25 Shortcuts to An A-List Body

Do you

a) want a great body?
b) hate exercising?
c) loathe dieting?
d) all of the above?

Read this now, thank Aparna Khopkar and Deborah Tan later!

1. Pay someone to think for you: You're not anyone in Hollywood without a trainer, stylist, shoelace-tier ... OK, we made that last one up, but Salma Hayek and Jennifer Anniston know the benefits of a good nutritionist. They've enlisted Carrie Wiatt from Diet Designs to school them in what they should eat. To find a dietician, visit your nearest polyclinic for a referral.
2. Get spiritual: Embrace your inner hippie, man. Minnie Driver used spirituality to overcome her own sense of self-loathing. She learnt to love her body, which in turn loves her back. Awww... Try meditating every day. Call Gaia Yoga at 6738 2028 for classes.
3. Avoid restaurants: Any 47-year-old who still gets around ina leotard has to have some serious diet secrets. Madonna's? Staying in. "I don't really eat food in restaurants - you can never be sure what's in it, can you?"
4. Avoid sugar: When Jessica Simpson realised she had to wear next to nothing as Daisy duke in The Duke of Hazzard, she went on a strict diet. "I try to stay away from sugar as much as I can, which is hard," she admits. To cut out sugar, avoid anything that screams "sweet". You can hold back your sweet tooth by using honey instead of refined sugars.
5. Be mathematical: Reese Witherspoon should take a calculater wherever she goes. Her trainer Michael George reckons the perfect plate contains 40 percent carbs, 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat. So that's how Reese manages to look so svelte!
6. Eat raw food: Uma Thurman's a fan of the Raw Food Diet, which involves unprocessed, plant-based foods, such as fruits and veggies, nuts, legumes and beans. At least 75 percent of what you eat is raw - the cleansing effect will make you feel fabulous.
7. Bring out the melons!: According to Garrett Warren, trainer of sexy-so-soon-after-childbirth Denise Richards, chowing on watermelons between meals kills your appetite, fills you up with fibre and nutrients, and helps clean out your system to prevent bloating.
8. Learn to love chilli: Gisele Bundchen reckons adding chilli to meals ups your metabolism. It's actually been scientifically proven, so start scoffing.
9. Visit a pricey spa: Renee Zellweger lost weight on a retreat in California - 20km hikes every day for two weeks, and onlly tuna or cold meat, with raw veggies or salads. Some girls have all the fun ... not!
10. Get a colonic: Apparently, it's the treatment du jour for a quick de-bloat before major events.
11. Wear a beaded bracelet: Kate Beckinsale's on The Bead Diet, which requires dieters to wear a bracelet with movalbe beads to keep track of food intake. Move one bead for every 100 calories.
12. Eat carbs, not sugar: The South Beach Diet (huge in La-La-Land last year) is all about eating good carbs ( like wholegrain cereals, brown bread and brown rice), shunning bad carbs (such as white bread), and nixing refined sugar (no sweets or soft drinks).
13. Take fat photos: Model Heidi Klum asked her mum to take photos of her post-baby body to help her stay on track with her diet and fitness routines. "If I could pay someone to go to the gym for me, I would! This was a way of helping me stick to the plan."
14. Take control: It's not all in the genes. Jessica Alba says, "Everyone in my family's overweight. I wanted to be healthier, so I started cooking myself at 12." At home, swap butter for olive oil, go easy on the salt and use fresh herbs or lemon for flavour.
15. Fill up on protein: Halle Berry keeps her body in Bond-girl shape with a hight-protein deit. She's said to be a fan of the Fat Flush Plan: plenty of protein-rich lean meats (like chicken), Omega 3-rich foods (fish), plus fresh fruits and veggies.
16. Go on the no-diet diet: All in moderation. Sounds boring? The curvy-but-toned Drew Barrymore is proof it works: "I don't put strict limitations on myself. I don't eat tonnes of meat (she used to be vego) but if I feel my body needs some, I'll eat it."
17. Embrace the soya bean: Actress Ashley Judd keeps trim by laying off the dairy, and uses soy milk on her breakfast cereal instead of cow's milk. Soy is like having a big shot of protein, and it's cholesterol-free too. You can buy soy with added calcium, if you're worried about not getting enough, Tofu is made from soy too, so try adding it to your salads and stir-fries - it'll keep you fuller for longer.
18. Eat brekkie - duh!: Want to look like Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider? Resides a rigorous training regime, Angie ditched her wake-up call of coffee and ciggies, and ate an actual meal. She called it an "interesting test", we call it breakfast!
19. Think low GI: The Glycaemic Index Diet rates food by its effeect on blood glucose levels. Low GI foods (like dark chocolate and red wine) are digested more slowly, keeping blood sugar levels stable and you fuller for longer. Check out dr Frederick Goh's The Metabolic Apocalypse for more information on how choosing the right foods can significantly improve your health and weight.
20. Down herbal tea: Demi Moore is on the herbal tea bandwagon: "Having tea between meals fills me up while the vitamins keep me going." Or try green tea, which flushes out toxins and is said to boost metabolism.
21. Ditch fad diets!: Imagine your body in a bikini on a massive billboard in the middle of town. Frightened enough to try the billboard in the middle of town. Frightened enough to try the Cabbage Soup Diet? Not Aussie model Megan Gale, who's been there, done that. "I've developed a balanced approach to food and exercis. I never fall victim to so-called fad diets."
22. The "We bloody wish" diet: Some girls have all the luck , Keira Knightley, who recently posed for US Bogue in just her birthday suit, says, "I don't think about nutrition. And I just hate going to the gym. My abs are just luck. My mum has good ones so it's a family trait." Meanwhile, thin thing Kristen Dunst shares, "When people ask me how I stay in such great shape, I always tell them the same thing: Eat whatever you want. It's only when you start starving yourself that you mess up your metabolism and your body suffers."
23. Sin as early as you can: Many women keep to their diet resolutions for most of the day only to give in to their cravings for choc chip-anything at 10pm. "you're better off eating [what you want] during the day and having time to burn it off before bed," says Gunnar Peterson, Penelope Cruz's trainer. Now, having apple pie for brekkie suddenly seems a lot more appealing...
24. Turn organic: Gwyneth Paltrow used to be on a strict macrobiotic diet that involved lots of brown rice and little or no meat. Now, it's all about fresh, organic goods. "I try not to eat anything too processed and not naturally welcome in my body," she says. Want to try the macrobiotic thingy? Read this interesting blog on the macrobiotic life at http://macrobiotic.ws.
25. Graze constantly: Wonder why celebs seem to eat so often but never put on weight? American actress and TV host Kelly Ripa snacks throughout the day, in small amounts that is. "I like to pick, so I never feel like I am actually eating anything." pop a praline at 1pm, grab a fistful of almonds at 2pm and have half a bowl of soup at seven. This way, you'll never be ravenous enough to consume an entire Big Mac or a mountain of pasta.

Extracted from CLEO magazine May 2006