Cameron Diaz: Just Cause You Can Chew It & Swallow It Doesn't Mean It's Food!

Cameron Diaz shows off her fabulous figure on the cover of Self magazine’s February 2014 issue.

Here’s what the 41-year-old actress had to share with the mag:

On what fitness means to her: “I fell into fitness by accident. But it’s become something I depend on physically and emotionally. I feel so much more empowered now.”

On fighting Taco Bell cravings: “I saw a Taco Bell yesterday�”it made my stomach scream. If I had nothing else to do, I would be, like, ‘Three bean-and-cheese burritos and give me some nachos with extra cheese sauce!’ I would so kill that s—. But what I’ve learned is that just ’cause you can chew it and swallow it and poop it out doesn’t mean it’s food.”

On quitting smoking at 27 to train for Charlie’s Angels: “I love the science of the body, and I love to give information and see people utilize it in their own lives. I want women to know that it’s never too late to start paying attention to their bodies. Until I started training at 27 for Charlie’s Angels, I didn’t. I literally quit smoking a month before. I was, like, ‘Ugh, I’ve got to do this training. I guess I should stop smoking now.’ We trained eight hours a day, seven days a week for three months, and I was dying. Crying every day. On Monday, I wondered how am I ever going to do this, but soon enough, I had a six-pack. At 27, I wasn’t consciously saying, ‘I’m doing this for when I’m 41.’ But at 41, I’m saying, ‘Thank God I started at 27.’”

On her fitness now: “I’m definitely not in the best shape of my life. I had a couple of hernias fixed last summer, so I took six weeks off to rest and heal�”and see what happens if I have a liter of olive oil a week. It was sort of an experiment [Laughs]. If I wasn’t cooking, I was eating. It was amazing! I put weight on and loved it. But as soon as I went back to my normal workout and eating, I dropped it. I was, like, Where’s my booty?”

For more from Cameron, visit Self.com.