A Celebrity Guide To The World Of Dieting

Today's society is completely enamored with celebrities. For whatever reason, people who are in the entertainment industry can attract attention just by talking and have millions of people hanging on to every word they say. Many times they talk about life, politics, etc. But there are a few who will chime in with their thoughts and opinions about dieting. That's the subject of this Daily Mirror column today.

Here are a few of the famous people quoted in the story along with my comments to what they said:

Suzanne Shaw

"I like to lose weight sensibly and not go on crash diets. I've tried Atkins, but it didn't work for me - so far the only one that has is the wheat-free diet."

Atkins "didn't work" for Shaw. Oh really. What didn't work about it? Atkins is a very sensible way to not only lose weight, but keep it off for a long time. Sure it can be difficult at first as your body adjusts to not eating sugar and white flour. But once your get past this very brief period, the rest is downhill! There's no reason anyone should abandon a low-carb plan until they have been on it for at least 90 days. If you stick with the program and stay committed to it regardless for three months, then I contend most people would stick with livin' la vida low-carb and have it work for them beautifully.

Beyonce Knowles

"I only eat grilled things and I try to eat five small meals a day rather than big, heavy ones. I don't deprive myself of something if I really want it. But if I'm going to have something bad then I make sure it's a small portion."

You go, Beyonce! Do you know what she is advocating? It's some of the principles I have used while livin' la vida low-carb! Five small meals? I eat six small meals. Don't deprive yourself of something you want to eat? I use planned splurges to let me eat something I really want. While I don't limit myself on those planned splurges, I do think Beyonce is on to something here that can be applied to anyone trying to lose weight regardless of the method.

Jerry Hall

"I never eat between meals and I don't eat junk food. I mostly stick to fish, vegetables and chicken. But I do love chocolate, coffee, red wine and cigarettes..."

Staying away from "junk food" (translated sugar and starch galore!) is excellent advice as is eating mostly fish, vegetables and chicken. Low-carb, low-carb and low-carb. For chocolate, there are lots of sugar-free versions out there to enjoy. But I stay away from coffee, red wine and especially cigarettes. You just don't need them!

Meg Mathews

"I've tried them all. The Beverly Hills diet, the pineapple diet, the Scarsdale diet, food combining, the Zone diet and the Atkins diet - which I hated. Now I just eat sensibly. I eat what I like but in moderation and I am not a big dairy fan."

Part of the problem Mathews is pointing out about her own dieting experience is that she is on a "diet." I hate that word, "diet." It conjures up such negative connotations because there's always a beginning and an end. But when you change your lifestyle like you do when you are livin' la vida low-carb, you apply principles which allow you to not only lose weight but also keep it off. Mathews "hated" the Atkins diet probably because she failed to follow it by the book. Don't tell people you are on "The Atkins Diet" if you are just making it up as you go along. Buy the book and follow it exactly as the plan calls for. Then and only then will you will see the results you are looking for.

Katie Holmes

"I get so sad when I see people who are really thin or really overweight. You can tell their spirit is hurting. We shouldn't do that to ourselves."

Awwww, little Katie Holmes is just so sad. Awwww. Isn't that just cute from a young Hollywood actress who's not too fat, not too thin, she's juuuuuuust right ... in her own eyes. I agree that people who are severely overweight or obese as well as these stick models who need to eat more than an ounce of food a day have problems that need to be addressed. I don't know about their "spirit," but I do know they should find someway, somehow to address the issue as soon as they recognize it. Otherwise it could be too late in the very near future.

So there you have just a small sampling of what today's stars think about dieting. Okay, so we've heard from the female celebrities, but what about the manly men of Hollywood and entertainment? Undoubtedly they think about the subject of weight and dieting as well. Maybe if we found out how some of them lost weight over the years for various film roles, it might shock a lot of people. Or maybe not. Guys, what about it?