Celebs who inspire healthy living

Lance Armstrong

When it comes to thriving in the face of adversity, few stories are more inspiring than that of Lance Armstrong. In 1996 the cyclist was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which had already spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain, and told he had less than 40 per cent chance of survival. However, Lance not only survived, he thoroughly refused to be beaten by his illness. Following surgery and chemotherapy, Lance was back to training by January 1998, going on to win the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times.

Kate Winslet

It’s a well known fact that many of us lie about our weight in order to appear more attractive, so it is refreshing to come across a lady so accepting of her body shape as Kate Winslet. In 2003, when GQ magazine retouched photographs of the curvy actress to make her look slimmer, Kate – who claims to be completely comfortable with her body – publicly spoke out against the airbrushing procedure, claiming that she has “no intention” of looking that thin and that women shouldn’t feel that they need to be thin in order to be sexy.

Jessica Alba

Many people believe that your weight is determined by your genes; however, for Jessica Alba, genes were not a good enough reason to settle for poor health. Jessica, who has admitted to coming from a heavily overweight family, took her body shape and health into her own hands from a young age by starting to cook healthy meals for herself when she was 12. The Hollywood actress is now a long-term healthy eater and the owner of an enviably slim and healthy body.

Christina Applegate

When, in 2008, Christina Applegate was diagnosed with breast cancer, the actress made the difficult decision to have a double mastectomy to prevent the cancer from returning – yet her bravery did not stop there. Although Christina admits to feeling upset over the visible reminder of her illness, she inspirationally looks at her health scare as an opportunity to help other women. Since her diagnosis, Christina has continued to battle to help women at risk by founding Right Action for Women, a charitable foundation dedicated to promoting early breast cancer screening.

Eddie Izzard

In 2009, British comedian and actor Eddie Izzard took on the huge challenge of running back-to-back marathons, six days a week, for seven weeks across the UK – with only five weeks of training and no history of running behind him. Eddie, who took on this challenge to raise money for Sport Relief, covered 1,100 miles across the UK and completed an impressive 43 marathons in 51 days. However, challenge completed, Eddie was not ready to rest, and continued to run between shows as well as setting his sights on completing an Ironman Triathlon.

Jessie J

Jessie J burst onto the music scene in 2010 and quickly shot to worldwide fame. However, what many people may not know is that it was Jessie’s health struggles that helped to motivate her success. At the age of 18 the singer, who had been in and out of hospital for years with a heart problem, had a stroke which left her fearing she may never walk or sing again. However, rather than letting it get her down, the experience taught her to value her life. Jessie realized that she didn’t have time to waste and used the experience as motivation to take a risk and realize her dreams.

Britney Spears

We all love a good comeback and in 2008 Britney Spears was voted as the greatest comeback ever for her truly inspirational life and career overhaul. Despite going through an annulment and divorce, losing custody of her children and suffering a mental breakdown in quick succession, Britney showed remarkable strength with her comeback. In an interview with MTV Britney stated, “I've been through a lot... And you just cope, and that's what I do. I just cope with it, every day.'” And with her career back on track, a new fiancé by her side and a slimmed down physique, it seems that the star has bounced back better than ever. Well done Miss Spears!