We constantly ooh, aah and admire celebrities. We wish we had their hair, their makeup, their lifestyle and particularly, their bodies. That’s why celebrity diets are almost as famous as the celebrities themselves. Superstars train and eat like athletes, which puts them in tip top shape for the red carpet, paparazzi photos or their latest spread in US Weekly. Many of them are ambassadors for clothing, skin care and lifestyle companies. We see the ads, we glance at the billboards, we admire them in our favorite movies or TV shows.
The Reality
But the reality is that it all boils down to science. Celebrities work year-round and rarely have time to spend all day in the gym so they have to seek diets that can work with their busy lives. Yes, they are often living the high life jetting to premiers, on-location for work and the occasional holiday with their families, but A-listers realize all eyes are on them 24/7. This means maintaining an image conducive to health and diet plays a large role.
Not Just For Celebs
Fortunately, we don’t have to deal with the many headaches celebrities do, but we can still learn how to exercise and eat to get an ideal body. If you don’t have tons of cash to shell out on personal trainers, chefs, massage therapists, liposuction, cryotherapy and all the crazy lengths celebs go to in order to stay pristine, you can still find a diet and workout plan that can copycat their methods. From Kim Kardashian to Meghan Markle, the majority of A-listers have a dedicated regime they follow at the direction of health experts.
There is no cookie-cutter approach to staying trim and red-carpet ready. Some of our icons are notoriously hard to deal with, some are strict about nutrition preferences and many have quirks, requirements and extraordinary demands. There are many options in terms of how to adopt a celebrity diet lifestyle and here are some of the most popular:
Top 6 Celeb Diets:
- The Clean Program
Celebrities Who Use It: Gwyneth Paltrow, Demi Moore, Mariska Hargitay
This 21-day cleanse was created by cardiologist Alejandro Junger and celebs such as Gywneth Patrow, and is about eliminating the most common food allergens (gluten, dairy, processed sugar, coffee, alcohol), which basically allows the body to naturally heal itself.
This is a great method for examining your eating habits, be more aware, and focus on eating foods filled with vital minerals, nutrients, phytonutrients and healthy fats (like good-quality meats and fish, fruit, vegetables, nuts, avocado, and oils like coconut and olive).
The program allows for a mix of smoothies, salads, soups, fruits, seeds and nuts, fish, chicken and whole grains. Gwyneth Paltrow has actually modified and rebranded this diet as the 7-Day Goop Detox Diet. It’s the same idea, but a shorter timeframe so you don’t feel too taxed or deprived.
- The Five Factor Diet
Celebrities Who Use It: Lady Gaga, Eva Mendes, Katy Perry, Megan Fox and Rihanna
Think fives! Less restrictive than many other well-known diets, this plan was developed by celebrity fitness expert Haley Pasternak and focuses on just five components: protein, complex carbs, fiber, fat and fluids. The plan allows for five meals per day, with only five ingredients with one cheat day a week so you can eat whatever you want and not get burnt out or discouraged.
You are also to do 25-minute workouts (consisting of five, 5-minute segments) five times a week. Pasternak assures that eating a balanced meal five times a day will keep your blood sugar low and stable. This helps your attitude and gives you energy all day long. This meal plan does include food preparation, so you’ll have to commit to spending time on that.
If you’re traveling a lot, can’t manage your way around a kitchen or simply don’t have the time to commit, this may not be the best option for you.
- Weight Watchers
Celebrities Who Use It: Jessica Simpson, Jenny McCarthy, Tina Fey, Jennifer Hudson and Oprah
Unless you’ve been living in a bunker your entire life, you’ve likely heard of Weight Watchers. An oldie, but goodie – Weight Watchers has stood the test of time and has made a few adjustments along the way. This diet focuses on sustainable results as opposed to popular yo-yo diets or quick fat loss methods (which can actually result in more weight gain over time).
The philosophy is focused on inspiring healthy living and improving overall well-being. That includes taking an all-inclusive approach to help participants eat healthier and move more. Its myWW program, launched in late 2019, is its most customized and flexible program yet.
The program builds on WW’s SmartPoints system, which assigns every food and beverage a point value, based on its nutrition, and leverages details about food favorites and lifestyle to pair each member to one of three comprehensive ways to follow the program. A backbone of the plan is support via the WW app and expert-led workshops to provide workable tools and behavior-change methods for help along the way.
- Jenny Craig
Celebrities Who Use It: Mariah Carey, Valerie Bertinelli, Queen Latifah and Jason Alexander
Here is another diet plan that has been around for decades – and for good reason! Those who follow this plan enjoy the broad selection of ready-made, packaged meals and snacks that are delivered to your door. Plus, it offers multiple meal plan options, all of which are low-calorie meals designed to promote weight loss.
Each meal plan comes with a certain number of meals and snacks, and you can choose which of their menu options you want to include in your plan. Jenny Craig is a preferable choice for those who don’t want to mess with counting points or preparing meals. It’s easy to follow which is why it’s so sustainable.
Jenny Craig’s highest tier meal plan comes with personalized, one-on-one weekly weight loss coaching. This is helpful and can make a tremendous difference in achieving success on the plan, or another crash and burn dieting attempt.
- Nutrisystem
Celebrities Who Use It: Janet Jackson, Marie Osmond, Melissa Joan Hart and Dan Marino
Yet another diet plan that has been around for ages. The Nutrisystem program helps people ensure that they are consuming everything needed for the body comes in the right amounts and you’re getting all the essential minerals, vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates naturally.
The prepackaged food program has been compared to Jenny Craig and has been long associated with helping people lose weight. The 28-day program has 150 prepackaged and customized meals for each individual. You’re also given an allowance of eating fruits and vegetables between meals so you don’t feel like you’re starving.
The program is basic and has no complications at all. Just select your food preferences online and then pay online to have meals delivered to the door and on time. Moderate workouts and a generally healthy lifestyle will help individuals reach better results, but it’s also effective for those who don’t work out. This plan can help you achieve long-term success and it won’t feel like a punishment either!
- Intermittent Fasting
Celebrities Who Use It: Chris Hemsworth, Jimmy Kimmel, Jennifer Aniston and Vanessa Hudgens
While this diet has grown with increasing popularity in the past decade, it’s definitely not a new concept. The diet, which involves time-restricted periods of fasting and eating, has been the key to feeling healthier for many people. Choosing to fast for 16 hours and eat for eight per day is common, but for those who want an even easier route, 12 hours of eating and 12 of fasting also works. It doesn’t specify which foods you should eat but rather when you should eat them.
In this respect, it’s not a diet in the conventional sense but more accurately described as an eating pattern. And if you choose to eat healthier foods during your assigned “window” of eating time, your results will certainly happen much faster. This diet has been said to improve overall health, sleeping habits and accelerate a better mood. The key: no snacking. You have to follow the time period of choice like clockwork to drive down insulin levels. There are many apps for your phone that can help you with your timing control.
Conclusion
Many of these diets have been scientifically backed and successful for large populations, which is why they have become choice plans for our favorite stars. We have to keep in mind that celebrities don’t wake up in perfect shape everyday – hardly anyone does.
It takes consistent, disciplined adherence to eating healthy and committing to an exercise routine if you want to see change or maintain a specific weight. Luckily, there are plenty of options to choose from, beyond what we have listed here, so if you don’t find one of these options enticing, there is a ton of research and recommendations for other dieting methods.
Always consult with your doctor before making any significant changes, especially if you have a health condition that could be affected.
