For pretty much an entire generation, you could walk into a teenager's room and there'd be a 50-50 chance you'd see a Jessica Alba poster somewhere on his or her wall. Sitting pretty at the top of most lists of desirable celebrity women for pretty much a decade, you probably know Alba best from her roles in the Sin City movies.
Ask a room of gathered average Joes, and you'd be hard-pressed to find any that genuinely thought she wasn't very attractive. But time and tide wait for no man (or woman), so you can imagine Alba has to work super hard to stay in shape, especially now she's got three kids to take care of.
Luckily, Jessica Alba has the dedication and the wherewithal to keep the pounds off, but she admitted that there's been times where she wasn't 100 percent happy with her body. At one point, Alba was even dealing with inflammation, but it took a fateful meeting with celebrity health and wellness consultant Kelly Leveque to change everything.
While both UCLA and UC Berkeley can boast Leveque as an alumna, celebs such as Jessica Alba continue to the beneficiaries of her studies, as Leveque taught the movie star how to enjoy herself with her meals, while also helping Alba to feel and look good - so much so, Alba credits Leveque with helping her lose 11 inches (!) off her waistline.
So impressed was Jessica Alba, she actually wrote the foreword to Leveque's book - Body Love: Live in Balance, Weigh What You Want and Free Yourself From Food Drama Forever - and in this book, you can learn the methods that served Jessica Alba so well.
While most diet plans will focus on cutting carbs, introducing healthy fats or lean protein, Leveque says the key to losing weight is loving your body through the use of food. “[It's about]eating the food your body needs to make your skin glow, feed your gut, and give you energy,” she reveals.
That means no calorie counting, folks - instead, why not focus on eating delicious foods that you enjoy eating, which also have the right combination of nutrients to keep those pesky hunger thoughts at bay? If you manage to keep your mind off food, Leveque says those pounds will fall right off.
But let's get into the nitty gritty, everyone - how can you practically, tangibly bring this into your life? There are three main techniques that Leveque swears by; let's see what they are, shall we? First off, you should start off your day smooth - by which I mean, have a smoothie for breakfast.
"It sets you up for success by helping you feel full so you can be calmer by the time lunch rolls around and naturally make better choices throughout the day," explains Leveque. She also employs an ideology based around the 'Fab Four' (Jessica Alba probably wasn't a fan of using the phrase 'Fantasic Four' any time soon) food groups.
With protein, healthy fat, fibre, and greens in your meals, you should be well on your way to losing weight, says Leveque, calling this the "ticket to freedom". These four food groups work together to optimise your blood sugar levels and regulate several hunger hormones in your body.
Finally, while you don't have to spend hours in the gym, it's important to keep on moving with purpose. “Do something that keeps you happy and you can be consistent with,” says Leveque, whether that be taking a long walk with lunch, a quick jog before breakfast, or going rollerblading every Thursday. The world's your oyster, folks.
