Cycling, Pilates, Ballet and Her Daily Bread

Somehow, Victoria Rowell finds time to exercise even though she goes at a double-quick pace. The actress has two children--Maya, 7, and Jasper, 1--and two shows on CBS: “The Young and the Restless� and “Diagnosis Murder.�

“Anyone who works hard--a mom, a CEO, an actress or a writer--has to exercise,� Rowell explained, “to alleviate stress and build and maintain stamina.�

Rowell’s formula is a combination of three workout routines a week, 45 minutes to one hour a pop. She takes ballet, Pilates and a special cycling class at a Beverly Hills gym. She started bicycling after Jasper was born. “I weigh less now than I did before I got pregnant.� The cycling, she said, “will not build bulk, which is attractive to me.�

Bread is attractive too. “I don’t know how people bump bread out of their diet. Not me,� she said. “I’ll have an oversized bran muffin or bagel for breakfast.�

She also drinks water in the morning and decaffeinated coffee or herbal tea. That carries her to lunch, which is the heaviest meal of the day: grilled chicken or seafood pasta plus salad. Dinner is whatever the children are eating--spaghetti with ground turkey, for example. Dessert is sweet time with family. “Sometimes my daughter and I will read a book together while we have some light ice cream.�

Rowell, 37, doesn’t expect to keep up this pace forever. “I’m supposed to be doing this much work in my life right now. Ultimately I know I’ll end up some place back East--on the farm in Maine,� which is where it all started when Rowell’s foster mom gave the little girl a pair of ballet slippers.

* Guest Workout runs Wednesdays in Life & Style.