Lupita Nyong'o: Building Her Wakanda Forever Body, Intuitive Nutrition, and Lessons From Rock Bottom

Eat Play Crush with Mary Shenouda

Disclaimer: Before we get into today's episode, a quick disclaimer that this was recorded prior to the SAG AFTRA strike.

Today I welcome and kick off the Eat Play Crush Podcast with my incredible client and friend, Lupita Nyong’o. She has graced our screens in iconic roles and is the recipient of multiple awards, including an Academy Award.

Lupita is someone that embodies total commitment to her craft and in this conversation, she takes us through her remarkable experience and transformation preparing for her role in Wakanda Forever which required intense training as well as prep for her upcoming role which required an entirely different body composition.

We also discuss how those experiences compared to her prep for the first Black Panther movie, before she and I began working together to unlock her personal nutrition design.

Lupita shares the behind-the-scenes experience of our work together, what performance nutrition means to her, and how changing the way she ate allowed her to get into optimal shape to embody her character Nakia once again but also how it expanded her own self awareness and relationship to food in her everyday life.

Lupita delves into the challenges, learnings, and dedication required and how that experience transcended into her habits off the screen.

Beyond that, we also talk about her personal journey preparing for these roles while so much is going on in the world as well as in her personal life and how she keeps herself grounded and where she draws inspiration.

You are sure to be drawn in, inspired, and empowered by this episode.

Episode Highlights:

• 00:00 Intro
• 01:40 Catching Up Since Filming & Fueling in London
• 02:06 When We Met And Started Working Together in 2021
• 02:48 Why Mary For Performance Nutrition for Wakanda Forever
• 04:25 Prepping for Black Panther vs Prepping for Wakanda Forever (Before Mary/After Mary)
• 05:59 General Nutrition vs Fully Formed Nutrition
• 06:35 Lupita Was Taken Aback and Put At Ease By Mary’s Expectations From Her Clients
• 08:00 Client Buy In & Support Is Key to Success
• 08:30 Mary’s EPC 7 Day Gut Reset
• 08:54 Tastes and Preferences Changing Through Gut Reset
• 09:34 Breakthrough On The Gut Reset
• 09:58 Understanding Relationship with Food and Body
• 10:10 Eating to Compliment Your Day and Activities
• 10:55 Taking Agency Over Self With Deliberate Nutrition
• 11:29 Comparing Black Panther Prep for Another Role, Dropping Weight Safely
• 11:54 Holding Space For Vulnerability, Self Awareness, and Expression
• 13:12 Intentional Approach To Food and Nutrition
• 16:08 Slow And Steady Learning
• 18:20 Sugar Is No Longer A Craving
• 20:26 What Does Eat Play Crush Mean To Lupita
• 20:50 Uncompromising Mealtimes
• 24:36 Awareness Around Discomfort After Meals
• 28:29 Avoiding Conflict in the Form of Fighting
• 31:17 The Humbling Feeling When Conditioning Your Body
• 34:08 Allowing Life To Be When It’s So Undesirable
• 40:47 The Illusion Of Having Control
• 46:45 What Is Intuitive Cooking?
• 51:28 How Do You Start Intuitive Cooking?
• 54:24 Surrender Happens When We Stop Fighting

Resources:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lupitanyongo/
• Instagram: @paleochef
• Instagram: @eatplaycrush
• Website: eatplaycrush.com
• Gut Reset: https://eatplaycrush.com/products/gut-reset-prototcol
• Lyvecap: https://eatplaycrush.com/pages/lyvecap