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Let’s all agree that metabolism plays a big role in weight loss. When it slows you gain weight and when it stays level or slightly rises you have an easier time losing weight. How we all get there is a totally different story. Celebrities have some pretty whacky ideas about diet food. We’ve compiled some of the strangest for your review along with suggestions for real life weight solutions.
Heidi Klum: Apple Cider Vinegar
The acetic acid in apple cider vinegar that gives it that funky smell is also what can help you lose weight. It suppresses hunger and keeps you feeling full after meals. Plus it stimulates weight loss and helps to maintain consistent levels of blood sugar. Heidi Klum throws back a spoonful of ACV each morning and she’s on to something. “Apple cider vinegar is a fermented food that aids digestion and promotes the growth of healthy gut flora,” says Dr. Lisa Davis, chief nutrition officer at Terra’s Kitchen. “Preliminary evidence also suggests that it may help with fat loss.” A study found that people who took an apple cider vinegar supplement every day for 12 weeks lost more weight than those who didn’t have any. You can mix a tablespoon apple cider vinegar with water and honey if drinking it straight isn’t tempting.
Anne Hathaway: Lemon & Cayenne Pepper
We have friends that drink iced beverages year round when they wake up. But cold drinks slow your body and metabolism. On the other hand, a warm or hot cup gets your body moving at a rapid pace. That means your entire body is engaged in creating and using energy that leads to weight loss. Anne Hathaway opts for drinking LemonAid - a 48-hour detox concocted by celeb trainer David Kirsch that he says he says boosts metabolism and jumpstarts weight loss. The ingredients are lemon, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. Since we’re not that daring a cup of hot water with lemon will do. It’s healthy, has zero calories and spurs your metabolism to get moving. Lemon has vitamin C to aid weight loss. A study found that people who have sufficient levels of vitamin C intake burned more fat than people who were C deficient.
J.Lo.: Grapefruit Oil
We wash out hands before we eat. J. Lo takes a whiff of grapefruit essential oil prior to meals. Yes, there is an idea floating around that smelling grapefruit and other scents can suppress your appetite. According to a study at the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, people who sniffed the aroma of green apples or bananas when they were hungry ended up eating less and losing weight. Experts believe it has to do with tricking your brain into thinking you’ve already eaten. Aromatherapy is certainly therapeutic and there are smells that help us relax. But as a long-term diet aid, we don’t think so. Hey, if you want to sniff grapefruit oil before heading out to dinner, then have fun. But you also need to make real changes to your lifestyle if you want to slim down. Start simple: commit to dropping all processed foods for one week and see how much better you feel.
Camila Alves: Baby Food
Do babies even like baby food? We think they seem happiest once they get their chubby little hands onto real food. But after trying a pureed food cleanse, Camila Alves decided to swap out two meals a day for baby food....which is just pureed food (but kind of gross). Fruits and veggies are a super healthy way to help boost metabolism but you don’t need to put them in a blender. “Reach for a piece of fruit when a slim figure is your goal,” says Rachel Swanson, a RDN at Lifespan Medicine. Research done over a 24-year period found that people who ate fruits high in anthocyanin and flavonoids lost more weight. Swanson says you can find these miracle compounds in apples, pears, berries, prunes and strawberries. Bonus: Vegetables like peppers and celery were also associated with less weight gain in this study! Swap out processed snacks and bring in nature’s bounty grown-up style.
Katy Perry: Mushrooms
Katy Perry uses the “M Diet” to slim down her belly and lower half. And the M stands for mushrooms. She swaps out one meal daily for raw mushrooms over the course of 2 weeks. That sounds really hard to swallow! Mushrooms can be an awesome addition to your diet – 1 cup is only 20 calories. So just the act of lowering her calorie intake could be what helps Katy look so amazing, and you can do that minus the shrooms. You want big results from a diet but if you go big too soon, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. “Too often we think we’re not doing enough, so we give up,” says Denise Posnak Gaffney, a Pilates instructor and founder of MyBOD Wellness. “Value the small things you do and you can go much farther with your wellness goals.” That might mean cutting out sugar for one week, not one month, and reevaluating after that. Breaking goals into attainable chunks will make them easier to meet.
Photos: Splash, Shutterstock]
