Katherine HeiglCelebrity Weightloss Secrets How to Lose Weight Like a Celebrity
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 - 20:07
Sure, celebrities seem pretty weight-obsessed. But then, you probably would be too if you gained 10 pounds every time you walked on set, and HDTV zoomed in on every ripple of cellulite on your body. Besides, if stars didn't test out every diet plan, eating disorder, surgery, and fitness regimen known to mankind, how else would we know what works and what doesn't? They're like our very own diet guinea pigs. Read on to see how stars slim down - for better or worse.
Valerie BertinelliCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Valerie Bertinelli
Anyone with a TV has seen the Jenny Craig commercials featuring Kirstie Alley and Valerie Bertinelli. Kirstie shed 75 pounds through Jenny Craig's meal plan (and exercise), while Valerie just met her 30-pound weight loss goal. In an interview with People before embarking on her new diet, Valerie said, "I don't know how my size, 14, has become obese while size 0 is normal. It's insane. I'm not even going for a size 6. I'll be happy with a size 8."
The Jenny Craig program involves one-on-one consultations, regular weigh-ins, and special meals that can be purchased at Jenny Craig centers, delivered to the home, or prepared through recipes available on the website. Regular exercise is also encouraged.
Ricki Lake
One thing's for sure. The 123-lb. Ricki Lake certainly wouldn't be cast as Tracy Turnblad these days. Ricki, who once tipped the scales at over 250 pounds, has dismissed claims that she underwent a gastric bypass, telling The Sunday Telegraph that, "I did not have surgery - that pisses me off when people say that."
So how did she go from Miss Hefty to Miss Size Four? According to CelebrityDietDoctor.com, Ricki uses a meal delivery plan through FreshDining.com, which keeps her daily calorie intake to 1,200. She also hikes 4 1/2 miles a day (running down on the way back) and weighs herself each and every day. Can we get a "Go Ricki!" in here?
"For the longest time, when I was very heavy, I couldn't cross my legs," Ricki told Us Weekly. "I couldn't physically do it. LOVE that I can cross my legs now ... Even my shoe size is changing. My Jimmy Choos are too big now."
Heidi KlumCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Heidi Klum
Most new moms wouldn't even step inside a Victoria's Secret boutique within 8 weeks of giving birth. So when Heidi Klum walked down the Victoria's Secret runway in revealing lingerie - and an incredibly flat tummy - soon after delivering her second child, people were floored.
Credit diet and fitness guru David Kirsch, author of the Ultimate New York Diet, with her amazing hot mama transformation. Don't want to buy the book? Just take a peek at some of the tips Kirsch gave "Access Hollywood." Phase One means cutting out dairy, fruit, and bloat-intensive foods for two weeks; Phase Two is all about healthy carbs; and Phase Three focuses on lean proteins like hard-boiled eggs. Kirsch also recommends smaller, more frequent meals (5 a day, every three hours); snacking on organic almonds; cutting out alcohol, bread, and starchy carbs; and exercising regularly to boost results (he says the rowing machine is a better option than the treadmill).
Randy JacksonCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Randy Jackson
While some viewers would probably like to see a little less of mean king Simon Cowell and loopy Paula Abdul, it's "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson who's getting smaller and smaller. That's thanks to a gastric bypass, which helped the musician shed over 100 pounds (from 329 to 229) and 12 inches off his waistline. While Randy is candid about his decision, he's made it clear that he doesn't want to be seen as a poster child for gastric bypass.
"I was having serious issues with becoming a diabetic," Randy told CBS's "The Early Show." "So thinking about how to do it, I tried all kinds of diets, everything under the sun. I was like: I really need to do something to nip this in the bud right now. It worked for me, but I hesitate to recommend it for people because it's like a personal life decision. It's a life choice because you change and alter your complete life when you do this."
"I am so happy that I did it," he says. "I'm so blessed that I turned out in flying colors and the surgery went well and everything. But one in 200 don't make it out of surgery. I think a lot of other people have complications during it, too. It's definitely very risky. That's why I hesitate to recommend it. You know, people say, 'You did it. Don't you love this?' Yeah, but for me it was a decision that works. But can't really recommend it that hard."
Lily AllenCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Lily Allen
As Body-Philosophy reported earlier, British singer Lily Allen found an unusual way to lose weight: hypnosis. After sessions with hypnotherapist Susan Hepburn, Lily dropped two dress sizes and claims she is better equipped to maintain healthier eating habits.
"After the hypnotism, I want to go to the gym every day, otherwise I feel really bad," she told The Daily Mail. "I just want to get more toned and healthy. I'm really good about everything at the moment - I've never been happier."
Katherine HeiglCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Katherine Heigl
Hey, beautiful and slender actresses sometimes need help too. When actress Katherine Heigl wanted to shape up her "beautiful but not toned" body, she turned to the 5-Factor Diet created by celebrity fitness trainer Harley Pasternak, who also works with Jessica Simpson and Halle Berry. (We non-starlets will have to settle for the book.)
"I used to have back pain," Katherine told People. "Suddenly, my body is supporting itself the way it's supposed to," Heigl says. "I wake up and I go, 'My god, I can't believe this is my body!' "
Modest? Maybe not. Healthy and toned? Definitely, thanks to five high-protein and high-fiber meals a day and a workout heavy on cardio and circuit training, up to five days a week.
Janet JacksonCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Janet Jackson
Michael's not the only Jackson sibling with a knack for transformations. Janet Jackson has long been a yo-yo dieter, fluctuating from cute and curvy Charlene on "Diff'rent Strokes" to a woman with rock-hard abs. But when she packed on more than 60 pounds following her controversial Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction," bouncing back wasn't quite so easy.
According to Slimming Solutions, Janet originally gained the weight for a movie role that never came to pass, ultimately tipping the scales at 180 pounds. "My thighs got really healthy and hefty and I got this really big stomach," she says. "It was very different being in that skin. I had a hard time doing things that you're normally used to doing. Getting around was tougher. My shoes were tough and my ankles would bother me; they'd ache at times. Certain rings would not fit my fingers and watches would not fit my wrist, so I stopped wearing jewelry."
In order to lose the weight, Janet worked with nutritionist David Allen and ate four low-calorie meals a day provided by FreshDining.com. She also cut out processed foods, white sugar and flour, soda, and alcohol; drank more water and got more sleep; and stuck to an exercise regimen with personal trainer Tony Martinez.
"The diet was very strict," she says. "It was all about discipline."
Feeling inspired? Janet has just announced that she'll be writing a book on diet and fitness, CelebrityDietDoctor.com reports.
Uma ThurmanCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Uma Thurman
Imagine gorging yourself on ice cream, chocolate, and pudding...and actually losing 25 pounds! That's reportedly how Uma Thurman shaped up her kick-butt role in Kill Bill, telling Austrian magazine Woman that, "I ate whichever desserts I liked and still lost 25 pounds because I didn't eat anything else." Fortunately for Uma, director Quentin Tarantino also gave her a 12-month reprieve after giving birth before filming started.
If this story is true, then Uma's got to be the luckiest woman on the planet. And perhaps the unhealthiest? After all, woman can not live on rich, chocolatey desserts alone. As much as we'd like to.
Jamie-Lynn SiglerCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Jamie-Lynn Sigler
The pressure in Hollywood is so great that many stars give up on diets and go straight for the eating disorder. Case in point: "Sopranos" star Jamie-Lynn Sigler, who opened up about her battle with anorexia in her autobiography, "Wise Girl." According to USA Today, she restricted herself to just 500 calories a day (less than half of what is recommended) and slimmed down to an unhealthy 90 pounds.
"I had an eating disorder," Jamie-Lynn says. "I hated the way I looked when I saw myself in the mirror, but I just couldn't stop what I was doing."
"I'd begin the day with an hour or so on the treadmill," she says, "and then I'd put on an exercise video. I'd even figure out how to make doing laundry or talking on the phone use more calories. Going out with my girlfriends to go to the mall was out. They might decide to go to the food court and order pizza."
Jamie-Lynn has since conquered her eating disorder and now maintains a healthy weight and diet.
Amy WinehouseCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Amy Winehouse
Before the "Rehab," the tats, and the out-of-control beehive, Amy Winehouse was just your average curvy girl trying to make it in the music biz. Then she dropped four dress sizes and hit it big. Her secret? No more pot brownies.
"I lost weight after I quit smoking weed and started working out," the troubled singer has said, according to IFitandHealthy.com. "[And] I went through a phase where I wouldn't eat."
Amy has reportedly battled anorexia and bulimia in the past, and her taste for booze has been well-documented. According to The Daily Mail, she maintains her stick-thin frame with frequent exercise. "Amy will do a full cardio, fat-burning workout followed by lots of repetitions, on a relatively light load, on the weights machines," a source says. "As her body has become transformed, the more weight she's lost, and the more obsessed she has become."
Marc JacobsCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Marc Jacobs
Holy Karl Lagerfeld! Fashion designer Marc Jacobs used to be the slightly chubby, kinda nerdy guy with the glasses and lanky hair. Now, he's a tan, buff hunk. What happened?
According to A Socialite's Life, Marc says he lost weight thanks to "a complete clean health food diet - no sugar of any sort (even fruit), no dairy, no wheat, no bad fat, and no caffeine."
But is there more to the story? "This past year has seen Jacobs, 44, in and out of rehab and plagued with rumors about plastic surgery and drug-induced weight loss (he insists he dropped the pounds by working out and going organic)," writes the New York Post's Danica Lo.
Hey, anyone who spends that much time with skinny fashion models is probably going to have a slightly warped diet.
Jennifer AnistonCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Jennifer Aniston
Remember when Rachel Green had layers...and sexy curves? That was before Jennifer Aniston went on The Zone Diet. According to About.com, The Zone burns fat thanks to a ratio of 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat; lean proteins are also encouraged.
Jennifer also stays slim through regular yoga sessions with pal Mandy Ingber.
"I've had everything from deep laughter to deep sadness, where I was crying through moves," Jennifer told Self. "It's good to get that stuff out. You feel like you're having a therapy session, a workout and a meditation at the same time."
And don't forget the Smart Water!
Renee ZellwegerCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Renee Zellweger
If there's one star who deserves an Oscar simply for her commitment to gaining (and then dropping) weight for a role, it's Renee Zellweger (Toni Colette is a close second). Seriously - this woman takes yo-yo dieting to new extremes.
According to The Daily Mail, Renee first bulked up to 140+ pounds to play Bridget Jones by loading up on donuts, pizza, and other fat-laden treats (tough job, eh?). She shed the weight via the Atkins Diet, but felt "sluggish." For the sequel, she took a new approach, using weight gaining powders and a nutritionist to create a high-caloric meal plan featuring healthier foods.
Once filming ended, Renee switched to a high-protein diet and booked a stay at California's Ashram Spa, where daily 12-mile hikes are part of the weight loss routine. Total weight loss? More than 30 pounds.
Still, Renee isn't naïve about the consequences of her yo-yo habits. "I know there's been some research into losing weight quickly and the effects that has," she told Closer magazine. "Of course, it's concerning."
Carson DalyCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Carson Daly
"The Gen-X Al Roker - that's me," Carson Daly has joked to People magazine. And though the talk show host hasn't had gastric bypass like Roker, he has undergone a startling 30-pound weight loss.
Carson credits his slim figure to healthier eating habits, exercise (like 30-mile bike rides), and less partying (which may or may not be related to breaking off his engagement with party girl Tara Reid).
"I don't weigh myself," he says. "I don't starve myself. But I (also) don't eat crappy food at night. I used to be awake at night. I'm asleep now when my show is on. I like to run or go for a swim. I don't have a trainer. I don't lift weights."
Maybe he should. Judging by recent photos, Carson looking a little emaciated.
Liz Hurley, Reese Witherspoon, Mariah CareyCelebrity Weightloss Secrets Crazy Celebrity Diet Secrets
Jezebel (via The Sun) has the dirt on the bizarre ways some stars slim down. The only question is, how desperate are you to try them?
*Reese Witherspoon reportedly eats baby food, with one "grown-up" meal thrown in. Suddenly Ryan Philippe doesn't seem like such a jerk.
*Liz Hurley has watercress soup when she needs to shed some weight.
*Mariah Carey favors "purple foods." Let's see, that's eggplants, plums, cabbage, and um...purple Skittles?