14 DAY TRIAL // This past week, three gorgeous female stars came clean about the diets they resorted to to get in top shape or the tricks they often used to lose a few pounds quickly when need be. Jennifer Aniston recently lost a dress size with the help of the baby-food diet, Naomi Campbell admitted she went on a detox diet three times a year, while Cheryl Cole revealed she never worked out and only kept in shape with the Blood Type Diet. The Daily Mail got two experts to weigh in on these diet fads and the conclusion they came to is none too favorable for the regimes in question.
Take Jennifer Aniston’s plan, for instance. With the help of celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson, the same one who helped the likes of Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow get the body they could once only dream of, the former “Friends” star embarked on a grueling regime complete with diet and intense workouts. The diet consists of only pureed foods throughout the day and one adult-sized meal for dinner, made of lean meat and vegetables. It might work, but it’s not necessarily healthy, experts say.
“This seems totally counter-intuitive to me. If your food is easier to digest, it means the calories are more readily available to your body. It's the reason why eating an apple actually gives you fewer calories than if you drink the juice of one apple,” Ursula Arens of the British Dietetic Association says. Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, agrees that only harm can come with this kind of excessive dieting. “Human beings need roughage. Eating lots of green veg and food that bulks out the bowel prevents bowel cancer, so by liquidizing your food, you run pointless and unnecessary risks with your long-term health,” he adds.
Enter supermodel Naomi Campbell: she recently admitted that, while a few years ago, she was able to stay slim by simply exercising some portion control and smoking, that was no longer the case. A while back, she discovered the many advantages of the detox diet also known as the Master Cleanse, which consists of drinking lemon juice with cayenne pepper for a short period of time – and not much else. Naomi claims the body needs a “breather” every once in a while, so she tries to do this detox three times a year under her nutritionist’s observation. Nonsense, the experts contacted by the Mail say.
“If this mixture is all you are consuming, you are going to lose weight because it is an incredibly low-calorie diet, but you're not going to keep the weight off when you stop. The only way to lose weight that will last is slowly and sensibly,” Mrs. Arens says. “The human body is brilliant at detoxing itself. The liver and kidneys are all that you need. To suggest that you need to give your digestive system a break is just nonsense,” Prof. Field agrees.
Another diet that seems to be based on fact but is far from it is the one that Cheryl Cole swears by, the Blood-Type Diet. Admittedly, you can eat all you want of certain foods, as long as you make sure they’re good for your blood type. This way, not only do you not gain weight, but you also make sure you’re healthy – or so the diet claims. The truth is this eating plan can cut away entire food groups, which are, of course, essential for a healthy, balanced life.
For more diet plans of the rich and famous (including models Heidi Klum and Kate Moss, and Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow), please refer here.