From eating clay to staying alive off just cookies or hard-boiled eggs, some of the riskiest celebrity weight-loss hacks are definitely something to avoid. Join us as we count down 20 of the strangest, most dangerous, and just plain depressing Hollywood diet plans.
There’s a ton of pressure on actors, singers, and other public figures to stay thin. So much pressure that Shailene Woodley, Miley Cyrus, and many more have resorted to dangerous celebrity weight-loss tricks. Crash diets, eating only one food, or cutting out entire food groups can be common in Hollywood. But if you’re looking to drop a few pounds, take note that the weight-loss hacks on this list are definitely not doctor-approved. The American Journal of Preventative Medicine recommends that you “eat less, move more” and talk to your doctor first before starting any diets.
1. Jennifer Aniston’s Baby Food Diet
Jennifer Aniston will reportedly eat 14 jars of baby food a day when she’s trying to trim down. The pureed, low-calorie and easily digested food may be able to skim off the pounds and eliminate toxins, but who would want to live on that alone?
2. Gwyneth’s GOOP
Some celebs, like Gwyneth Paltrow, swear by a gluten-free diet. Physicians are skeptical about the health benefits of cutting out wheat unless you have celiac disease.
See 22 Celebrities Who Swear by Their Gluten-Free Diets
3. Madonna’s Air Diet
Madonna is said to spear a bite of food with her fork, sniff it, and then put it back down. A soup made from water and salt is the only thing she consumes when she’s air fasting.
4. Beyoncé’s Master Cleanse
The Master Cleanse is another popular weight-loss fad. The cleanse consists of drinking a concoction of water, maple syrup, lemon juice and cayenne. Beyoncé used it to drop weight for the film Dream Girls.
5. Laura Prepon’s HCG
HCG is a very controversial diet where you inject yourself with pregnancy hormones and eat just 500 calories a day. Unfortunately for Laura Prepon, HCG and other “crazy crash diets” didn’t help. They ruined her metabolism.
6. Jessica Simpson’s Smoothies
Simpson’s diet allegedly included just three smoothies a day at one point, though she had two healthy snacks along with it. All of this was done to lose weight after her daughter Maxwell was born.
7. Miley Cyrus Prefers Paleo
The low-carb, meat- and vegetable-centric paleo diet is supposed to mimic the eating habits of our most ancient ancestors. Miley Cyrus is a supposed follower of the diet that many weight-loss experts and medical professionals dismiss as a dangerous fad.
8. Jessica Alba’s Corset Diet
Jessica Alba reportedly used the corset diet to trim down her waistline after both of her pregnancies. While it may be effective, wearers risk damage to internal organs. Kim and Khloe Kardashian are also huge fans of the questionable “waist training” fad.
9. Ashton’s Risky Role Research
The Fruititarian diet holds that “75 percent of an individual’s daily dietary intake should come from raw fruit.” As the Cheat Sheet says, Steve Jobs was a very dedicated adherent to it. Ashton Kutcher followed this diet to get into his character’s brain for the biopic Jobs.
Watch 7 Stars Who Got WAY too Skinny for Roles.
10. Xtina’s Color Diet
High on the wacky spectrum is one of Christina Aguilera’s attempted weight-loss hacks, the color diet. Only seven days long, the diet allows you to only eat foods of a certain color each day.
11. Snooki’s Cookies
Snooki follows the “cookie diet.” The diet consists of six cookies a day plus one real meal. At least this celebrity weight-loss idea sounds pretty tasty, if boring and dangerous.
12. Adriana Lima’s Annual Water Fasts
Before going into her annual fashion shows, Victoria’s Secret Angel Adriana Lima cuts out all solid foods and consumes nothing but protein shakes, vitamins, and supplements. She’ll even cut out liquids several hours prior to stage time in order to shed some extra water weight.
13. The Rock’s Calorie Fest
For his role in Hercules, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson consumed over 5,000 calories, included in seven meals and 10 pounds of food each day, in addition to strenuous two-and-a-half-hour workouts. Maybe this will turn you into a Demigod too. Just kidding—consuming excess calories is definitely never wise unless you’re under medical supervision.
Check out 7 Stars Who Packed on the Pounds for Roles
14. Nicole Kidman’s Hard-Boiled Eggs
Nicole Kidman eats just one thing when she needs to drop the scale number down a bit: hard-boiled eggs. If she gets hungry she can treat herself to an extra egg for dinner. As you can imagine, “mono” diets are among the riskier celebrity weight-loss ideas.
15. Kirsten Dunst’s Alkaline Diet
On Kirsten Dunst’s alleged diet, you adjust your eating to alter your pH level. The focus is on cutting out foods that are deemed to be acidic. You’re left with a ratio of 70 to 30 alkaline to acidic foods, which sounds difficult to keep track of.
16. Joe Cross’s Juice Fasts
In Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead viewers watch the celebrity weight loss of Joe Cross, thanks to juicing. Both the film and his weight loss were incredibly successful, but consuming juice alone can’t be all that fun or safe.
17. Marilyn Monroe’s Salmonella Shake
Monroe began every day with raw eggs whipped in warm milk. There isn’t much more disgusting than this salmonella risk, but she balanced it out with a hot fudge sundae every night.
18. Shailene Woodley’s Taxi Driver Diet
Shailene Woodley’s risky diet trick isn’t even technically edible. She swears by eating bentonite clay, which she says she learned from a taxi driver.
19. Dolly Parton’s Cabbage Fasts
Dolly Parton is a follower of the cabbage soup diet, where all you eat is … cabbage soup. It’s a 7-day round where you can eat as much of it and other vegetables as you want, combined with other meal elements.
20. Bey and Jay’s Vegan Challenge
Beyoncé and Jay Z are both reportedly doing the 22-day vegan challenge. While it’s certainly possible to get all necessary nutrients on a vegan diet, it’s a challenge if you’re not careful.
