Idiot Proof Diet Blog

Actress Kristen Johnston loses weight, and we are all amazed by it! The 40 year old star lost 60 pounds in the last year and is very happy about it.

A lot of people got surprised; with Kristen’s height of about 6 feet and her large built it seems that she did not really need to lose so many pounds. Johnston says people have been asking whether she has turned anorexic or is suffering from any one of those kinds of illnesses. Johnston laughs it off. She says she did suffer from an illness and that was when she decided to change her lifestyle.

A Diet Plan to Live By

Kristen reveals that she was hospitalized for weeks because of a burst ulcer and that was when she committed herself to a healthier life. She stayed away from booze, made sure that she had her veggies, ate oatmeal for breakfast, and had fish as a main ingredient on her plate. She has also stopped the constant diet of fast foods like pizza, fries, and burgers. The “Third Rock from the Sun” actress shares that this was how she ballooned from a size 6 to a 12, and that hurt her self-image.

Now, the actress says she’s leading a healthier lifestyle. She also promises to gain back a few pounds, about six or eight, as she thinks she has become too thin for her height and frame. Her celebrity weight loss (and gain) plan? Keep an active lifestyle, follow a balanced diet, and stay away from all the bad stuff!

Weight loss does not come easy, that much the star admits. But she advises us to stay away from the weighing scale and focus on your body’s state instead. If you keep on looking at the numbers on the scale, you might get frustrated too easily and give up much sooner. However, if you know that you want to be healthy and have more energy to do the things you still want to achieve, the weight loss becomes easier.

Kristen includes biking on the streets and parks of New York as part of her healthy lifestyle agenda. Additionally, Kristen has found a new and healthier hobby- she has learned to bake. Kristen says she loves baking and eating homemade fruit pies, and she controls the amount of sugar that goes in her desserts and snacks. Kristen says she feels great about her new-found body. She plans to keep it that way, plus a few pounds, and stay in the “happy place” she is at now, no longer worried about how she looks.

Barring all comments because of her new voluptuous figure, Jess is still one of the celebrities that can lose all that weight if she wants to. Jessica is no stranger to gaining weight; it’s probably because the singing sensation does not need the acceptance of the media as long as she’s happy.

It would not be a big surprise though, if the older Simpson shows up in her old form anytime now. After all, she has done it before, losing 15 pounds at a snap of a finger. How did she do it? Read on.

A Lean and Mean Diet Regimen

During the filming of Dukes of Hazard, Jessica hired personal trainer Mike Alexander and he traveled with her. Alexander reportedly not only made her a workout schedule but made sure that she was eating healthily by sitting with Jess at every meal. Alexander tells Jess what to order and made sure that at the top of the list are chicken (grilled), fish (seared), and dark green vegetables like broccoli. Jessica was encouraged not to take anything from the complimentary bread baskets and sugared beverages. Mike also told Jessica to stay away from the dessert cart.

In Alexander’s workout table, the singer was supposed to do at least an hour of weights. The weights are surprisingly light though – only 7 ½ pounds worth. Jess did cardio exercises for half an hour, and since Jessica wanted “butt builder” exercises, the program consisted of a lot of lunges and squats.

After the filming of Dukes, Jessica wanted to release a workout video in memory of her character – Daisy Duke.

And then, Jess surprises everyone by looking different and confessing to changing her exercise routine and diet plan. She now does strength training (still with lunges and squats) for 45 minutes and then cardio for about the same length of time. Her diet is pretty much the same – white meat (chicken, turkey, fish) and a lot of vegetables.

But then again, Jessica evolves into another physique and now advocates the 5-Factor Diet Plan, celebrity weight loss Guru Harley Pasternak’s masterpiece. The diet, although possible to keep up with for the rest of your life, boasts of a five week plan that can certainly help you lose weight. You only need 25 minutes of workout, divided into five; 5-minute exercises and you get to eat five meals a day

Now, one question remains; when Jess gets tired of her curves, which of the diet plans she had gone through will she deem most effective?

Janet Jackson has been ridiculed countless times for her there again-not there again weight problems. It does seem like the singer has a habit of gaining and losing weight several times each year. Now the good thing about it is that she does take the excess pounds off right before her album releases or performances. What a wonder, Ms. Jackson is, 160 pounds one moment, and a lithe 115 pounds the next.

It is not our problem, I have to say, if Janet does not want to keep the weight off; what we would like to know is which diet works for her and we can probably push ourselves to stick to it. Here’s the latest: Ms. Janet weighed 180 pounds and dropped 60 of those excess pounds in just four months! How in the world do you get a celebrity weight loss program like that?

The Skinny on the Jackson Diet

Well, Ms. Jackson’s long time trainer Tony Martinez is a big factor in the singer’s ability to change shape at the drop of a hat, but hiring him costs $1700 per month. Needless to say, we common people cannot afford that. What’s the alternative? Let’s take a quick peek at what Janet does when she gets ready to lose those bulges.

Fresh Dining. Well, Janet does not actually do her own meal preparations, she actually gets her food delivered to her fresh daily via this Los Angeles Company. Fresh Dining only delivers to people who live in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas – and the service is definitely not cheap - $55 everyday.

You will be asked to have a target weight and then they will design a food plan for you until you reach that goal. Depending on how fast you would want to lose weight, Fresh Dining Los Angeles offers two types of diet plans – one for 1000 calories a day and another for 1400 calories. The 55-dollar gourmet meals consist of three organic meals and two snacks. These meals will follow your dietary program.

Janet Jackson has been seen jogging and brisk walking all over LA beaches and it will be no surprise if she hits her target weight very soon. It also has been reported that personal trainer to the celebs Martinez, has been hired by singer-rapper Eminem as well. Janet Jackson’s prepared meals delivered to her doorstep and her trainer’s well developed fitness program might just be the right celebrity weight loss plan for you.

Another celebrity weight loss diet secret that should be known to us mere mortals is Halle Berry’s program. The sexy Catwoman seems to have found the perfect program for her body.

Berry, a 42-year old mom to Nahla, looks like she did not even have to battle the bulges after giving birth.; Her action plan – the 5-Factor Fitness plan.

The celebrity diet does not even sound so heavy – 25 minute workouts five times a week and having five meals per day – but it sure did work for the Swordfish lead actress. Berry did not even have to start carbohydrate or calorie counting, the diet is protein packed, fibre rich, and contains healthy kinds of fat that the body needs for energy.

Halle’s Five-Star Diet

The 5-factor Fitness plan is called as such because the program is based on five stages which last five minutes each. Phase 1 is called the cardio warm up, 2 is exercises for upper body strength, 3 is for the lower body, fourth is core exercises or for the midsection, and the last is fat burning cardio. The last stage could be extended, depending on your goal and your trainer’s recommendation.

The author of the 5-Factor Fitness plan, Harley Pasternak looked for a way to help his celebrity clientele to enjoy a diet and exercise routine that is almost hassle-free. Some of Pasternak’s more famous clients, aside from Halle, include Val Kilmer and Orlando Bloom.

Pasternak’s program does not require followers to keep tabs on the carbohydrates, calories, and an exhausting workout. Instead, it was worked on by a “science nerd, exercise and nutrition scientist, and a fitness buff” with the celebrity schedule in mind.

Even the meals follow a five-point criteria: main course should have good protein content but is low in fats; it should include beans, vegetables or sweet potatoes; it should contain a good amount of fibre; if the meal contains fats, it should be of the healthy variety; and the beverage should be sugarless.

Pasternak even took the program up a notch by creating 100 simple recipes for the diet’s followers. These meals, Pasternak boasts, takes no more than 5 minutes to prepare and the ingredients used number from five downwards.

With all of these advantages, the 5 Factor Fitness plan seems like the best diet alternative for any person on the go. As a bonus, Pasternak actually encourages his clients to have a cheat day when you can have that frap or that Chocó cake you’ve missed for the whole week.

Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow had been used to her next to nothing weight for the longest time. However, since being the mother of two active kids plus the holidays, Paltrow admits to gaining unwanted pounds. She, however, lost the excess weight fast enough.

Paltrow shares her secret – the Master Cleanse program. This diet advocates a cleansing diet which consists of water, lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper for at least ten days. Although this diet sounds a bit extreme, Paltrow states she liked it better than Dr. Nish Joshi’s designer diets. Joshi advised the 36 year old actress to stay away from wheat, dairy products, sugar, alcoholic drinks and meat.

What Exactly is the Master Cleanse Diet?

Also known by other names such as the ‘lemon cleanse’ or ‘maple syrup diet’, the master cleanse program had been created in the early 1940’s by a guy named Stanley Burroughs. Burroughs designed the diet to detoxify the body of harmful substances and lose excess fats as well.

During the ten day period, the diet strictly excludes the intake of solid food. Since this might cause digestive problems, tea is given at night and then saline in the morning. This helps in preventing constipation. Some people have reported to be in the diet for more than ten days.

Once the master cleanse program has been completed, it is necessary to wean the stomach slowly away from it. This means that solid food cannot be taken right after the diet period. Before going back to regular food consumption, the person has to slowly incorporate soup, then fruit, and then vegetables in everyday fare.

Dr. Joshi’s Detox diet on the other hand, is a 21-day program. The foods that are to be eaten include: white meat, brown rice, some kinds of cheeses, yogurt, dark green vegetables, salads, eggs, fish, honey, olive oil, soya and tofu products.

Gwyneth Paltrow may be a famous actress, but it sure doesn’t mean that she never needs to go on diets. In fact, she’s just like any other girl who worries about how much she weighs, especially after giving birth.

If you’re looking to find a fast way to lose extra pounds, the diets mentioned above may help you. Just make sure that you consult a medical expert for extreme diets or if you plan on changing the length of any of the programs you plan to follow.

The View co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck battled with extra pounds after giving birth to her second child and she won!

Hasselbeck, however, denies that she really wanted to lose the baby weight except as a side effect of eating healthier. Most of us would really be quite envious though, that Hasselbeck was able to pose in a hot blue bikini on the cover of Fitness magazine. The 31 year old co-host also stresses that she wanted to gain back her confidence in her body and that was what pushed her to exercise and follow a healthy diet. Hasslebeck says that she has come to terms with her new body, curves and all, and just wanted to have a good amount of energy to keep her going.

The Hasselbeck Diet Plan

For her goal, Fitness magazine Editor-in-Chief Denise Brodley had a nutritionist prepare a diet plan for Hasselbeck. Since Elisabeth has celiac disease, the program had to be wheat free and packed with protein, veggies, and nuts. For snacks, Hasselbeck would eat nutrition bars.

Aside from that diet plan, Hasselbeck also relived the athlete in her by running and weight training. She worked out for six weeks, running daily, and doing ab-work twice a week.

For her work outs, Hasselbeck joined the La Palestra gym in New York. La Palestra members include Liam Nesson and Howard Stern. Owner Pat Manocchia says they only accept up to 250 members at a time. The gym actually looks more like a hotel than anything else and boasts of a total health care regimen instead of just work out equipment and trainers. Members are given feedback regularly and are required to meet with trainers 28 times in a six month period.

Additionally, La Palestra offers different courses that deal with other health-related issues; from how to run properly to controlling weight if you are diabetic. Members can also train at length for special events like marathons and benefit runs.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck may have had to diet and exercise extensively before her bikini shoot, but the rewards she gained after are definitely worth the trouble. If you’re looking for a diet and exercise plan that will help you lose your own excess weight, keep Elisabeth in mind as an inspiration. Don’t just try to lose the weight; try to just be healthier and more energetic as well. Being healthy is as good a story as any weight loss tale out there.

We are not alien to the incredible story of pop superstar Britney Spears. Now a mom of two lovely boys, Spears had been on the headlines of every major magazine and paper across the world, especially in 2007. The pop princess got married and annulled in a span of 55 hours, then married K-Fed, the father of her boys. The couple promptly called it quits after rumors of K- fed’s partying without the wife started circulating.

A major squabble for the custody of the kids followed suit and then Spears’ terribly wild ways of coping became Hollywood’s fodder for the whole year. Putting scandalous photos aside, Spear’s weight gain and her not losing it as fast as other celebrities was even more reason to have Britney in the spotlight. To add to that, Britney Spears’ supposed big comeback performance at the MTV awards was not what everyone was expecting. Her outfit did nothing to fascinate people with her weight loss but the fact that her body was still not the Britney of old.

Diet and Exercise Never Fails!

It was just 20 pounds more and Britney lost it all through an intensive cardio workout and a restrictive twelve hundred calories-a-day diet.

Britney Spears’ exercise agenda includes 5 days a week of full gym work out. Her diet, meanwhile, totally cuts out sugar from her everyday fare. Spears eats rice though, along with chicken, salmon, avocados, egg whites and turkey burgers.

Although 1200 calories a day may seem to be difficult, the celebrity diet is not as extreme as some people may think. Spears say she actually gets to eat a lot of food and she’s never felt hunger pangs ever since she started. The singer also does not get to drink fruit juices because of all the sugar those contain. Additionally, Britney does not eat hamburgers and fries anymore. Nevertheless, Britney says the diet does not tell you what not to eat, but what you can eat to stay healthy. A diet, it seems, does not really feel like a diet if only you eat the right foods.

Britney Spears’ celebrity weight loss plan seems to be quite effective. The singer states she does not miss the fast food junk but she does miss her coffee. However, just like any other diet, a cheat is not really discouraged as long as it’s taken in moderation. Britney Spears does get her coffee but tells us that it’s not a frapuccino she orders.

 Ever wondered how Mariah Carey managed to become as sexy and sultry as she is today? It is because of her own diet plan which she calls “Mimi’s Morsel Diet.” The world renowned singer says she’s lost all 32 pounds that she wanted to lose because of this program.

Excusing the name Ms. Carey has chosen for her diet plan, if we mere mortals can get that lean and toned figure that Mariah has today, then let’s all see what this morsel diet is about.

Mimi’s morsel diet is called such because Mariah eats whenever she gets hungry but she will only take a morsel each time. A morsel is any bite of food that is less than a forkful. You can have any food, as long as you only taste it. Whew!

The Wonders of the Morsel Diet Revealed

But, Mariah admits that this only works for in between meals. For the three meals she has every day, her diet consists of steamed greens, chicken and fish. Aside from that, Mariah also employs a personal trainer that sets her exercise schedule for her to look every bit as stunning as she is now.

Mimi’s Morsel Diet actually also sounds a bit like another diet called the “5-bite diet.” This diet on the other hand, is a bit on the extreme side; Ready for it? There are just five rules: drink anything you want as long as the beverage does not contain any calories; have five spoonfuls of any food during lunch; have five spoonfuls of any food during dinner; take one tablet of multi-vitamins everyday; and get just the right amount of protein each day.

The diet’s proponent, Dr. Alwin Lewis, insists that this diet will not let you go hungry, even if it sounds like too little food. The maximum number of days that you will be uncomfortable would be three, and then your stomach sort of resets itself and “thinks” that the food intake is just right. Many are questioning this method since it sounds like “failure.” When you think about it, it’s actually a crash diet which when you stop, you will gain back all the weight you lost, and probably more!

Which brings us to the fact, Mariah Carey’s diet plan is then more useful than that. It is smart advice; eat right, snack little, and exercise your way to lose that weight! You will always be more successful at a long term plan than the short term ones.

I have a confession to make. I DIDN’T know how to swim. Yes, past tense. Last DEcember, I paid for a swimming instructor to - once and for all - teach me how to swim.

I’ve always been envious of those who knew how to swim and I’d always feel so left out whenever my friends would gently leave me on the shore while they swam far off on the beach.

Well, last year, around September, I saw my 5-year old niece get her swimming diploma. And watching her swim back and forth across the pool was my turning point. I said, “that’s it, I’m taking swimming lessons!”.

I won’t bore you about the finer points of learning how to swim but just on what I felt after the course… I really love swimming! In fact, I try to go to the local pool every chance I get now. I still need to work on my resistance as I can’t hold my breath too long under water yet and since I’m not that evolved as a swimmer yet, I have difficulty maneuvering my head to take a breath WHILE swimming!

Of course, I’ve always known that swimming is an extremely great type of exercise yet I was still surpirsed to note how I lost a little weight after the endeavor! Yahoo!

To think that I didn’t hold back at all during the Holidays and attended so many sumptuous parties… it’s just absolutely great that the swimming helped me balance things out! So one of my 2009 resolutions is this: to swim regularly.

Tips Before Signing Up for a Swimming Club

I don’t know if you have a great - and FREE - local pool where you live but this is not the case with me and I had to go and visit several swimming pool clubs to see which one fit me best. So to help YOU out in case you’re in the same dilemma, here are some things to consider.

• Proximity. As in any fitness endeavor, we need to make sure that it’s not dofficult for us to do what we need to do! So a pool near you may be costly and something further cheaper but will you really make that effort to go that other pool? Probably not so make sure you choose a swimming club that you can easily go to when you want to.
• Types of Memberships and Associated Fees. There are many types of memberships these days: solo, group, corporate, specific dates, etc. (The latter is a membership type that allows you to use the pool only on certain times and dates.) Be sure you go over each type of membership thoroughly and choose the one that best fits you. Fees are often fixed but it never hurts to ask for any specials/promos or discounts that may be running at the moment.
• Cleanliness. It’s very important that facilities are kept clean! Personally, I’ve already been hospitalized years ago for amebiasis no thanks to a dirty swimming pool so I’m quite particular about how pools are maintained and so should you.
• Programs and Classes. Ask for any swimming lessons or programs they may have. It’s a great way to further your swimming talents and to meet others!

I plan on making swimming a vital part of my lifestyle this year. I hope you do too!

I came across a VERY interesting article on Examiner.com today written by Leigh Peele. The article discussed the new over-the-counter diet pill Alli and the harm you may be bringing to yourself if you try it.

As you know, I’m a very staunch proponent of NATURAL ways to lose weight so anything that talks about the dangers of crash diets and diet pills, I will discuss for you in this blog.

What is Alli?

Alli is marketed as a weight loss program at the center of which is a diet pill. This diet pill is “the first FDA approved weight loss pill for over-the-counter use” and the active ingredient in this diet pill is Orlistat.

Orlistat works by binding itself to SOME of the fats that you eat, preventing them from being properly absorbed in your body. The ‘binded fats’ then travel through your digestive system, into your intestines and then out your bowels. It’s really kind of like having your cake and eating it too… minus the effects it will have on your waist and thighs.

You may think that this is some type of wonder drug but wait till you get into the nitty-gritty of the process.

First of all, taking Alli/Orlistat will only work on ‘new fats’ you consume. So if you’re try to lose existing weight, you would still need to work that off. Secondly, Alli, working now as a diet program, guides you on how to lower your fat intake. The effects of this is that you are eating LESS fat, and then Alli still works on these. This means you are unhealthily taking too little fat in your system.

REMEMBER, fat itself is not bad. Your body NEEDS fat. It is the overabundance of it that causes weight gain. So if you consume fat at way too low levels, you are negatively affecting how your body works. The result of that? How does premature aging and hair loss appeal to you?

Orlistat Research Shows Link with Cancer

But a more damaging effect of Orlistat to your body are these findings on research done by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Their studies show that taking Orlistat increases the incidence of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in your body. And ACF is believed to be a precursor to colon cancer.

The NCI studies also revealed the following. “In the seven randomized, controlled clinical trials, there were 10 cases of breast cancer in the treated groups with only one in the control groups. The relative risk of getting breast cancer while taking orlistat (compared to placebo) was calculated several times by both FDA and the sponsor and found to vary between 4- and 7-fold, depending on the analysis.”

After reading the above info, I’m sure you’ll think twice about taking ANY diet pill.

And really there is NO SECRET to weight loss. You simply have to adopt  healthy eating and active lifestyle to live your best life.