Kristen Bell, the actress best known for voicing Gossip Girl and starring in The Good Place, has become an unlikely source of nutritional wisdom after one of her co-stars revealed the trick behind her figure.
The revelation came during the 2025 Emmys, when Justine Lupe, Bell’s co-star in Nobody Wants This, was asked about her wellness secrets. She didn’t hesitate.
Highlights
- Kristen Bell’s figure may be thanks to a surprisingly simple trick she swears by before meals.
- Experts say her pre-meal habit can help regulate hunger and stabilize blood sugar levels.
- The method may reduce cravings, prevent weight gain, and lower the risk of insulin resistance.
Instead of weight loss injections, intense workouts, or surgeries, Bell’s method has everything to do with strategically using foods high in fiber to control blood sugar levels.
“You ask her anything about your glucose levels, you ask her how to plug up your system before you eat a bowl of pasta. The woman knows what the heck to do,” Lupe said in an interview.
Actress Kristen Bell revealed her surprisingly simple but effective trick to control hunger and avoid weight gain
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According to Lupe, Bell follows a simple routine whenever she’s about to eat carbs, especially the refined kind, like pasta or bread. She starts by “plugging up” her system with something fibrous: either a plate of leafy greens, a glass of Metamucil, or a shot of apple cider vinegar.
Why? Because those three things can help delay how fast your body absorbs sugar from the food you're about to eat.
“It supposedly stabilizes your glucose,” Lupe said. “You can thank Kristen Bell for that, everyone.”
Image credits: kristenanniebell
In simple terms, when people eat carbs, the body breaks them down into glucose, a form of sugar, and sends it into the bloodstream. If this process happens too quickly, blood sugar spikes, then crashes, leaving people tired, and hungry all over again.
By eating fiber first, like spinach or a supplement, a protective barrier forms in the digestive system, which slows down the absorption of sugar, helping people stay fuller longer.
Experts explained how fiber is crucial in avoiding one of the primary causes of weight gain: a cycle of constant hunger
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Turns out the “hack” is supported by science.
“Kristen Bell isn’t wrong here,” registered dietician Amy Shapiro explained. “There’s actually some science behind it.”
Shapiro explained how slowing the rise in blood sugar is crucial to break one of the most common patterns behind weight gain.
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When blood sugar spikes and crashes, the body responds by asking for more food, especially starchy and sugary ones. This becomes a cycle. People eat, crash, crave, and eat again. Over time, this leads to overeating and weight gain.
Fiber, Shapiro explained, acts like a buffer, stabilizing the rise in blood sugar.
In other words, adding just a little bit of fiber before eating foods high in carbohydrates can help people hop off the kind of metabolic rollercoaster that makes long-term weight control feel impossible.
The dietician recommended people prioritize leafy greens, and use supplements only when there’s no other option
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Apple cider vinegar, the third item on Bell’s list, works differently but may offer similar benefits.
Due to its acetic acid content, ACV has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and slow gastric emptying.
“This may blunt post-meal blood sugar spikes, especially after carb-heavy meals,” Shapiro noted.
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Still, the dietician warned against thinking of these tips as a miracle fix.
“While it’s not a ‘magic bullet,’ both strategies can make a measurable difference in glucose response for many people,” she said. “But healthy habits and balanced meals remain the most important.”
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When asked how she would rank Bell’s preferred fiber sources, she placed leafy greens at the top, arguing that real food fiber also provides essential vitamins and minerals.
Supplements came second, ideal for those with low fiber intake.
Apple cider vinegar ranked last, largely because it can upset people’s stomachs, and many can’t tolerate the taste.
She also advised avoiding ACV gummies, noting that while they’re popular, they’re so ineffective they might as well be considered a placebo.
While many readers found Bell's advice useful, others said she's simply spreading common sense
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"Wow. What an amazing breakthrough. She figured out that diet and exercise work," one said.
"We have known this for decades. What makes her 'knowledge' so special?"
"Eat vegetables first, protein and fat second , and carbs last. It definitely helps with blood sugar," a netizen wrote.
"Or just eat normal foods in normal amounts like people have done for thousands of years, and don't sweat the details. If you gain weight eat less, if you lose weight, eat more," another added.
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Others took the chance to share their own recipes.
"Angel Hair Pasta sautéed with Spinach, Tomatoes and Feta for dinner. Yum," a user wrote.
"Love everything you mentioned! Would add sun-dried tomatoes too," another replied.
"Not new." For many readers, Bell's method came as no surprise
