The secrets behind fad diet plans of celebrities are some of the most sought after in our culture, and for good reason. Celebrities have the “best” bodies and fans who see them want to look exactly like them. However, not all secrets to celebrity sexiness are healthy. Some diet plans celebrities have been known to follow are extreme, and sometimes even dangerous. Fad diets are also notorious for providing quick results with potential backlash right after crossing the finish line. “The term ‘Fad diets’ often implies that the method or diet plan is not necessarily sound nutrition, and that, most importantly, it is temporary. If the changes are temporary, of course, so are the results,” Certified Nutrition Specialist (C.N.S.) Susan Holmberg said. HC explored the plans of five of Hollywood’s hottest stars to see how healthy they really are.
Jennifer Aniston – The Zone Diet
How it Works
Jen has been following The Zone Diet ever since her days as Rachel Green. Popularized by the books of Barry Sears, PhD., and Bill Lawren, The Zone Diet emphasizes the a ratio of 40-30-30 – 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein, and 30 percent fat – to achieve the proper levels of bodily hormones. The diet promotes lean proteins, such as a serving of chicken breast, and what they define as “favorable” carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans, at every meal. It also allows some leeway for “unfavorable” carbs such as pastas, breads, fruit juices and others.
The Zone science revolves around two hormones, insulin and glucagon. Insulin helps store fat in the body and glucagon, its opposite, releases stored glucose from the liver. By regulating portion control and the foods you eat, you can balance insulin and glucagon to keep you fit.
Healthy or Unhealthy?
Holmberg explained that The Zone Diet is based on “good science,” encouraging people to stay away from processed foods and stick to the traditional food groups. “The Zone includes most food groups, and teaches you how to balance them, so is easier to follow than some of the others,” she said.
There are no direct, scientific studies or research which proves the effectiveness of The Zone Diet, however Sears’s books are full of success stories from everyone from ordinary people to high-profile athletes.
Eating in The Zone– around 1100-1200 calories per day
Breakfast – oatmeal, egg white omelet, cup of fruit
Lunch – grilled chicken breast, cobb salad
Dinner – stuffed peppers, grilled scallops with potatoes
Snacks – string cheese, Jell-O, mini blueberry muffins
Megan Fox – the Paleo Diet
How it Works
Fox has followed the Paleo Diet, a diet which focuses on eating only what our prehistoric ancestors ate and nothing else. Paleo foods include fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and seafoods – all of which are full of nutrients such as soluble fiber, phytochemicals, omega-3 fatty acids, low-glycemic carbohydrates and others. The diet avoids any processed foods such as dairy products, legumes, cereal grains, and candies, which all contain refined sugars, saturated fats, and other harmful substances. The Paleo Diet recreates a food plan mimicking what hunter-gatherers ate before the Agricultural Revolution.
Healthy or Unhealthy?
The Paleo Diet is also one of the simplest plans to follow no matter where you are. Holmberg explains there are multiple ways to find Paleo foods even while dining out. “You just need to swap grains for veggies,” she said, “and most restaurants will accommodate. It is safe.”
Some experts are skeptical of how strictly the Paleo Diet should be followed. Some foods the diet avoids can be nutritious, such as beans and other legumes, so while this recommendation isn’t unhealthy, it just doesn’t allow as much freedom in choosing certain foods. The diet does allow other nutritious foods, such as nuts, dried fruits, and healthy oils to be consumed in moderation. If you want to follow the Paleo Diet, it’s up to you how strictly you want adhere to its rules.
Eating Prehistorically– between 1400-1500 calories
Breakfast – dried fruit and nut mix, grapefruit, strawberries
Lunch – berry salad, chicken breast with avocados, pork loin
Dinner – lean steak, salmon, mixed veggie salad
Snacks – almonds, pumpkin seeds, apples, baby carrots
Beyonce – the Master Cleanse
How it Works
Beyonce followed an extreme diet while preparing for her role in “Dreamgirls”. She became Deena Jones by following the Master Cleanse. Stanley Burroughs popularized the diet with his books mapping out the plan with three stages – Ease-In, The Lemonade Diet, and Ease-Out. The Ease-In period is three days of slowly weaning yourself off of solid food. During The Lemonade Diet phase you drink six to twelve glasses of a concoction made with lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper powder, and water for ten to fourteen days. You also drink a laxative tea during this phase to induce bowel movements. The Ease-Out phase is the reversal of the Ease-In phase – three days allowing your body to adjust back to solid foods. Beyonce lost 20 pounds in the two weeks she spent on the Master Cleanse, however she did admit to eating vegetables during the second phase.
Healthy or Unhealthy?
Licensed Nutritionist and host of the Nutrition Diva podcast Monica Reinagel explained that the Master Cleanse is truly a quick-fix for weight loss. “There’s nothing magical about the combination of lemon, maple syrup, and cayenne,” she said. “Most of the weight you lose is water, which will come right back as soon as you start eating again. The Master Cleanse is basically a fast, and fasting can be unsafe if practiced to extremes.” In fact, Beyonce gained back all of the pounds she lost once she quit the diet – so it’s probably best to stay way from this quick, unhealthy fix.
Eating on The Cleanse– only calories come from the Lemonade Drink – up to 1200 calories
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks – the Lemonade concoction (up to 12 glasses a day)
To learn more about detox diets, read this Her Campus article.
Amanda Seyfried – the Raw Food Diet
How it Works
Amanda Seyfriend talked candidly to Esquire magazine about following the Raw Food Diet. “It’s intense. And sort of awful,” she said. “Yesterday for lunch? Spinach. Just spinach. Spinach and some seeds.” The Raw Food Diet follows rawism, which states that food in its most natural, unprocessed, uncooked state is healthiest. Most people who follow the Raw Food Diet spend a lot of time peeling, straining, chopping, and doing other preparation to make meals. Dehydrators are popular because they can make dried fruits and give crunch to veggies without cooking in a conventional oven or stove. The staples of the Raw Food Diet include nuts, dried fruits, beans, whole grains, sprouts, and other fruits and vegetables.
Healthy or Unhealthy?
Medical evidence to back up the Raw Food Diet is minimal. There are benefits to eating certain foods raw, for example eating raw broccoli or kale may reduce the risk of bladder cancer. Also, cooking certain veggies can cause them to lose some nutritional value. However, Reinagel explained in her podcast episode about raw foods that freshly harvested veggies can lose up to half of their nutrients if they are left unused on your counter. “When it comes to nutrient losses, unless you can arrange to eat every meal in the field where it was grown, it’s all sort of relative,” she said. “And even though nutrients are lost, don’t worry. There are still plenty left!”
Research has proven that Raw Food Diet followers have lower cholesterol and healthier levels of dietary carotenoids, but they also lacked certain nutrients only found in animal products, such as vitamin B12. So while the idea of eating strictly raw foods is healthy, one does lose out on possible nutritional benefits from cooking and other types of preparation.
Eating Raw– between 1200-1500 calories
Breakfast – apple, banana
Lunch – tomato and olive salad, bean salad, lettuce wraps
Dinner – large spinach salad with veggies, avocados and nuts, cole slaw, assorted raw veggies with raw tahini dressing
Snacks – sprouts, mixed nuts, clementines
Eva Mendes – the 5 Factor Diet
How it Works
“Discover Hollywood’s slimming secret!” The 5 Factor Diet boasts big results and “celebrity clientele” to back it up. Eva Mendez follows the plan, which centers around the number five. The diet is designed to cover five weeks in which you eat five meals a day and exercise 25 minutes a day for five days a week. The plan also allows five “cheat” days, one day each week, a practice Holmberg likes. “I think that the idea of a day ‘off,’ or maybe a meal off, depending on how indulgent you are going to be, makes sense,” she said, “and I teach that myself because people need to learn to build in their fun foods rather than think they will not have them, or that when they do, they are ‘off’ their plan.”
The plan is simple as long as you follow the basic rules. Each meal, for example, must contain each of these five ingredients: a protein, a carbohydrate, fiber, a healthy fat, and a sugar-free drink. Each workout should contain five steps: cardio warm-up, upper-body strength training, lower-body strength training, core training, and a cardio training session.
Healthy or Unhealthy?
The 5 Factor Diet is healthy in essence. It’s simple and provides a well-balanced food plan, however it doesn’t take into account specific calorie counts for meals. One will have to be able to moderate themselves when eating in order to not go crazy and eat more calories than are burned during the day. There is little to no scientific evidence to prove the 5 Factor Diet’s effectiveness – only accounts of those who have tried the plan.
Eating for Five– between 1600-1800 calories
Breakfast – spinach and cheese frittata, pancakes and yogurt
Lunch – chicken and black bean quesadillas, chili
Dinner – pizza with ricotta cheese and tomato sauce, lemon salmon
Snacks – minestrone soup, apples and cinnamon, trail mix
It’s important to remember that just because a diet works for one person doesn’t mean it will produce the same results for the next person. Habit is key – diet plans, whether fad diets or not, will only produce long-term results if you stick with them and develop healthy habits that not only allow you to lose weight or achieve your diet goals, but also change your lifestyle for the better. Holmberg explains that diet plans work best when you discover which one serves your biochemical makeup in addition to nourishing you and managing your appetite. “In the long run, diets with foundations in real, whole foods, done temporarily or permanently, have the potential for building long term good habits,” she said. “I think it is a matter of finding out what feels best and then choosing to keep as much of it going as possible.”
Sources
http://www.webmd.com/diet/zone-what-it-is
http://www.zonedietinfo.com
http://www.thepaleodiet.com/faqs/
http://altmed.creighton.edu/Paleodiet/Foodlist.html
http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/raw-food-diet
http://www.happycow.net/raw/raw_living.html
http://www.5factor.com/Pages/The-Diet/
http://www.everydiet.org/diet/5-factor-diet
http://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-nutrition/5-factor-diet.aspx
http://www.fitsugar.com/Amanda-Seyfried-Talks-About-Raw-Food-Diet-April-2010-Issue-Esquire-7765335
Susan Holmberg, CNS with a Masters Degree in Human Nutrition
Monica Reinagel, licensed nutritionist and host of the Nutrition Diva podcast