Ellie Goulding: 'I'm an aspiring vegan'

Singer Ellie Goulding has overhauled her diet in an effort to stay fit and healthy as she travels the globe, performing in city after city.

The British star is desperate to honor performance commitments in an age when so many of her peers are backing out of shows due to illness, and she has adopted a near-vegan diet and a killer fitness routine in a bid to keep colds and poor health at bay.

Goulding, who performed at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York on Tuesday night (10Nov15) as a last-minute replacement for Rihanna, admits she takes great care about what she puts into her body.

"I call myself an aspiring vegan," she tells the new issue of Shape magazine. "It's challenging, but not impossible. You just have to eat or drink a lot of greens.

"I make green juice for myself almost every day. I put in things like bananas, avocado, spinach, broccoli - whatever's in my fridge, really. Sweet potato fries and salad are my absolute favorites. They make the perfect meal. I eat a lot of quinoa and nuts, too, but I also love eating chips.

"It's actually easy to be a bad vegan because a lot of junk foods are vegan!"

Goulding also takes time to work-out in between shows, adding, "When I'm not on the road, my trainer comes to my house a few times a week and we go for a run outdoors and then do weight training.

"Or I go to his Barry's Bootcamp class. I like it because you spend half the session running and half doing weight and floor work. It's really good for endurance, and it keeps me super-focused.

"I also take another class that's 45 minutes of HIIT (high-intensity interval training), which is by far the hardest thing I've ever done. I come out of there feeling like something big just happened to my body, and I'm completely drained. Of all the workouts I've tried, this one has been the best for me."

But Ellie insists she's not always so fitness focused.

"I smoked for a long time (and) I still drink alcohol," she confesses. "I believe you have to find balance. We're expected to stay fit and eat healthy all the time, but that's just never going to happen. We all have to deal with stress. Sometimes at the end of the day, I want to have a drink, and I'm not ashamed of that."