Celebrity Chef Lost 70 Pounds But Doesn't Believe In Diets

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA – At 15 years old, Devin Alexander weighed 200 pounds, was getting "brutally bullied" in school, and was "desperate" to lose weight. Now, after a few very transformative years, she's a celebrity chef, three-time New York Times Best Selling Author, and has appeared on numerous television shows and magazine covers. From a humble background, Alexander learned to cook from her Italian grandma and scoured through cook books in the library when she learned something that changed her thoughts on dieting: if someone cuts out 100 calories per day, they will lose 10 pounds in one year.

Alexander considers herself a competitive person, so she began challenging herself to cut 200 to 300 calories per day by educating herself on how to make healthier choices. She completely stopped doing "starvation diets," and lost 70 pounds. Although she had moved to Los Angeles to pursue screenwriting, when celebrities heard that she could cook healthy foods that taste good, a catering business was born; her focus was making healthier alternatives of popular dishes she knew everyone liked.

"My best advice would be to commit to never diet again," Alexander said. "There are no 'cheat days,' I'd rather you just eat the chocolate cake when you actually want to eat the chocolate cake!"

Alexander has now coached thousands, "maybe millions," of pounds off of clients including two clients who lost 230 and 170 pounds respectively, and is the chef of NBC’s “The Biggest Loser.” She's written five "The Biggest Loser" cookbooks, was the host of “America’s Chefs on Tour” on PBS, and frequently appears on: The Today Show, Good Morning America, Dr. Oz, The Doctors, The View, Dr. Phil, FOX, CNN, HGTV, USA, among others.

More than simply choosing healthier alternatives, Alexander likes to get down to the root of the problems her clients have, such as eating out of boredom or stress. The phrase "it's what is eating you, not what you're eating" is something everyone has heard, she said, but what do you do with someone who's 37 years old, unmarried, and her parent is dying of cancer? Alexander knows when someone is emotionally eating, but taking the next step is where she comes in.

"If a person that needs a wheelchair doesn't have it, they're stuck. I think my biggest handicap in life is my propensity to want food. It feels like a strong ocean current pulling me to it, but I have my wheelchair of sorts. I have tricks to prevent me from, for example, eating a whole bag of chips in one sitting," she said. "Instead, I'll keep carrot sticks and celery in my fridge. If I come home from a long day and I'm starving, I know I have frozen fish which will defrost fast. It's all about debunking the myth of what you should eat and when."

Although she's never failed with any weight-loss client she's coached, there have been clients that have challenged her. Even then, her biggest accomplishment is how many people she's helped lose weight. Although the New York Times Bestseller List is "awesome and amazing," helping people is a "whole different thing."

For those trying to make a change in their lives, food-related or otherwise, Alexander suggests speaking to yourself the way that you would talk to a five year old.

"I used to be so mean to myself, and I’d never say any of those terrible things to a 5 year old. One day I decided to get a locket ring and put my baby picture in it as a reminder to always remind myself to talk to myself like that," Alexander said. "And it worked."