Hollyoaks' Sarah Jayne Dunn in Bathing Suit Says "Celebrate"

Sarah Jayne Dunn is celebrating her belated anniversary! In her latest social media snap the former Hollyoaks star flaunts her fabulous figure in a swimsuit. "Weekend (Thursday) anniversary (it was in May) vibes," she captioned the Instagram post. How does the 40-year-old maintain her fit physique? Read on to see 8 ways Sarah Jayne Dunn stays in shape and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don't miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!

When Sarah needs to slim down, like for her wedding, she commits to a serious 12-week program. "I did something like this a few years ago; I trained really hard, ate really well and I felt the best I'd ever felt. I know how good you can feel being really healthy and physically strong and I really want to get that back," she said in a blog. "My skin was better, my sleep improved and my energy levels were sky high. I felt amazing for feeling strong – and this is something I wanted to get back to."

Sarah exercises so she can look and feel good and her "personal well-being" she wrote in her blog. "I know how good you can feel being really healthy and physically strong and I really want to get that back. Nothing beats that feeling!" she said about recommitting herself to fitness. 

Sarah refuses to go on any crash diets. "You see people starving themselves, crash dieting or following fad diets (they are a real bugbear of mine) and they're just miserable," she wrote. They've got no energy or they're constantly counting every little bit of food they have. But there's a better way of doing things where you feel full, healthy and energised."

Sarah might be getting older, but she refuses to use it as an excuse not to look great. "I used to fear getting older and turning 40 and after I had a baby people were saying 'oh that's it now' – I didn't want to have a baby and never get my body back," she said, per the Mirror UK

Sarah works out in the gym, doing three hours of weight training a week, taking 12,000 steps per day and mixing in a couple of extra quick cardio sessions. "The average American walks 3,000 to 4,000 steps a day, or roughly 1.5 to 2 miles. It's a good idea to find out how many steps a day you walk now, as your own baseline. Then you can work up toward the goal of 10,000 steps by aiming to add 1,000 extra steps a day every two weeks," says the Mayo Clinic. "If you're already walking more than 10,000 steps a day, or if you're fairly active and trying to lose weight, you'll probably want to set your daily step goal higher."

The training involved a visual check in, where Sarah recorded her progress weekly by taking pictures of herself instead of a standard weigh-in. Also consider your portion size. "It may take practice to become a better judge of serving sizes and portions, especially as you put entire meals together. But the more you practice, the more control you'll have over how much you eat — and that's key to weight loss," says the Mayo Clinic.

Sarah is a mindful eater, eating healthy most of the time. However, she will indulge in a glass of wine or a piece of dark chocolate. Her diet also allows her to eat carbs, but tries to avoid bread and processed carbs (like pasta) along with cheese. 

For breakfast Sarah will start with a three egg omelet with spinach, ham, and tomatoes, followed by a mid-morning snack of a protein shake with berries and oats. For lunch, she likes tuna with mixed salad and avocado and a side of mixed fruit, followed by a mid-afternoon snack of chicken salad. For dinner, she will eat salmon stir fry with brown rice. "A 3-ounce fillet of wild salmon has fewer calories and half the fat content of the same amount of farmed salmon. And although farmed salmon may have more omega-3 fatty acids, it also has more than double the saturated fat content — and that's not fat you want," says the Cleveland Clinic. "Wild salmon gets the edge for having fewer calories and less saturated fat."