Elle Macphserson is 48 and most women in their 20s or 30s would love to have her body!

Elle reveals her 5 secrets to keeping in shape and being fabulous at any age:

#1 Stay active

“I do an hour of some kind of physical activity every day,” Elle says. “I mix it up. If I’m in the mountains, I ski. If I’m near water, I swim. I might do a yoga or Spinning class. I also take my running shoes and iPod with me wherever I go. Running is not only a really effective way to stay fit, but it’s also a sort of moving meditation.”

#2 Don’t worry about how you look, instead pay attention about how you feel

“My motivation is feeling joyful, inspired, passionate, patient, strong, and healthy,” Elle says. “That’s more important to me than hitting X number of pounds on the scale, and it’s what drives what I eat and how I work out.”

Elle Macpherson

Photo by Eva Rinaldi via Flickr

#3 What are you passionate about? Do it…

Elle, a single mom of two boys ages 14 and 9, is the creative director of two successful companies: Elle Macpherson Intimates lingerie and Elle Macpherson The Body, her line of bath products. She’s also the cocreator, executive producer, and host of Fashion Star, the new NBC designer reality-TV show that costars Jessica Simpson, Nicole Richie, and designer John Varvatos. “I want to be healthy and happy, love what I do, do what I love,” Elle explains. “I’m passionate about lingerie and Fashion Star, and I’m passionate about my sports — skiing, surfing, biking. I don’t see a sport as something I have to do to be thin, the same way I don’t see my business as something I have to do to make money.”

#4 Accept your age

“I’m almost 50, so I obviously don’t have the same body I had when I was 20,” Elle says. “But I also don’t have the same mind-set: Then I was wracked with self-consciousness and insecurity. Now I appreciate my maturity, my depth of spirit and soul, and my understanding of who I am and what’s important to me.”

#5 Find what triggers your motivation

If she’s feeling less than inspired to work out, Elle uses this simple trick: “I ask myself, Will I feel better or worse after doing a sport? I can’t ever remember doing something physical and feeling worse.”

…more at Elle Macpherson: The Body Rules