Victoria's Secret models (L-R) Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio, Miranda Kerr, Erin Heatherton and Candice Swanepoel pose during a photo opportunity for the 6th Annual What is Sexy? List in Los Angeles May 12, 2011. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is just around the corner - it's that time of year when men and women alike sit in front of the television enthralled by the stunning models and their perfect bodies.

Strutting down the runway in skimpy lingerie takes a lot more effort than most models would have the audience know. The Angels may make it look like a piece of cake, but veteran model Adriana Lima sets the record straight on what it really takes to look like that.

"It's really intense. It's not really the amount of time you spend working out, it's the intensity," Lima tells Telegraph in a revealing exclusive. "I jump rope, I do boxing, I lift weights, but I get bored doing that. If I am not moving I get bored very easily."

The Brazilian beauty has a personal trainer who has been preparing her since August with daily workouts. Three weeks before the big day, they double their workouts to twice a day.

Model Adriana Lima presents a creation during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Armory in New York November 9, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

It's difficult to imagine a regime that strenuous, but Lima's diet is even stricter. During the training period her trainer requires the supermodel to drink one gallon of water per day. Nine days before the show, she abstains from solid food and only consumes protein shakes with powdered egg. Twelve hours before the show, she foregoes all drinks.

"No liquids at all so you dry out, sometimes you can lose up to eight pounds just from that," Lima explains.

On the end of the spectrum, one of the younger models on the show admits she has trouble keeping on the pounds.

"I'm always the opposite of everything," Chanel Iman reveals to Modelinia. "I drink a lot of protein shakes and do a lot of weight lifting."

The day before the show when fellow models are trying to lose the last few stubborn pounds, Iman gets together with her friends to "party it up" and eat potluck food.

Model Miranda Kerr presents a creation during the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at the Lexington Armory in New York November 9, 2011. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Miranda Kerr, who will be wearing the $2.5 million bra this year, credits her curvy figure to her new baby Flynn.

"It's milking time," she told New York Post. "I'm still breastfeeding. I'm pumping and it's going well."

The focus on model diets and exercise regimens are too much for South African model Candice Swanepoel. "I understand the speculation because [the show] is about our bodies and we take such good care of ourselves so people want to know how," Swanepoel says. But, she adds, "They want to think that you're unhealthy."

But Lima is not letting the criticisms pull her down. For the 30-year-old stunner, the hard work pays off in the best way possible. "Actually, the Victoria's Secret show is the highlight of my life," she admits.

"Becoming an Angel, once I achieved that, it was a dream come true for me. And I know that after all this is done, when I sit down with my daughter one day, we are going to look back and it's going to be very special."