Celebrities have long been guilty of perpetuating the idea of miraculous weight loss with minimal effort. Many say they owe their results to dubious diets that anyone can seemingly follow.
This begs the question: if these celebrities can achieve these perfect bodies without too much effort, is it just a lack of discipline that’s stopping the average person suffering from obesity from doing the same?
Experts disagree and claim that celebrity weight loss and fitness journeys only set people up for failure. Nutritionist Denvyr Tyler-Palmer explains that quick transformations create a particularly unrealistic example and that many celebrities actually go to unhealthy extremes in order tomaintain this ‘ideal image.’
Genetics and plastic surgery are two additional factors that affect whether an average person can obtain the same “weight loss” results as a celebrity. Still unconvinced? Let’s take a closer look at some of the most popular celebrity diets and their inherent flaws.
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Atkins 40 Diet
The Atkins 40 diet reduces carbohydrate intake to only 40 grams a day. This was popularized by celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Kim Kardashian, with the latter claiming that she lost all of her baby weight in only 11 months post-childbirth.
However, weight loss isn’t achieved by restricting carbs but by restricting calories. Well-rounded weight loss programs are not formed by demonizing an entire macronutrient like the Atkins 40, keto, or carnivore diets do with carbs, as it only makes it easier for people to become nutrient or energy deficient.
People can lose weight while on the Atkins 40 diet because they avoid calorie-dense carbohydrate-rich foods. However, this isn’t reliable or sustainable. It is possible for the body to start aggressively storing extra calories as fat under “survival mode” or for you to break your diet and binge eat.
That’s why even Jennifer Anniston recently decided to kick her low-carb diet to the curb in favor of a more balanced diet where she can embrace bread and carbs while maintaining her exercise regimen.
Juice Cleanse
The juice cleanse takes extreme restrictions to another level by entirely prohibiting solid foods. Top celebrities from Miranda Kerr to Jessica Alba endorse the method as it’s supposedly meant to flush the body of toxins and act as a dietary “reset”.
However, sipping calories is one of the top weight loss mistakes, according to registered dietitian nutritionist Su-Nui Escobar, RDN. That’s because liquids don’t fend off hunger for as long as solid foods do, and chances are higher that you will “overconsume” calories in an attempt to feel less hungry.
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition confirmed that people who drank a pre-meal snack had higher levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin than individuals who had a solid food snack.
Experts thus advise against the juice cleanse for weight loss, further citing how the method can dangerously lead to nutrient deficiencies and even muscle and bone loss.
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Intermittent Fasting
Celebrities from Jennifer Lopez, Reese Witherspoon and Hugh Jackman swear by intermittent fasting, which works on the principle of restricting your food intake to set times during the day.
This supposedly helps by prolonging the period when your body burns the calories consumed during your last meal, thus forcing it to begin burning fat. However, long-term research has proven that how much food you eat matters more than the timing of your meals for weight loss.
Time-restricted eating can only be really helpful when it helps steer people towards healthy and unprocessed meals. Otherwise, individuals on restrictive time-based diets can be susceptible to developing complications from hypoglycemia, muscle wasting, and disordered eating.
It can help to look at celebrities for weight loss inspiration but ultimately, it’s important to remember that weight loss must be a personal and scientific journey. Consulting a dietician or your healthcare provider can help you craft a weight loss plan that is actually tailored to be effective for your body.
