Leighton Meester Has Such A Refreshing Perspective On What A "Balanced" Life Really Is

Leighton Meester doesn’t like the “B” word. Not the “B” word as in the swear word, and definitely not “B” as in “Blair” (the Gossip Girl alum still has a soft spot for her sassy breakout role). I’m referring to “B” as in balance — you know, the buzz-word strung into the bulk of influencer content across social media? However, it’s not so much the concept of balance that turns the actress off; it's the label. So when Leighton Meester revealed how she finds balance during a recent interview with Shape — aka by simply living day by day according to her intuition — I couldn’t help but think that this 32-year-old mama really does have it all figured out.

I hate to break your hearts, Upper East Siders, but Blair Waldorf has officially traded in her days of bottomless brunch for a bowl of cereal, and *gasp* she’s perfectly content with this swap. And though the Single Parents actress would rather not address her new go-with-the-flow lifestyle as “balanced,” the age-old mantra “everything in moderation” (otherwise known as balance) does seem to resonate with her, whether she realizes it or not. “I just don't believe in balance,” Meester told Shape. “I think that's not possible if you're a working mother—and with single mothers, I can not even imagine that.”

Meester’s aversion to the word "balance," at least in part, seems to stem from her new role as Angie on the sitcom Single Parents, in which she plays a single mom of one who's navigating being a good mother and successful businesswoman. “I love playing Angie because we discuss how hard the struggle is to feel like you are enough,” she explained to Shape, adding that even parenting with a partner can be a struggle. She continued,

Some days my husband makes dinner, and some days I do. Other days, I'm too tired, and I eat a bowl of cereal for dinner. It's just the thing we do to make it work.

Obviously I can only speak for myself, but I’m definitely a breakfast-for-dinner kind of person, especially after a long day, so while it might be hard to picture someone like Meester vegging out on the couch with a bowl of Lucky Charms, at least from where I stand, celebrities really are just like you and me. And while she was already on the subject of food, Meester also told Shape that she tends to follow a 60:40 to 70:30 ratio when it comes to eating healthy and eating whatever the heck she wants. But again, she’s not a fan of balance, guys; she just follows a regimen for the majority of her day, then abides by her body’s cravings for the remainder.

For breakfast, Meester told Shape she likes to pre-portion out her favorite smoothie ingredients (tons of dark leafy greens, spirulina, chlorella powder, flaxseeds, chia seeds, mango, and banana) and keep them in the freezer to whip out and up in the morning with minimal preparation. At work, she explained, she’ll have a salad prepared by a personal chef for lunch (casual), but once dinner and dessert roll around, she told the outlet, all bets are off. She said,

I'll maybe eat tacos or whatever I crave—and fudge mint cookies. I love them so much that we always joke, Have you had your cookie today? Like it's my vitamins.

Tacos, fudge mint cookies, cereal — I have never felt so seen by a celebrity in my life.

But food isn’t the only aspect of Meester’s life in which she’s adopted this sort of intuitive approach. When it comes to self-care rituals, Meester said her goal is to implement mini practices into her routine to make herself feel “more centered” and “rejuvenated” on a daily basis, as needed. “I drink my tea in the morning, have an essential oil diffuser in my trailer, and use a foam roller to give myself a massage whenever I have a chance,” she told Shape. And if ever she’s feeling particularly tense, Meester also told the outlet she’ll rub a bit of CBD balm on her shoulders and hands to loosen up.

Still, don’t get it twisted, friends: You can take the girl out of the Upper East Side, but you can’t take the Upper East Side out of the girl. A piece of Blair Waldorf still lives on in Meester, and that came through when the actress told Shape she loves indulging in a dressed-up bath when she’s able.

“I'll make my bath as relaxing an experience as I can with essential oils and salts, maybe do a hair mask or under-eye patches,” she said, adding that she also enjoys spoiling her skin with homemade products — bath salts, body scrub, lotion, cuticle oil, and soap — that she DIYs herself, using natural and organic ingredients.

So maybe Meester doesn't "believe" in balance, but she's also not opposed to living a well-rounded lifestyle, either. A little sugar here, lots of greens there, and self-care sprinkled into the mix sounds like the perfect ~balance~ to me, but I guess the terminology is up for debate.