Count down the top 5 diet mistakes and disasters.

Raw foods are of great value in your battle against the bulge.

A great video on one of the healthiest diets in the world. No wonder the Okinawans and other Japanese live for so long.

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.

Emotional eating contributes to many of our weight loss challenges.  Shift the emotions you have with food to relationships, where it belongs. (5:45)

Eating chocolates is normally my idea of a good Valentine’s Day, however this year I’m still sticking to the New Year’s diet. So instead I’ll be at the gym. Here’s a video workout for your Valentine’s Day.

Here’s a diet that you haven’t tried. It’s a weight loss plan with the catchy slogan, “When it’s in you get thin.” (1:42)

Alli is a weight loss drug launched by GlaxoSmithKline.  This latest weapon in the battle of the bulge should find willing takers in the market. Alli has shown positive results during clinical trials in which subjects showed up to seven percent loss in body weight when they underwent a program that involved diet, exercise and Alli.

Yet, as with every drug there are side effects to Alli, these include gas, frequent bowel movements and loss of control of bowel function. The side effects are a result of the drug’s action which blocks the absorption of fat in the intestine; the fat is then eliminated in the stool. The FDA however does not seem to have a problem with the drug.

For those amongst us who are obese and have not succeeded in their efforts in regulating their weight through diet and exercise, bariatric surgery is often the last recourse. The most common type of bariatric surgery is gastric bypass; it is considered safer than other weight-loss surgery and it has fewer post-operative complications. You need to educate yourself on the procedure before you decide to go with it.

You may want to undergo gastric bypass surgery if your BMI is 40 or higher or between 35 to 39.9 and you are facing obesity-related issues like diabetes and osteoarthritis.

Gastric bypass on its own does not enable a permanent weight loss solution; post surgery you have to be committed to make certain lifestyle changes. These include changes in eating habits, refraining from liquor and nicotine products, and following an exercise plan. Candidates for a gastric bypass surgery are screened by physicians, dieticians, surgeons, and psychologists to check for psychological and medical readiness.

A gastric bypass (Roux-en-Y gastric bypass) entails physically separating a part of the stomach from the rest of the stomach and attaching it to the small intestine. The separated portion is the size of a small pouch and it can hold up to an ounce of food. A gastric bypass limits an individual’s ability to absorb calories. The stomach remains healthy and continues to secrete gastric juices that mix with the food in the small intestine.

A gastric bypass can also be performed as a laparoscopic surgery. A laparoscopic gastric bypass requires a shorter stay in the hospital as compared to an “open” gastric bypass, the recovery period is shorter and there are fewer wound-related complications.

A feeling of coldness, body aches, tiredness, hair loss, and dry skin are some of the reactions that occur after a gastric bypass. Many obesity-related problems such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, obstructive sleep apnea, and high blood pressure.

Risks associated with gastric bypass surgery include blood clots in the legs, pneumonia, narrowing of the opening between the small intestine and the stomach, and in some cases even death.

Other weight-loss surgery options include adjustable gastric banding, vertical banded gastroplasty, and biliopancreatic diversion. Check out this video on gastric bypass.

Obesity is now the largest social issue faced by the US population, more so than drugs, smoking, and other issues. It places an enormous strain on the healthcare system, is difficult to manage because it is highly lifestyle related, lives are at risk and there is no effective preventive setup.

1. The obesity numbers are startling – 50% non-Hispanic black women, 15% of the children in the age of 6-19, and an amazing 31% of American adults are obese. The figure for children is the most disturbing; the numbers have more than tripled since 1980. Maximum obesity is to be found in the age-group 50-59 years; ironically an age when the body’s natural defenses are deteriorating and obesity can open the doors to diseases like the dreaded diabetes and hypertension.

2. A study of behavioral risk factors shows that those with less education, i.e. up to high school made up 27.4% of the obese sample as against those with college education and higher who were around 15.7% of the obese population studied. Blacks and Hispanic communities have maximum cases of obese individuals. The above two facts imply that obesity has economic implications and the poor are more likely to suffer from what could be considered a rich man’s disease.

3. The East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee) region of the US is the most obese region in the US; conversely the New England Region (Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont) is the least obese one.

4. Obesity is a cost to the society; annual costs related to obesity are in the region of $130 billion with more than half being direct costs such as visits to doctors, medications, and treatment for conditions such as hypertension, heart problems, and diabetes. Indirect costs include lost working hours and work stalled because of people unable to work due to illness or disability

5. Type 2 Diabetes and Osteoarthritis are two obesity-related conditions that are a major cost burden to society and the health industry. The total cost - direct and indirect – because of type 2 diabetes is more than $100 billion while it’s around $25 billion due to osteoarthritis.

6. The list of obesity-related ailments is a long one and obese Americans are at risk from Congestive heart failure, Angina pectoris, Cholecystitis, Cholelithiasis, Osteoarthritis, Gout, Fatty liver disease, Sleep apnea and other respiratory problems, Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), Fertility complications, Pregnancy complications, Psychological disorders, Uric acid nephrolithiasis (kidney stones), Stress urinary incontinence, Cancer of the kidney, endometrium, breast, colon and rectum, esophagus, prostate and gall bladder, Death.

7. Surgical procedures that obese people undergo are more often than not traumatic experiences. Complications are not uncommon, ruptured blood vessels in the lungs, leaking and bleeding of the stomach and intestines, infections of the lungs, blood clotting in veins and infections of the small intestines are some of the complications that can arise.

8. Surgery for obesity results in a follow-up surgery for more than 20% of the patients for corrections to remove obstructive complications such as abdominal hernias; gallstones occur in almost a third of the patients who lose weight quickly. Nutrition deficiencies, anemia, and osteoporosis can happen due to long-term loss of absorptive function. One in two hundred cases can result in death.