Daniela Álvarez in Bathing Suit "Will Always Smile"

Colombian model Daniela Álvarez is celebrating her birthday on the beach. Álvarez, 35, shared some beautiful pictures of herself posing in the sand in a fuschia bathing suit, which perfectly matched the flowers in the background. “Thank God for another year of life, I promise to make it the most exciting adventure that can exist, with the good and not so good, I will always smile because the best gift you have given me is: LIFE! Thank you all for giving me so much love ❤️ #35 🎂 💃,” she captioned the post. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Álvarez 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. Working Out With Prosthetic Leg

Álvarez has a prosthetic leg but continues to exercise and stay as active as possible. "Exercise hurts!! 😅 It's hard for us and it hurts more,” she says. “Without one leg it's more difficult to reach the floor, bend down, sit on the machines, stand up again, it's quite a challenge, now imagine not having two!”

2. Exercise For Mental Health

Álvarez works out for mental as well as physical health. "It teaches us discipline, patience, to handle frustration, but above all to have that mental strength that we need to never give up in the face of difficulty,” she says. “Thanks to exercise we will reach old age with the immense desire to walk until the last day of our lives.”

3. Mindful About Carbs

Álvarez is mindful of her starch intake before pageants and while training. “It is a healthy diet where every day I can eat flour and I can ‘sin’ once, maximum two times a week,” she says. “As my coach says: it is 80% work and 20% happiness to feel good and stable. The flour can go in the morning or at lunch, I decide what time to eat it. It's nothing heavy. Before being Miss Colombia I had not been managing a healthy diet like this, it has been a drastic change because all my life I have been a big eater and I never had to say 'no' to anything. I love sweets and desserts, I could eat a lot of flour a day without measuring carbohydrates.”

4. Swimming and Diving

Álvarez continues to enjoy swimming and diving. “One leg did for two all the time while diving. Sometimes I lost my balance because my weight was not equally distributed BUT (after the ‘but’ the most important thing always comes) I enjoyed it the same or more than before… Every day I learn something about my prosthesis!” she says. “I am lucky and I thank God very much for [my leg], it has 6 ways to do different activities, one of them is swimming.”

5. Skiing Trips

Álvarez has always loved skiing, and found a way to continue the sport with a prosthetic leg. “The biggest blessing is that I’m alive to fall as many times as it takes to make it!” she captioned an Instagram post. “Two months ago I got the call from Challenge Aspen, a global organization that has the best teams, teachers and sports adapted for different disabilities! They asked me if I wanted to ski again, do you know how long it took me to think about it, not two seconds! I said yes and here I am. I'll show you how it will be, sure twice as hard, but the truth is that I've never liked easy.”