6 Celebrity Diets
The secret to looking and feeling fabulous is fueling your body with the right foods. Here are 6 celebrity diets that have helped our favourite stars look and feel their best.
By the time Friday evening rolls around, I religiously remind myself of three things – I don’t have an at-home gym, a personal trainer or a live-in chef. Instead of this serving as a reminder that I need to work thrice as hard to live a green, low fat, low-carb lifestyle, I order a takeaway because I don’t have any of those celebrity benefits. Or because I forgot to do a food shop. The point being, we’re brilliant but busy women which makes training seven days a week and drinking shots of celery juice an unsustainable way to live. Luckily for us, there are some celebrity diets that actually work without being too restrictive on our lifestyles. Here are six diets that celebrities say make them look and feel great…
ATKINS
The Akins diet was promoted by cardiologist Robert C. Atkins, who wrote the book about it back in 1972. It has since become a phenomenon around the world with many more books being written, research conducted and the diet tried and tested by famous celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Stevie Nicks and Jennifer Anniston.
The diet is split into four phases:
Phase one (induction)
Under 20g of carbohydrates for two weeks, eating high-fat and high-protein foods with low carb vegetables. This is what initially kicks off the weight loss. You should eat lots of protein such as poultry, fish and shellfish, meat and eggs at every meal. You can’t have alcohol, refined sugars, bread, pasta or grains and you are encouraged to drink at least eight glasses of water per day.
Phase two (balancing)
The balancing phase is all about slowly re-introducing carb nutrient foods into your diet. You can eat a minimum of 15g of net carbs as vegetables.
You must continue to stay away from foods with added sugar but you can slowly add foods like nuts, seeds and berries back into your diet as you still lose weight. This phase continues until you’re 10lbs from your goal weight.
Phase three (premaintenance)
In phase three, you gradually continue to increase the range of foods you eat in your diet by adding lentils and beans, fruit, starchy vegetables, and whole grains. You can also add another 10g of carbohydrate into your diet too but you must cut back if weight loss stops. You stay in this phase until you reach your goal weight.
Phase four (lifetime maintenance)
The final phase is for when you reach your goal weight and wish to maintain it for however long you are on the diet.
Net carbs should still be monitored and the intake is usually between 40-120g per day. You can continue eating this way for life to maintain your optimum weight.
Pro> The diet promotes a life-long lifestyle, not a quick diet fad.
Con> The four phases can come across as overcomplicated, having to change aspects of your diet each week.
>>PALEO
The Paleo diet is a dietary plan that has roots all the way back to the Paleolithic era, about 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago.
So it’s been around the block a couple of times but that's good news for us – it means the diet works.
Eating Paleo is a big trend among celebs like Jessica Biel and Megan Fox. The idea is you bring your eating habits back to basics - lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. By sticking to these foods, you eliminate dairy products, refined sugars, potatoes and highly processed foods in general. Think ‘hunter-gatherer’. Some foods to eat on this diet are:
>Fruits
>Vegetables
>Nuts and seeds
>Lean meats
>Fish such as salmon or mackerel
>Olive oil
It’s important to note you’re encouraged to drink lots of water with this dietary plan and increase your exercise levels.
Pro> It is said it helps with improving glucose tolerance and high blood pressure.
Con> You may be at risk for deficiencies in calcium and vitamin D .
>>ALKALINE DIET
A favourite of Victoria Beckham and Kate Hudson, the idea of the alkaline diet is to eat foods that balance your body’s pH, which in turn will protect your body from different health issues. The diet is formulated from the acid-ash hypothesis which claims that consuming a diet rich in fruit and veg with a moderate amount of protein will encourage an alkaline load and a healthier lifestyle.
Ideally, you want to stay away from acidic foods that can lower your pH and stick to more alkaline foods.
Some examples of acidic foods are:
>Meat - like corned beef, turkey and lean beef
>Cottage cheese
>Milk
>Eggs
>Alcohol
>Fish
It is also encouraged to limit ‘neutral foods’ - foods with a pH of about seven – avoiding sugars and starches.
Foods that are alkaline that you can consume include:
>Fruits
>Vegetables
>Tofu
>Soya beans
>Potatoes
>Nuts
>Mineral soda water
Pro> Eliminating processed foods and reducing fat and sodium intake positively impacts heart health and cholesterol levels.
Con> This diet can be restrictive and may take time to understand which foods are alkaline or not.
>>THE KETOGENIC DIET
The keto diet, although around for some time, has made waves in recent years with its reputation for weight loss while eating foods rich in high fat.
The basis of the diet is a low carb, high-fat eating plan that puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. When this happens, your body becomes really good at burning excess fat for energy. The keto diet can cause a huge reduction in blood sugar and insulin levels, making it a good option for people with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) or type two diabetes. The standard ketogenic diet contains about 70% fat, 20% protein and just 10% carbs. It’s important to note the 10% of your daily carb intake will more than likely be used up by certain vegetables.
There are blood and urine tests available to check whether your body has entered ketosis.
Foods to avoid on the keto diet include:
>Sugary foods
>Grains or starches
>Fruit
>Low fat or diet products
>Unhealthy fats
>Alcohol
Foods you can eat:
>Meat
>Fatty fish
>Eggs
>Butter and cream
>Cheese
>Avocados
>Healthy oils
Pro> The diet is said to higher your metabolic rate, helping you consistently lose weight.
Con> Some people experience the ‘keto flu’ when they first start the diet and have withdrawal symptoms from sugar.
>>22-DAY REVOLUTION
The 22-day revolution is a vegan eating plan that puts emphasis on eating fresh and whole plant-based foods.
It isn’t a standard vegan diet as you will be cutting out all processed food, including vegan options. Meat substitutes, chips and protein bars don’t make the cut – as handy as they are to have on hand. Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez have both tried this diet and loved eating plant-based.
It’s not all about weight loss but giving you the tools to switch to a healthier lifestyle.
The 22-day revolution has five key guidelines:
>Choose plant-based foods over-processed foods
>Eat three meals a day
>Aim for 80% carbs, 10% fat and 10% protein in your diet
>Exercise every day
>Drink lots of water (and don’t drink your calories)
Pro> People have reported a boost in energy after trying this eating plan and you’re more likely to stick at it because of the 22-day time frame.
Con> It takes a lot of prep and planning to ensure you have meals on the go. Also, 80% of your meal being carbs is a rather large imbalance.
>>THE SIRTFOOD DIET
This diet is relatively new, first launching in 2016. Celebrity singer Adele has been reported to follow the Sirtfood Diet and she really does look great. The diet involves eating ‘sirtfoods’, a food high in sirtuin activators. These foods work by activating specific proteins in the body called sirtuins. These proteins are believed to protect the body’s cells from dying when they are under stress and, it is claimed, even influence the body’s ability to burn fat and boost metabolism.
And to be completely truthful - what really caught the attention of the WW team is that you can still enjoy dark chocolate and red wine. I know, right? Dark chocolate (at least 85 percent cocoa) and red wine are two common sirtfoods you can consume on the diet. Some other sirtfoods are:
>Green tea
>Apples
>Medjool dates
>Citrus fruits
>Kale
>Blueberries
>Red onion
The diet is divided into two parts. The initial part lasts one week and involves restricting calories to 1000kcal a day for three days, consuming three sirtfood green juices and one meal rich in sirtfoods each day. From days four to seven, calorie intake is bumped up to 1500kcal. Two sirtfood green juices and two sirtfood-rich meals a day are consumed during this time.
The second part of the diet lasts 14 days and is known as the ‘maintenance phase’ which is when steady weight loss occurs. The diet creators believe the sirtfood diet is not all about weight loss but about eating the best food possible to fuel your body with the nutrients it needs.
Pro> You won’t need to cut dark chocolate from your diet
Con> 1000kcal is hard to sustain for three days.
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