Actress Jessica Alba, 39, spent the weekend on a health and fitness retreat with her BFF Kelly Sawyer that turned her into a “vegan hiker” (temporarily), and she’s sharing all about her experience in her latest Instagram post.
The Honest Company founder posted a carousel of photos from her weekend that included a sweaty selfie video from a hike, a abs-tastic photo of Jessica and Kelly, a picture of some blister balm, her feet soaked in an ice bath, and some yummy vegan food.
“So I’m a vegan hiker now… ?JK. Spent a week as a guest @theranchmalibu with my BFF @kellysawyer ❤️,” the L.A.’s Finest star wrote in the caption.
“We went on all the hikes, ate bomb vegan food, got our fitness on and are now ready to plunge back to reality with new healthy habits and tips on how to incorporate wellness into our day to day.”
Jessica noted that because of the hikes and vegan diet, she had some pretty noticeable health changes, pretty quickly.
“Thanks to @theranchmalibu I slept 8 hours a night, lowered my cholesterol, increased my lean muscle mass and feel rejuvenated and ready to take on the rest of this year with a healthier and happier mindset,” she wrote.
Jess’s lowered cholesterol is indeed a benefit from eating a plant-based diet, according to the Mayo Clinic.
This is also because vegan food naturally doesn’t contain any cholesterol. (FYI: Your liver makes all the cholesterol you need, per the American Heart Association.
The rest of the cholesterol in your body comes from foods derived from animals and is called “dietary cholesterol.”) And as for the other health benefits Jess experienced post-retreat, the results will likely vary person to person.
It certainly helps that Jessica is always trying out new workouts and foods to keep her body healthy and in great shape.
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Whether she’s dancing it out on TikTok with her daughters or getting in a tough resistance band workout, she’s always trying something new. Jessica told People that she does try to exercise in the a.m. and steer clear of processed foods—but she also gives herself a break if she feels like it.
“I don’t deprive myself,” she told the publication. “I have [junk] if I want it. When I do feel that I am depriving myself, I find that I binge. That’s not a balanced way to go about it.”
And food-wise, Jessica follows a program by Kelly Leveque, a celeb health and wellness consultant who completed her post-grad clinical nutrition education at UCLA and UC Berkeley. Jess’s plate typically has four things: a protein, healthy fat, fiber, and greens.
In combination, these regulate over eight hunger hormones in your body and optimize blood sugar balance, Leveque previously told
