This 56-Year-Old Follows A Strict Diet, Exercises 4 Days A Week, And It Obviously Pays Off (21 Pics)

To some, 'Never give up on your dreams' sounds cliché, but those who dare to chase their life's goals beg to differ.

Kathy Jacobs has just got her biggest breakthrough -- she has made it to the final of this year's annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model search competition. However, Kathy isn't your average cover girl. She stands 5'3" and is 56 years old.

After making it to the end of the contest, the woman from Calabasas, California highlighted that it's important not to discount people because of their age or height, hoping her appearance in Sports Illustrated will help change readers' views of beauty.

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"I was a model in the ’80s in NYC and then did some stuff here and there in LA but had given up and got a minimum wage job sweeping the floor at a Drybar and decided to give it one last shot about a year and a half ago," Kathy told Bored Panda. "I started self-submitting myself for modeling and acting jobs and got quite a few [of them]."

She modeled for Soji Health and BeautyBlender and did several commercials as well as a Green Day music video where she appeared in a bikini.

Kathy said that after her Sports Illustrated photos went viral, she got bombarded with messages asking for dates and diet, workout, and skincare advice.

"I am not a diet expert," she said. "I was pre-diabetic and changed the way I eat about 4 years ago."

Now, Kathy doesn't eat meat and has fish just a couple of times a week. "I drink lots of almond milk because I use it in my coffee and smoothie every day."

For breakfast, she usually has a vegan protein smoothie with strawberries or blueberries and meatless sausages. Sometimes she might make eggs with cheese and tomatoes instead. Kathy also eats salads with all different kinds of beans and cheeses for protein. She doesn't consume sugar but admitted that she's addicted to Lilly’s sugar-free chocolate chips and peanut butter cups.

"I eat a lot of almond flour crackers. I also make ugly almond flour muffins sweetened with stevia or sugar substitute."

For dinner, she might have spaghetti squash instead of pasta with pesto or tomato sauce or fish.

Kathy won't have bread, pasta, rice, or white potatoes more than once a week, but she really enjoys sweet potatoes.

"I workout around 4 times a week and have been doing the live Instagram workouts on Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Instagram during the quarantine," Kathy said. "You can also rewatch them on their IGTV." She also follows quite a few girls, joining their Instagram workouts, including Katie Austin, Katrina Scott, and Claire Prince.

"Before that, I was doing F45 a few times a week and bellydance, which I miss so much!"

When it comes to beauty products, Kathy said she only uses her own skincare products made from collagen-friendly ingredients such as pumpkin enzyme, vitamin C, and orchid flower stem cells. "I make all of my own skincare and spent 5 years in my kitchen formulating and developing a skincare line for women over 45," Kathy said.  She even went on a TV show called Steve Harvey's Funderdome to get funding. However, she lost to a girl half her age in a bikini.

"I also went to Florida to pitch to HSN but did not get a deal. I’m still hoping to get funding one day to manufacture my skincare line."

Kathy, who sent her daughter off to medical school in New York not long ago, admitted she's experimented with some dermatological boosts, too. "I recently broke down and got a small amount of botox and filler in my marionette lines and lip. I think I needed more filler but dang, it hurts so bad!"

The woman believes that the best way to age is to choose what to do or not to do for yourself. "Here is my call to action: let's all stand together as women over 50 and show the world who we are instead of letting the world tell us who we are! Let's all throw it out how great we are like a giant boomerang and catch it back together and start a movement!"