Lifestyle Health Carrie Underwood on Refocusing Her Fitness Routine: 'It's Less About Trying to Stay Thin' The country music superstar opened up to PEOPLE about what fuels her passion for health and wellness By Hanna Flanagan Hanna Flanagan Style + Beauty Assistant, PEOPLE People Editorial Guidelines and Brittany Talarico Brittany Talarico Brittany Talarico is PEOPLE's Deputy Style Director, where she oversees the brand's digital Style and Beauty coverage. This includes running lead on the Met Gala, which is among PEOPLE.com's top-trafficked red carpet events every year, interviewing the industry's top influencers (including all the Kardashian-Jenners), and breaking A-list celeb news (a New Jersey shore native, it is no surprise that her favorite interview ever was with Bruce Springsteen). Brittany is a style contributor to People Every Day Podcast and has represented the brand on national TV programs including Good Morning America and The CW's two TV specials on the British Royals. She joined PEOPLE from Cosmopolitan in 2013, where she was an Associate Editor. People Editorial Guidelines Published on December 23, 2019 12:45 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Since the launch of her activewear line CALIA in 2015, Carrie Underwood has turned health and wellness into a major part of her brand. She often shares workout tips and videos with fans and is even releasing a fitness book titled Pressure to Look Perfect in 2020. While speaking with PEOPLE at the CALIA by Carrie Underwood Aspen Getaway, the country music superstar, 36, revealed what fuels her passion for health and wellness — and it’s about much more than wanting to “stay thin.” “It’s been more about health, and being strong, and setting a good example for my kids, and working out because it makes me feel good,” Underwood, who shares sons Isaiah Michael, 4, and Jacob Bryan, 11 months, with husband Mike Fisher, said. “And just kind of shifting my mindset about why I’m into health and fitness.” When it comes to her diet, the longtime vegetarian thinks balance and moderation are important, and says she’s not a huge fan of trendy fad diets. Underwood told PEOPLE, “I don’t eat meat because it’s kind of a conscious decision that I make, but anytime anybody’s like, “I don’t eat carbs,” I’m like, “Oh, but carbs are important!” Carrie Underwood/Instagram Carrie Underwood Says Wearing Cute Workout Clothes Gives Her a ‘Little Boost’ at the Gym “I eat my carbs. Most of the time I eat more quinoa, rice, veggie carbs, but I eat my cake too,” Underwood added. Though she hasn’t eaten beef since she was a teenager and became a full-on vegetarian at age 21, the singer says she made the decision to cut meat out of her diet because her body functions well without it. Ann-Sophie Fjello Jensen/AP Images Carrie Underwood on Refocusing Her Fitness Routine: ‘It’s Less About Trying to Stay Thin’ And as for her toned figure, Underwood works hard but doesn’t deny that genetics play a factor (especially when it comes to her famous leg muscles!) “I think just in life and my body makeup, I’m just kind of a quad-dominant person,” she says. CALIA Carrie Underwood’s Favorite Leather-Like Leggings Are 25% Off Right Now Her workouts consist of the leg-toning essentials: weighted traditional squats, Sumo squads, lunges and dead lifts. “I have to make sure and work extra hard on my hamstrings and my glutes and stuff like that, because whatever I’m doing, a lot of times my quads will take over,” Underwood explained. “I don’t feel like anything is super complicated. I don’t do anything crazy.” She added that everyday activities — like strutting her stuff on stage during the Cry Pretty 360 Tour and carrying kids up the stairs — don’t hurt either!