Tuesday, 4 September 2007

The craziest celeb diets ever!

Baby food? Maple syrup? The stars really will try anything

The Baby Food Diet

Baby food is quite possibly the most bizarre fad diet ever to sweep LA, but the stars' latest drastic eating plan could actually be doing them more harm than good.

Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston and Desperate Housewives star Marcia Cross are all said to be devotees of the baby food diet, while Paris Hilton, WAG Abbey Clancy and Pamela Anderson are also believed to be fans.

But top nutritionists have warned that it's a potentially dangerous craze that could leave them completely malnourished.

Eating baby food as a diet plan has been the talk of celebland ever since super-svelte iconic menswear guru Hedi Slimane – formerly head designer at Dior – admitted to keeping his waistline enviably slim by cutting out two meals a day and replacing them with food created for newborns.

While celeb devotees of the baby food diet insist that they also eat normal meals, nutritionists aren't impressed. Carina Norris tells NOW: 'It's a gimmick. It may be a balanced diet, but it's balanced to meet the needs of babies.

'People would be better off reducing weight slowly on a properly balanced diet. Just think of the size of those tiny little jars. Yes, you'll lose weight, but if that's your lunch, you'll also end up malnourished. You won't take in enough protein and carbohydrates to keep your body ticking over.

'You could throw your overall nutrition out of kilter.'

The Maple Syrup Diet - Beyoncé

The 25-year-old singer used the syrup regime to lose almost 2st for her role in Dreamgirls.

'I lived on water, cayenne pepper and maple syrup for 14 days,' she says. 'I was just shrinking and shrinking.

'People were like: "Are you OK?" I didn't feel good.' It worked for Beyoncé, but experts warn that it can interfere with the body's balance of potassium, sodium and fluids.

The One-Hour TV Diet - Jordan

The mum of three used Jason Vale's 7lbs In 7 Days diet to lose 2st of post-baby fat. Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore and Sarah Jessica Parker have also cottoned on to this diet, which bizarrely insists on no more than one hour of TV a day – presumably to avoid snacking in front of the box.

'It's tough, but it really works,' says Jordan, 29. 'I achieved some amazing results.'

The Half-Plate Diet - Kym Ryder

The Corrie star used to keep trim by leaving half of what was on her plate. However, Kim, 31, admits that it wasn't ideal for a busy life on the run. 'You're not getting what you need,' she says.

'I have a stressful life and I don't have a lot of time to energise myself. I'd get home, stick something in the microwave and think: "That'll do."'

The Vitamin Injections Diet - Geri Halliwell

She's tried everything from Atkins to bulimia to keep her weight down, but one of Geri's most controversial methods is her use of vitamin injections to combat diet fatigue.

In her 2005 TV documentary There's Something About Geri, the 35-year-old admitted that the jabs made her horny and was filmed ordering a flunky to buy her sex toys in bulk. Geri says that at the height of the Spice Girls' success, she survived each day on half a packet of noodles and a small portion of boiled carrots.

Thankfully, those days are over and the mum of one has settled into a healthy routine.

The Kids' Cutlery Diet - Liz Hurley

According to Liz, 42, eating on a nursery plate using children's cutlery is a great way of reducing food intake – it tricks her into thinking she's eating more than she really is.

Even more extreme, when Liz is attempting to lose weight (as opposed to just maintaining it) she restricts her food intake to just watercress soup, which is high in iron and calcium.