Ola Jordan in Bathing Suit is "Shocked in a Good Way"

Ola Jordan and husband James Jordan have lost almost the almost 100 pounds they collectively gained since welcoming their daughter Ella, now two—and they're showing off the results online. The Strictly Come Dancing stars posted before and after pictures of themselves, with Ola wearing a fuschia bikini and Jordan wearing swimming trunks. "Gotta say we're a bit shocked ourselves at how different we look now! But shocked in a good way," James captioned the post. The couple are sharing exactly how they did it, hoping to inspire others. So how does she stay so fit? Read on to see 5 ways Ola 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!

According to Ola, she kept plenty of what she considered unflattering pictures on her phone to keep herself motivated. "We took lots of photos and videos of ourselves when we decided we needed a kick up the bum to get in shape," she says. "People say – oh that was brave of you – but to be real about it, we didn't know if we would ever manage to get to that final goal. So the worst that can happen is you have a lot of unflattering pictures of yourself hidden on your phone! But – if you make that a first step on your fitness journey it can be a very powerful motivator. Then if you do get to where you want to be – it's so satisfying when you look back and see how far you've come."df44d9eab23ea271ddde7545ae2c09ec

Ola and James are both professional dancers—so it made sense to dance the pounds off. "We spent our whole lives looking our best when we were dancing so we were like, 'Let's start dancing again'," James says. "There is no gym, no equipment and no stress. We put the plan together in our kitchen, which is only two meters square," says Ola. "It was so lovely to dance again, so this plan is devised using our favorite dance moves made simple and combined with functional ­exercises, all to music, so you are ­shredding pounds while having a blast. The exercise takes only 15 minutes a day. This was so important to me as a mum, that it was quick — and Ella can do it too."

Ola stuck to 1,500 calories a day. Her typical breakfast was avocado on toast, with a skinny hot chocolate for a morning snack. For lunch, she had a tuna and sweetcorn granary sandwich with one teaspoon of low-fat mayo. Dinner was a fish pie with lots of vegetables, and her evening snack was usually a choice of one glass of red or white wine, a small bag of potato chips, a handful of nuts, or chocolate rice cakes. 

Ola says her priority was being in the best health possible. "People now preach body positivity, and they accept it, but I really missed my old self and that's not just my body it was with dance and everything else," she says. "Health is important for me, and I want to stay healthy for as long as I can."

Ola kept an outfit as motivation to keep going. "Am so glad I kept this in the back of my wardrobe! My classic catsuit," she said. "Back in the summer I dug it out as motivation to keep me going when we'd both decided to we needed to get off our bums and make a change. But I didn't think I'd ever be able to get back in it! Maybe you have something in your wardrobe you'd like to get back into? Let me know what – maybe your wedding dress?! It's a great way to keep you focused if you've decided this is the year you're doing to get fit and healthy."