Weight Loss Seminar With Biggest Loser, Celebrity Chef

Updated: Friday, Jan. 13 at 11:55 a.m. to reflect that seminar has been postponed.

Devin Alexander is a busy woman these days, but she took some time out of her busy schedule to chat with Manhattan Beach Patch about her upcoming weight loss seminar and other things weight-related. The Manhattan Beach resident has her own weight loss story and is keen to help others. 

She has partnered with Laurie Gerber, president of Handel Group® Life Coaching, to bring the Dream Body Express Seminar, Cooking Demonstration & Tasting to all who'd like to lose weight. The seminar will be held in Manhattan Beach and is being rescheduled from Saturday, Jan. 14, 12 to 3 p.m. at a cost of $200 per person to another date that will be announced. In the meantime, if you'd like more information or an update on the seminar, email fans@devinalexander.com.

Manhattan Beach Patch: How much weight have you kept off and for how many years? I've seen it reported as 55 pounds and 75 pounds.

Devin Alexander: I’ve lost 70. In the earlier days of my career, I used to say, “over 55” for fear that I might gain some back. But I have it down to a science now, so I proudly say, “70”. 

MB Patch: What do you attribute your prior weight issue to? Can you elaborate on why you ate, and what you ate? I mean, it's always interesting and usually helpful to hear if someone's eating was emotionally driven, stress driven, just the type of food the family prepared, etc.

Alexander: My weight gain was attributed to all of the above. I had some loss as a child and got a little chubby, which forced me to suddenly not make the cheerleading squad, which I had been on. Then I tried out for the basketball team and couldn’t run fast enough and kids started picking on me. So I started staying home baking cookies and watching TV, instead of going to school dances and the like where I knew I’d be picked on. Needless to say, that didn’t help either. Like most people who become obese, it became a spiral that’s hard to break from as it's happening. 

MB Patch: Why did you decide to lose weight and at what age was this?

Alexander: I hit my top weight at 15 (close to 200 pounds). I had wanted to lose for years and had tried every diet on the market at the time, since I was constantly being picked on at school. It was such a battle. I just couldn’t stick to any one of them, especially since my favorite thing to do was to cook with my Italian grandmother. Finally, in my “diet research,” I read that if you cut just 100 calories from your diet per day, on average, you’ll lose 10 pounds in a year. My head was already filled with the calories of most foods given my dieting history and I knew how to cook, so a light bulb went off in my head. I knew that if I focused on just cutting here and there (instead of giving up brownies and all of my Italian faves), I could lose weight. And I did! My philosophy is still based on that today.

MB Patch: How long did it take you to lose those 55 or 75 pounds? Were there any ups and downs on the scale along the way? And how did you combat those?

Alexander: I lost about 30 pounds in the first year. From there, I plateaued for a while. I lost another 20 or so in the next couple of years. At one point, I went overboard and went on such a restrictive diet it was hard to participate in life (could NEVER eat out or travel with friends). At that point, I’d lost a bit over 80 pounds. But I made a conscious choice to gain 10 back – I believe my body is now where it wants to be and I’m healthiest (both mentally and physically), as I’ve maintained my current weight (with a 5-pound range—I’m always at the top of it at the end of a book deadline) for over 12 years.

MB Patch: What "diet" programs do you like and why? I've heard Weight Watchers is the best for losing and maintaining weight loss.

Alexander: I don’t believe in “diet” programs. I think that people are best served getting honest about what their cravings are and what they are currently eating then making choices to cut back from there – not overhauling everything at once.

MB Patch: How did your "weight loss" career take off? How did you get into becoming a chef/cookbook author, speaker, etc.?

Alexander: Years after I had lost most of my weight, I was recruited by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for a script I’d written in college. I actually moved to L.A. thinking I was going to be a screenwriter. Then, I started volunteering at charity events cooking for celebrities as a way to meet friends in L.A. When I started volunteering at these charity events, celebrities figured out I could cook healthy food that actually tasted great! They insisted I cook for them and the rest spiraled from there.

MB Patch: What will Saturday's class cover? What tangible benefits will someone get from it?

Alexander: Saturday is about empowerment. I teach “the Secret” of food both from the mental and practical perspective. So many people focus on what they can’t have. I focus on what I can and teach others to do the same. I also help people make promises to themselves that bust them out of ruts and destructive behaviors. And then I’ll demonstrate some RIDICULOUSLY delicious and easy go-to dishes that will make everyone say, “Wow! I totally thought I didn’t have time to cook…but I do!”.  

MB Patch: Is the class geared for anyone who wants to lose weight, those who just want to look better in their bikini this summer or those of us who need to lose quite a bit of weight and have struggled all of our lives' with our weight?

Alexander: The class is geared to anyone who doesn’t already have their dream body AND anyone who wants to cook healthy decadent foods effortlessly. The first half is about the mental. The second half is about the food/cooking. It’s a shockingly empowering workshop given the amount of time…and both Laurie and I are living examples that our work works.

MB Patch: What's going on in your professional world? What appearances do you have coming up and ongoing?

Alexander: It’s a little crazy right now. My latest cookbook, The Biggest Loser Quick and Easy Cookbook, was released on Nov. 8th and is currently on the New York Times bestseller list, so I’m doing a ton of press and appearances associated with that. In the last week and a half, I’ve been on Today Show, Access Hollywood Live, The Doctors, Prime News, Live Life & Win, and America Now.  

Meanwhile, last fall, I shot over 50 episodes as an expert for various shows: The Doctors, Live Life and Win, and America Now right from my Kitchen Studio here in Manhattan Beach. 

Coming up, I have a few more TV appearances in the works and I’m heading to Fancy Foods Show after the workshop this weekend.

As for ongoing dreams that are close to becoming realities – I’m in talks to open a healthy restaurant chain and my dessert-line, Devinly Delites™, is about to head to a manufacturer, with plans for them to be in a “store near you” soon. And, then, of course, there’s my addiction to writing cookbooks. There’s likely to be another of those before too long as well.

MB Patch: How long have you lived in Manhattan Beach? What do you like about MB?

Alexander: I’ve lived here for 2-1/2 years and LOVE LOVE LOVE it! My friends laugh at me because I’m constantly saying, “We live here” with such joy. I realize that many people dream of taking a one-week vacation at a place this special! I get to live close enough to the beach to walk there every single day AND to cook overlooking the ocean, all while experiencing the community environment. What’s not to love?!?

MB Patch: How much time in a week do you spend in your test kitchen?

Alexander: It goes in waves. There are weeks straight that I am in it 12 hours a day for book deadlines, then I travel a ton to do lectures, demos and appearances and am not in it (though my team is) for weeks.

MB Patch: How old are you? Are you married, any kids? What's a typical day like, or is there nothing typical about your days?!

Alexander: Someone once told me that, “You can never be too rich or too 29.” I’m 29! And, ironically, that’s the age people ALWAYS guess that I am.  

There is nothing typical about my days. They’re all exciting in different ways. Some days I get to discover new recipes and others I’m on the phone with the man I recently coached into losing 214 pounds and counting. I can’t imagine it any other way!

MB Patch: Have you heard of Vitality City, and if so, what do you think of it?

Alexander: I have and I’m ecstatic about it! In fact, I just reached out to someone on the team. I’m hoping to host a dinner so the committee and the press can come together over healthy decadent fare to help foster greater publicity for the “movement”.  I started my career so that no young girl would ever feel the way I did at 15, so to have something like this starting in our backyard thrills me beyond belief!

MB Patch: Do good eating habits being when we're young? 

Alexander: Yes! But it’s NEVER to late to change, as I have proven with my own weight loss and in coaching MANY others over the years. It’s a process. I love being the one who gets to show people that it can actually be enjoyable. Believe it or not, I enjoy food more now and eat more of what I really love than I did when I was 70 pounds heavier!

MB Patch: Anything else you'd like to add?

Alexander: I am a true believer that if you love what you do, EVERYTHING will always fall into place. That’s how I live my life…and, so far, so good.