Alexa PenaVega is best known for her role in the Spy Kids film series. She and her husband, Big Time Rush member Carlos PenaVega, just enjoyed a day on a boat together. They shared an Instagram collaboration of photos this week. In them, PenaVega posed in a light blue bikini, while leaning on her husband’s side. Read on to see 5 ways Alexa PenaVega 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!
1. She Wants To Be Healthy
Noam Galai/Getty Images
PenaVega opened up about her approach to wellness to Life & Style. She says that she makes sure to have the mindset of wanting to be healthy, rather than wanting to lose weight. “It’s so easy to fall into the mind-set of, ‘I’ve got to be skinny,’ but that’s stupid,” PenaVega says. “You don’t want to be skinny, you want to be fit! I think there’s a huge difference and also being fit takes work. It takes an effort and to be able to show, ‘You know what? I dedicated this time to improving myself every day,’ like it gives yourself value.”
2. She Sometimes Uses The Keto Diet
Paul Archuleta/Getty Images
PenaVega and her family are all about moderation when it comes to food. She tells Life & Style that she alternates between the Keto diet and indulging. “What’s really worked for us is we really love Keto, and we were doing Keto for a couple of years, and it had just given us the most energy. We kind of try to avoid carbs anyway. So, we do everything in moderation — mainly a Keto diet where it’s just proteins and good fats, but then we’ll have trips where we just indulge.”
3. She Opened Up About Her Eating Disorder
Shutterstock
While competing on Dancing With The Stars, PenaVega revealed that she had been struggling with an eating disorder. In an interview on Sadie Robertson’s podcast, she talked about how coming forward helped her. "The second I started talking about it and telling people, I was like breaking off all those chains, and then it just became this thing that no longer consumed me,” she explains. “My mom just said to me, 'You know, now people are only going to see her as being a bulimic. So, don't ever let anybody know that you're dealing with this. And I know she meant it in a way of protecting me, but I really feel like the enemy took those words and just turned it into something that had a stronghold over my life. So I just lived with a secret and it just tormented me for so long."
4. She Eliminates Foods That Give Her Trouble
PenaVega opened up about how she approaches eating while in recovery from bulimia on Instagram. In it, she says that she has had to limit gluten, as it gives her trouble. “There are certain foods that still give me some trouble… So for me… It is easier to eliminate those foods, so that my body absorbs all the nutrients I can get!”
5. She Doesn’t Care About Others Opinions
In the same Instagram post, PenaVega says that she doesn’t care what others think of her. “Whether you are choosing a ‘lifestyle’ choice for dietary conditions or because you want to is completely and totally up to you,” she writes. “And guess what? It’s totally fine!!!! So don’t let bitter people discourage you from being the healthiest version of YOU that you can be.”
