The Hollywood Diet

The Hollywood Diet

The so-called "Hollywood Diet," sometimes marketed as either "The 24-hour Hollywood Diet" or "The 48-hour Hollywood Diet," is a specialized version of a juice fast. Juice fasts involve abstaining from solid foods for the duration of the fast, anywhere from 24 hours to as much as a week, and drinking only juice, or a special juice-based formula. While such diets are sometimes marketed as weight-loss programs, they are also sometimes referred to as detox/cleanser programs without permanent weight-loss benefits. Actresses including Gwyneth Paltrow and Beyonce Knowles have acknowledged using 48-hour juice fasts to lose weight. The programs have also garnered criticism for being ineffective (or impermanent) and for relying on malnutrition to work. Similar programs are referred to as the "Master Cleanse" and the "Miracle Diet."

Low-Carb Diets

Some actresses have followed the same low-carbohydrate approach that programs like the Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet made famous. These diets focus on eating protein and avoiding carbs, including sugar, which tends to have more calories and cellulose. Actresses including Jessica Biel and Jennifer Lopez have been reported to rely on low-carbohydrate diets to keep fit or get in shape for a movie role.

Big-Name Diet Programs

Many actresses have also famously used well-known diet and fitness programs, succeeded in their weight-loss efforts and become spokeswomen for various organizations. Such was the case for Kirstie Alley with Jenny Craig, Jenny McCarthy with Weight Watchers, Tori Spelling with NutriSystem and more. The variety is wide, and again, it seems, actresses lose weight and struggle to lose weight in the same ways everyone else does.

The Actress Advantage

Actresses have a leg up on the rest of the world in their weight-loss efforts because of the nature of their careers. As a matter of course, it is part of their jobs to stay fit. Many have more money to spend on personal trainers and other expensive programs, and the studios they work for often provide a fitness program or trainer for them as part of film preparation. For weeks before and during shooting, it is part of the job to work out, often for several hours every day. Actresses are in fact paid to lose weight or keep in good physical condition, and while this is certainly no guarantee of weight loss, it is certainly a strong motivating factor that only a few careers (such as professional sports) share.