Get The Skinny and Scores on Hollywood’s Top 6 Methods

By Gemma Gadher, FW Writer

Knocking off excess winter weight is never easy. We sweat, we starve and still that hot, Halle Berry beach bod eludes us all. Never mind! The route from flab to fab may not be laden with cheesecake, but the pound-whittling strategies found in these hot diet plans could make your bikini body the envy of the beach in 2010. We’ve looked into the 6 biggest pound busting methods that we hear about everyday in magazines and on the blogs. Don’t forget to consult with your doctor before you start any diet and make it a part of your overall healthy lifestyle. Then let the fat wars begin!

THE 5 FACTOR DIET

THE SKINNY: A new fave with Hollywood A-listers Eva Mendes, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Jessica Simpson and John Mayer all swear by Harley Pasternak’s celebrity diet plan. A University of Toronto graduate with a master’s degree in exercise physiology and nutritional sciences, Pasternak developed “The 5-Factor Diet” to give results in five weeks. His strategy is simple: Eat five meals a day, base them on five nutritious ingredients and whip them up in just five minutes.

THE SCORE: A popular 911 fix, “The 5-Factor Diet” is all about losing weight fast and feeling less hungry through the process. But unlike other plans, controlled cheating is encouraged one day per week. Also, only 25 minutes of exercise per day is needed to fuel that fat burn.

THE BEST LIFE DIET

THE SKINNY: “Oprah” fitness guru Bob Greene serves up an easy, no-gimmicks program that makes “lifestyle change,” not “dieting,” the order of the day. Emphasizing healthy eating and regular physical activity, the 1,500-2,000 calorie menus focus on whole grains, fruits, vegetables and other nutritious food choices. The plan also weans individuals off trans fats, white bread, sugary soft drinks, regular pasta and high-fat dairy.

THE SCORE: Results aren’t quick with “The Best Life Diet.” Green’s long-term plan serves up many useful tips, recipes and menus that can be followed by the book or online for a fee. Ultimately the non-diet mind-set, not calorie counting, is the star of this celebrity slim down.

THE FRENCH DIET (“Why French Women Don’t Get Fat”)

THE SKINNY: From European royalty to sports stars and celebs, French fat loss guru Michel Montignac bases his diet strategy on the glycemic index (GI). This deprivation-free plan emphasizes what French food lovers do to stay slim: choose fresh, quality ingredients and combine them in a way that promotes fat loss.

THE SCORE: Montignac’s original GI diet plan has been a bestseller since 1987. But unlike imitations that followed by other authors, “The French Diet” gives the net GI values of combined foods. The easy-to-follow plan – one that allows wine, cheese and sweets – is filled with clever tactics for social eating. It also gives female dieters an insider’s edge on losing weight despite hormonal imbalances.

THE VOLUMETRICS EATING PLAN

THE SKINNY: “The Volumetrics Eating Plan” is based on one simple principle: people like to eat a lot. This expert-approved plan stresses eating low “energy density” foods such as fruits, salads and soups that have few calories per portion. Their high water content also helps sate dieters’ hunger.

THE SCORE: Unlike other hot diet books, for example, “Skinny Bitch” or “How to Eat Like a Hot Chick,” “The Volumetrics Eating Plan” has solid credentials and research behind it. It offers many recipes and tips to sustain this sensible low-fat, low-cal diet. Sweets, fats and alcohol are still allowed, if sparingly.

THE SOUTH BEACH DIET

THE SKINNY: Driven by the idea that simple carbs are killing North Americans, Agatston created “The South Beach Diet” to help patients lose weight for the sake of their hearts. The three-phase plan promotes eating “good” carbohydrates and fats. In Phase 1, dieters are allowed three meals a day plus snacks, but are denied high-carb foods. Fruits, whole-grain breads and pastas are slowly introduced in Phase 2. Dieters move into Phase 3 maintenance after reaching their weight loss goals.

THE SCORE: “The South Beach Diet” has been criticized because it’s high in saturated fat and cholesterol, while being low in fibre and whole grains. Dieters also find Agatston’s restrictions hard to follow over several months. But as bulge-beating boot camps go, this plan will do the job and drop stubborn belly fat first.

THE ZONE DIET

THE SKINNY: Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston credit “The Zone Diet” with keeping their hot bodies in buff shape. The secret? This waist-whittling plan builds every meal on a 30 per cent protein, 30 per cent fat and 40 per cent carb formula.
THE SCORE: Life in “the Zone” may be difficult for dieters to sustain over the long haul. But beyond losing weight, Sears says dieters will feel alert and full of energy. “The Zone Diet” has also been designed to enhance athletic performance and combat heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes before they strike.

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