Dangerous Hollywood Diets

"You can't be do rich or too thin." That old adage seems to be especially true today. We all want to be thin. And for many with that goal, prime role models are Hollywood stars who look so effortlessly ideal. In reality, however, the pressure to be thin is so intense in Hollywood that celebrities go to dangerous lengths to stave off the pounds.

Illegal Drugs

Since the early days of Hollywood, illegal drugs have been part of the scene, in part because they do promote weight loss. In her book "Losing It," television actress Valerie Bertinelli admits to having used cocaine to help with weight loss. (She has since reportedly changed her ways and has been a spokesperson for Jenny Craig diet plan, even donning a bikini to show her results on the program.) Other reports claim that some celebrities lose significant amounts of weight by using cocaine and heroin.

Prescription Drugs

According to reports, some Hollywood stars use prescription medications intended for other conditions in order to lose weight. Among these is Clenbuterol, which is designed to treat respiratory conditions in horses. Another allegedly common prescription drug used is Adderall, which is used to treat attention deficit disorder. However, "while Clenbuterol and Adderall create a slimming effect in the short-term, after a while, users report a sudden and uncontrollable weight gain. Having tampered with the natural metabolism, the drugs stop working," according to the Daily Mail.

There are also rumors of celebrities being hospitalized in order to be hooked to intravenous fluids (IVs) in order to avoid eating altogether.

Diet

Other celebrities have been known to severely limit what they eat. Even in the early days of Hollywood, then-starlet Joan Crawford was told she was overweight. Reports vary as to how she handled it: some say she ate nothing but steak, grapefruit and tomatoes. Others say she resorted to vodka and diet pills.
Today, there are stories of celebrities who dine on nothing but peanuts or boiled eggs or laxative tea or fruit juice. Some fast on water or a mixture of water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and maple syrup.
Such bizarre diets are boring and unrealistic, according to dietician Lynn Grieger, R.D.,
C.D., C.D.E. They also deprive the body of nutrients from other foods.

Coffee and Cigarettes

Often celebrity diets include coffee and cigarettes. However, nutritional psychologist Marc David said: "Coffee and caffeine can actually make you fat. If you're drinking too much, the caffeine mimics the stress response in our bodies and your cortisol and insulin levels rise. These elevated levels of stress hormone signal the body to store fat."
About cigarettes, David said, "It's a choice, really. You are choosing possible lung cancer and death over treating your body with respect, all in an effort to be slim." David is the author of "The Slow Down Diet."

Exercise

Some celebrities report spending hours in the gym in order to get the body they want. However, trainer Justin Gelband said: "You can get addicted. Unless you're a professional athlete, you don't need to do more than one-and-a-half hours a day to get a great result."