The one food that health nut Rob Lowe can't say no to

Rob Lowe is a seriously healthy guy, but there’s one thing that’s as tough for him to resist as it is for his friend Oprah to say no to bread: hot pizza arriving at his house late at night.

“My downfall will always be ice cream, milkshakes, and pizza delivered to the house after 11 o’clock,” Lowe tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “I hear the doorbell after 11 when my kids are home, I’m like, ‘Oh, no. That’s exactly what it’s going to be.’”

Lowe’s sons with his wife, Sheryl Berkoff — Matthew, 24, and John Owen, 22 — are the culprits in those late-night delivery situations. They’re living like 20-somethings who can eat whatever they want, exactly the way Lowe and his Brat Pack friends did at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood back in the ’80s.

But the Code Black actor has been eating a low-carb diet for years, he says. Now he’s the Atkins brand’s first male spokesperson. Lowe jokes that Chris Traeger, the über-health-conscious character he played for five years on the Amy Poehler sitcom Parks and Recreation, would be “very, very happy” with Lowe’s lifestyle.

“I realized I had been eating ‘the Atkins way’ for years and years and years,” Lowe says. “In the morning, I’ll have some eggs, some avocado, sliced-up tomato, and some blended-up vegetable drink. Lunch will be, like, a chicken Caesar. Dinner could be a steak and spinach and mushrooms salad. I do a lot of Mexican stuff but without all the tortilla. I love my In-N-Out Double-Double, protein style. So I can still eat the stuff I love — all that stuff’s great — and that’s why it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. Because it’s not like I’m doing it for a month or doing it for six weeks, it’s just the way I live.”

In December, Lowe’s life, and the lives of many other Southern Californians, were affected by the 40-day-long Thomas Fire — the largest fire in state history — which forced thousands to evacuate and resulted in two deaths. At one point, Lowe shared photos on social media of him battling the blazes with professional firefighters, as well as serving the hardworking firefighters dinner.

“All of the first responders worked so hard and diligently … you know they come from all over the country,” Lowe says. “You’d see an engine crew from Washington state, another engine crew from Nevada, what have you, and so, as I would meet them … they’re sitting with lunches, sleeping on the ground, out in the open, and I was able to invite them over to the house. My wife cooked up some pasta, and we had some steaks. … The football was on, and it was a great opportunity for these guys to have a warm meal and have some laughs, get out of the elements, watch a little football.”

He continues, “We had, I think, five shifts of 40 people. So the picture that I posted on Instagram, that was just one shift. They’d come through and they’d eat and then they’d clear out. Then another gang would come in, so I got to see and meet a lot of people that night. It was great.”

Talk about Lowe’s neighborhood brings the conversation back to his neighbor Oprah Winfrey. The mogul has flatly stated that she won’t be a candidate for president in 2020. But it hasn’t stopped people from speculating about it or wanting it to happen.

Lowe takes the A Wrinkle in Time star at her word that she’s not interested in spending her days inside the Oval Office.

“Listen, if I could get her on board with some of my pet issues, yeah, sure, why not?” says Lowe, who has publicly supported both the Democratic and Republican parties at times. “I mean, at this point … I don’t think she’s going to run, by the way. And I think she’s come out and said so, but I think if she did, she could probably win.”

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• Meet Maame Biney, the first black woman to compete as a U.S. Olympic speed skater

• What 11 Olympians do in the morning to start their days off right

• Jordin Sparks is ‘looking forward to sleepless nights’ when baby comes — with a smile on her face

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.