want people to talk to me about whatever. Even if I disagree, I can still give an opinion.”
She listed an example of how people can become good listeners. “When you’re in a conversation, genuinely be in it,” she advised. “Stare people in their eyes. Know what you’re talking about. Enjoy that moment. When you’re at a lunch, enjoy being — I’m always on my phone when I’m at lunch or with things here or there. I’ve learned to put the phone down and be present.”
The September 2015 issue of Women’s Health hits newsstands on Tuesday, Aug. 11.
