Denizens of celebland are under ever increasing pressure to look good and keep fit. Well, at least, what they or their fitness gurus consider is “fit”. Often mortals like us may recoil at their definitions of “good looks” and “fitness” but that does not hinder our fascination with these paragons of ethereal beauty. It also has something to do with the bizarre extent to which the celebs will go to; their determination and often their naiveté a source of inspiration for some and amusement for others.

Celebrities are always stressed to maintain their brand image and in an age where image is everything, a body-image counts for a lot, a lot of dollars that is. The only reason they will endure fat is if its making them money, otherwise it’s off with the fat!

Here’s a look at what some of our favorite celebrities do to maintain their figures

Julia Roberts, she of the million watt smile, is for many the epitome of the yummy mummy. This 40 plus lady is a mother of three and one of the most in-demand actresses in Hollywood. At 5’9” and a slender frame, Julia by her own admission is not a diet control freak, rather she is one who “eats like a cow and could eat all day”. However, she does have a personal trainer who performs the very important job of keeping “sinful foods” out of Julia’s fridge. Julia trusts BOSU for keeping her butt firm. BOSU, by the way, stands for Both Sides Up. It’s a fitness board cum exercise board. Julia follows the Perricone Prescription diet that stresses protein and prohibits carrots, bananas, watermelon, flour, raisins and corn.

Jessica Simpson, the one whose curves run endlessly but her acting abilities run the gamut from A to B, has managed to achieve what all women hope for. She has managed to lose weight without losing her curves. Jessica had earlier tried the South Beach Diet but this time round it was the 5 Factor Diet, which she decided to favor. Jessica had to make some tough decisions like foregoing the bread baskets bought to the breakfast table and refusing free desserts bought to her table. She had to make do with rudimentary food items like grilled chicken, seared fish, broccoli and asparagus. Apparently Jessica couldn’t sum up the will to do all this alone and so she had her personal trainer stay with her for three months so he could do the ordering at food time.

Janet Jackson, she who gave the English language a new phrase – wardrobe malfunction, went into a self-imposed hibernation after the infamous episode. During the period her weight increased to 180 pounds. However, Janet came back in shape by following what is now known as Janet Jackson diet. In a period of four months Janet lost around 60 pounds and her astonishing weight loss has given her the idea for a new weight loss book and video. Janet ate four to five portions of gourmet food especially thought out for her. She managed to maintain the required ratio of calorie deficiency by going on an only-liquid diet for some time and following a rigorous exercise regimen that included reverse lunges, good mornings, leg presses, push ups triceps super sets, later at raises, kick boxing, basket ball, etc.

The above mentioned celebs followed what the rest of us can identify with if we tried a little hard. However, there are others whose dieting regimens and ideas make us doubt their sanity and their gullibility in giving into these diets. Generally, most fad diets are exercises in silliness with quick results and quicker weight gains, however there are some diet ideas that truly take the cake or make that a wheat-bran cake with skimmed milk.

One would have to place the baby food diet at the very top of the list of bizarre diets. Top marquee names such as ReeseWitherspoon and Jennifer Aniston are devoted to this outlandish diet wherein you substitute good wholesome food or whatever else that you are eating with baby food. You can’t think of a more childish way to get malnourished. It’s as gimmicky as it can get. Feeding adults with a balanced diet, balanced for babies that is.

A great diet for those who are fat and fans of maple syrup. Beyonce has shown the way with the maple syrup diet albeit at a great risk to her body’s balance of potassium, sodium, and other vital elements. You cannot beat the maple syrup diet for simplicity. Beyonce apparently lived on maple syrup, water, and cayenne pepper for 14 straight days. She ended up losing around 13 kg or 2 stones for her role in Dreamgirls.

Another silly diet with a silly name – the one-hour TV diet has its own set of votaries including Sarah Jessica Parker and Jennifer Aniston; however the most famous would have to be Jordan who lost around 2 stones of fat post delivery. The crux of the diet is that you cannot watch more than one hour of TV in a day.

Perhaps the most cruel and tortuous of all diets, this one has been famously endured by Geri Halliwell. Geri took vitamin injections to keep her weight down after her other attempts including the Atkins diet had failed. A desirable or perhaps not-so-desirable side effect of her vitamin shots was that Geri felt hornier than normal most of the time. At the height of her fame she was surviving on half a plate of noodles and some boiled carrots.