Alex Guarnaschelli Weight Loss: Before and After Photos

Food Network chef Alex Guarnaschelli is one of the most respected and popular faces on the channel. Over the years, the culinary expert has gotten candid about her weight loss journey and cooking regimen. The restaurateur lost 49 pounds by planning her meals each day and cutting calories.

“I just simply modify what I eat,” she said in the past, per Rachael Ray’s official website.

Alex also shared some of her favorite snacks and healthy alternatives to junk food.

“I go to the cracker aisle … I go in and I pick like five different kinds of flatbread and bring them home,” she said. “I just like the variety, and I feel like when food has different textures you don’t feel deprived. You can close your eyes and turn a flatbread into a cheese doodle if you will it to be so. You can do it!”

The Chopped judge dished on some of the ways she adds flavor to food without adding extra calories.

“I’m a big fan of spice rubs because I think they really get the palate going,” she said during a December 2015 interview with Weight Watchers. “I also love adding a splash of red or white wine vinegar — they’re my go-tos. Steaming is a great way to cook things. You can brown some onions and then steam a piece of fish and some vegetables and put the browned onions on top.”

Alex continued, “It’s also important to remember that a little goes a long way, like chocolate for example,” adding, “If you chop up a small amount of chocolate (Dove is fantastic) and add it to a trail mix, you get a ton of flavor.”

The TV personality, who shares daughter Ava with her ex-husband, Brandon Clark, currently resides in a beautiful 1925 farmhouse in Bridgehampton, New York. The exterior of the home is surrounded by a garden full of herbs and fresh produce to cook with.

While Alex has opened up about her weight loss journey over the years, the Alex vs. America host does not put pressure on herself to achieve certain fitness goals. Instead, she wants to enjoy meals with her daughter and introduce her to new things.

“I do believe that if your child sees you eating and enjoying different foods (homemade when you can make enough time to cook), there is a better chance some of these foods will eventually make the ‘this tastes good mom’ list,” she once wrote in a blog for People.

Scroll below to see before and after photos of Alex’s transformation.