These celebrity diets are hard to swallow.
Zoe Kravitz is choking down clay and Shailene Woodley is stirring butter into her coffee — the current crop of A-listers with a crazy weight-loss fad.
Pippa Middleton is doing the Dukan Diet to keep that royal derriere tight, and Benedict Cumberbatch hones Sherlock’s sharp-as-knives cheekbones by fasting.
It’s hard to blame them for hungering for a quick fix. Like the rest of us, stars don’t have the time to eat properly or exercise. Indeed, Melissa McCarthy was speaking for all of us when she told Rolling Stone, “I could eat healthier, I could drink less … but I could get hit by a bus tomorrow.”
But before you turn to the latest craze, be warned: Some of these diets are legitimate and others are just full of empty calories. We talked to experts to figure out the difference: o
The diet: THE PALEO DIET
The promise: Eat like a caveman to lose up to 75 pounds in six months. The diet also supposedly prevents and treats heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and other illnesses.
How it works: By eliminating processed foods, sugar, grains and alcohol, you are supposed to be eating the way your body was apparently designed to eat. As a result, the diet speeds your metabolism and digestion, decreases cravings for unhealthy foods, and regulates hormones that can cause you to store fat.
Celeb fans: Miley Cyrus, Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Biel
What you eat: Meat, fish, eggs and poultry (ideally organic and grass-fed) are fair game, along with fruit (preferably berries), veggies (except nightshades, such as tomatoes and eggplants) and nuts (except for peanuts). But say goodbye to dairy, refined sugars, grains and legumes, coffee, alcohol and refined or hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Doctors say: “Most people could probably afford to eat fewer refined grains and carbs,” says Rebecca Solomon, director of clinical nutrition at Mount Sinai Beth Israel. “But why can’t we have tomatoes? Those are some of the healthiest foods around. Why can’t we have dairy? You could actually lose nutrients eating this way.”
Verdict: Send this back to the Neanderthals.
The diet: EATING CLAY
The promise: This diet claims to shed pounds and impurities from the body while boosting calcium, iron, minerals and the immune system. It also balances pH (acidity) levels.
How it works: Clay’s negative electrical charge bonds it to positively charged toxins and heavy metals in your body. You then excrete the whole mess. Expect your urine and feces to smell like metal.
Celeb fans: Zoe Kravitz, Shailene Woodley
What you eat: Stir edible clay like Bentonite or Montmorillonite into water and drink. Kravitz says she drank her clay and paired it with a Mason jar of pureed vegetables. Woodley recommends Natures Cleansing Clay.
Doctors say: These claims are muddy at best. “Our bodies are very efficient in detoxifying themselves. That’s why we have a liver and kidneys,” says nutritionist Despina Hyde from the NYU Langone Medical Center. “We don’t need to eat clay to help us with that.”
In fact, it can actually poison you. “The clay can contain impurities like lead, arsenic or other chemicals,” adds Hyde. “And over the long term, it could actually have the opposite effect and cause nutrient deficits by getting rid of things that we need, like iron and zinc.”
Verdict: Bury this fad.
The diet: BUTTERED COFFEE
The promise: Spurs weight loss by staving off hunger, and boosts energy and mental clarity over six hours.
How it works: The full-fat butter from grass-fed cows provides vitamins A, D and K2, which keep you feeling full and gives a strong, “clean” energy burn without the jitters of plain java.
Celeb fans: Shailene Woodley (again), 1990s rockers Third Eye Blind
What you eat: Mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of unsalted, grass-fed butter and one to two tablespoons of MCT oil (the fat from coconut or palm kernel oil) into a cup of black coffee, and whip until frothy. Brands such as Bulletproof (which comes in Keurig cups) and Coffee Blocks (which add egg yolks) come premade.
Doctors say: “There are vitamins including A, D, E and K in fats, and fat does help us feel satiated, but this is not magic in a cup,” says Solomon, “It’s going to do nothing to jump-start your metabolism for the day, and you won’t be feeling full for six hours.”
Also, butter can add 200 calories to your coffee, and is no substitute for a healthy breakfast. “You’re better off getting those calories from eating Greek yogurt and a banana,” says Hyde.
Verdict: A java joke.
The diet: THE DUKAN DIET
The promise: Lose up to 10 pounds within the first week, and continue to drop two to four pounds a week until you reach your goal by eating the approved foods — and following lots and lots of rules.
How it works: Over four phases, followers replace most of their food with protein (which is filling, packs few calories per gram, and takes time to digest) and cutting out almost all fat and carbs (which forces the body to burn stored fat as fuel). The Attack Phase restricts the body to protein-only foods, while the other three phases slowly reintroduce some fruits, vegetables, dairy products and some carbs and starches.
Celeb fans: Pippa Middleton, Gisele Bundchen, Jennifer Lopez
What you eat: There are 68 approved proteins (including lean beef, veal, rabbit, chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish and eggs — but not pork or lamb) and you can eventually add 32 different vegetables (including asparagus, broccoli, carrots, peppers, spinach and squash), plus a daily dose of oat bran.
Doctors say: “Like the Atkins diet, this will work for a while, but as soon as you eat carbs again, you’ll gain the weight back,” says Lori Rosenthal, a bariatric dietitian at Montefiore Medical Center. “And these rules are very strict, so to maintain this long-term will be very hard.”
Adds Solomon, “The numbers — 68 proteins, 32 vegetables — make some people feel safe, but you’re really just shedding water weight that first week or two.”
Verdict: You can Dukan — if you’re religious about it.
The diet: THE FAST DIET
The promise: Lose a pound a week by starving yourself for two or three days, which can force your body to burn fat for fuel, and also can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
How it works: Intermittent fasts (such as the 5:2, or Fast Diet) let you spend five days eating whatever you like, and two nonconsecutive days eating under 500 calories. There’s also a four-days, eating-three-days fasting version (though you skip breakfast on fast days).
Celeb fans: Benedict Cumberbatch, Miranda Kerr
What you eat: Whatever you want on your “normal diet” days — but when you’re in fasting mode, you’re eating just a quarter of your usual daily calories, preferably fish, meat and veggies high in protein and fiber, but low in calories.
Doctors say : “Well, you’re eating very low calories, so you can lose weight without a doubt,” says Rosenthal. “But food is our fuel. Cars don’t run without gas, and people don’t run without food. On the days when you’re not eating an adequate amount of food, you can get lightheaded and feel not as sharp, which can be dangerous.”
This cycle also sounds a lot like binging and purging. “It sets up this weird reward/punishment cycle that speaks to me like an eating disorder,” says Solomon. “And it could actually slow down your metabolism, because your body is entering into starvation mode on those fasting days. So it’s going to hold on to fat and calories in case you starve it again in another two days.” Which you will, if you stick to the plan.
Verdict: Go slow on this fast.
