Former Little Mix star Jesy Nelson has turned her health and fitness around—and it shows. The singer posted a series of sultry pictures of herself looking confident in a pink patterned bathing suit with a matching jacket. How does she stay so fit? Read on to see 7 ways Nelson stays in shape and the photos that prove they work—and to get beach-ready yourself, don't miss these essential 30 Best-Ever Celebrity Bathing Suit Photos!

Nelson has spoken about crash dieting to get in shape for a music video, and vows never to do that again. "On the day of the Sweet Melody video I had a panic attack on set because I didn't look how I wanted to look and I found it so hard to just be happy and enjoy myself." she says. "I was sobbing in the dressing room. Someone really close to me said, 'This has got to stop. You can't keep doing this to yourself. You're going to end up where you were before.' For me that was the pinnacle point. I was like, 'I need to start taking care of myself now because this isn't healthy.' It wasn't nice for the other three to be around someone who didn't want to be there."

Nelson  regularly incorporates boxing into her workouts. "This kind of boxing has many health benefits, because it constantly requires you to think, change your position, and change your posture," says physical therapist Linda Arslanian, director of rehabilitation services at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's hospital. "You're swinging your arms, moving the muscles of your arms and shoulders, increasing your upper-body strength. And when you're in the boxer crouch with a wide stance, with your knees slightly bent, you're strengthening your core muscles, back, and legs."

Nelson is a big fan of South African fast-casual chain Nandos, which specializes in chicken dishes. "Baked chicken serves as a rich source of protein," says Sylvie Tremblay, MSc. "A 4-ounce serving of chicken leg meat contains 27.5 grams of protein, while an equivalent serving of baked chicken breast contains 35 grams. You use this protein as a source of amino acids, which help maintain your tissues and allow you to heal after injury. A 4-ounce serving of baked chicken counts as 4 ounce equivalents of protein, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture food guide, and helps you reach the 5 ounces recommended daily for women or 6 ounces for men."

Nelson is honest about her looks, telling fans appearances can be misleading. "I always get a lot of people comment on my abs in photos but I promise you I actually don't have abs lol," she says. "I'm very lucky that when I breath in for [my pictures] I get these weird little indents that come sometimes look like I have abs. Anyway I'm here to tell you I DONT have abs ladies and this is what my chocolate loving belly really looks like. I'll never ever be a size 8 which is genuinely what I dreamt of being, but I've come to terms with the fact that I bloody love my food and that will never change."

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Nelson has made it clear she will never follow the restrictive and damaging weight-loss methods she tried earlier on in her career. Instead, she appreciates the changes her body goes through. "We're all different shapes and sizes and that's what makes us unique," she says. "I'll never sit here and preach and say I love my body because I don't, but I'm slowly starting to just accept it for what it is and sometimes I'm gonna put on weight and sometimes I'm gonna go to the gym and lose it, either way girlies one day we will be really old and look back at our pics and think god I was actually banging why did I worry so much. Anyway I'm rambling on now but you're all beautiful in your own ways and I hope you all know that."