Why Should We Care About Celebrity Diets and Workouts?

We live in a world where celebrities are practically worshipped. It seems that while more and more people become overweight we are becoming more and more obsessed with how celebrities lose weight and get fit.

Why is this so? What do celebrities offer us that fitness instructors, school, physical education teachers and biologists cannot? Why do so many people look to famous people for guidance on losing weight? And why do people think that following a celebrity diet will help them lose weight?

Celebrities – The new Role Models and Teachers

This may seem a surprising idea, if not a totally ridiculous one. But it is a fact. For many people today there is a vacuum in their understanding and knowledge of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle, a well balanced diet and how to exercise. The school curriculum has failed many people so that they leave school not knowing how to prepare healthy meals or how to exercise by themselves. Schools focus more on kitchen hygiene than healthy eating, and sports focus more on competitive team sports than on empowering children to exercise by themselves.

Social Sport Ends At School

Team sports may produce more competitive people with better social skills, but what about when people leave school? How many people actually carry on pursuing a team sport after school? The answer is very, very few. So, as people put on weight they head to their local gym, and rather than being greeted with the best quality advice, they get “taught” by people that are selling products or ideas instead of empowering individuals to take control of their lives. The schools fail us, and then commercial enterprises try to exploit us.

Misinformation and Poor Advice Prevails

So, why celebrities? Well, for most people knowledge about losing weight and getting fit is vague at best. From anectodotal stories on how Aunt Marie lost 20 pounds after taking some weight loss pills, to Paul in the Marketing Department that got a 6 pack after doing 100 crunches a day, the World is full of stories that are mostly plain stupid. People just really do not know how to look after themselves.

I have spoken to people who firmly believe the following is true:

• Drinking water bloats your stomach and makes you fat
• Bread is the healthiest carbohydrate because it is the cleanest food
• Drink protein shakes to lose weight (really! come on people, think about it!)
• Putting butter on French bread makes you fat
• If you drink green tea or take weight loss pills you can eat what you want and still lose weight
• If you exercise you must drink protein shakes or you will get weaker
• You can eat as much fruit and vegetables as you like as they are healthy foods
• Skipping breakfast will help you lose weight
• Eat lots of celery as it has “negative calories”

These are just some of the more shocking weight loss myths and crazy ideas that people have. Some are taught to them by poorly qualified fitness instructors, some are just thought up as “common sense” based on a very poor education on such matters.

So, What Do Celebrities Have To Offer?

Ironically celebs offer people “real life” solutions. We know when a celebrity loses weight because we see them before and after photos in the tabloids. We have the proof that their system works for them.

Critics to this idea remind us that everyone is different and that what works for Brad Pitt or Madonna will not work for everyone. But the fact is, if you follow a celebrity diet and workout plan, assuming that you can find adequate information on what they are really doing, then you should be able to lose weight.

You Cannot Trust Personal Weight Loss Theories

Lets go back to Aunt Marie and Paul in the Marketing department – how well can you trust that they will tell you the truth about how they lost weight? Will Paul tell you everything about his diet, his workouts, his sleeping habits? Does Aunt Marie really know how she lost weight? Was it really the pills or something else? Weight does fluctuate in some people quite a lot without really trying and the real reason may remain unknown or be due to a medical condition.

Learning what the celebrities are doing to stay in shape is no longer something that only professional journalists can uncover. Simply look them up on Twitter, Facebook or find their own personal blog and read what they are saying.

This is a form of journalism in itself, and certainly one of the methods employed by MotleyHealth.com in finding out the latest on what celebrities are doing to stay in shape.

But celebs, we can read about them, listen to what they say in interviews, and now even read their own Twitter pages or blogs to find out what they are up to. We know that Matthew McConaughey stays in shape with running and light weight training because he tells his Twitter readers all about it. We know that Kimberly Wyatt drinks smoothies and eats raw foods because she goes into detail on her Twitter page. Likewise Mitch Hewer tells his readers about his Runyon Canyon runs and weight loss diet tips on his Twitter page.

Celebrities are Focused

The other reason to follow celebrities, especially ones that get in shape for specific roles, is that they have a team of highly experienced professionals to guide them. Unlike the part-qualified gym instructor they have the best fitness coaches at hand.

And these coaches often talk about how they train their clients, and their clients often talk about how they are trained. Mike Alexander shared the workout that he gave to Jessica Simpson. By sharing it, he promotes his own services and hopefully wins new celebrity clients.

Celebrity Trainers Are The Experts

Some celebrity trainers even share their celebrity fitness systems, such as Jeff Cavalier who has developed the AthleanX system that you can now purchase online. This is the very system that he uses to get his celebrity clients in shape for sports and athletics, including Terrell Owens, Rafael Nadal, David Wright, Jose Reyes, and David Beckham.

To put it simply, who should you trust more? The guy in marketing who is a bit cagey about his methods or the guy who has trained professional athletes – that is athletes who will be tested for illegal substances, performance enhancement drugs and the like. The answer is pretty simple really.

Celebrities are our role models and now our source of health and fitness information!

If you want to lose weight and get fit and need some inspiration, then look to our celebrities. We have details of workouts and diet plans from the top male and female celebs, so you cannot use the excuse “I don’t know how to exercise” anymore! Whether you want to follow in the footsteps of Bruce Lee, Daniel Craig, Brat Pitt, Madonna, Shakira or Mariah Carey, we can help you!

It is important to note that celebrities really do not have any greater ability to get in shape than anyone else. Brad Pitt, Bruce Lee, Daniel Craig, Matt Damon – they could all be fat guys with huge beer bellies had they chosen to take a different path in their lives.

Celebrities are Not Immortal!

What celebrities generally have that us mere mortals lack (oh, sorry, they are not immortal are they!) is more time, more money and greater incentive to get in amazing shape.

Remember, they are just normal people who have a big incentive to do exactly what their personal trainer tells them to do!

If your boss dragged you into a room tomorrow and told you that he will triple your pay, provide you with a personal assistant, the best company car and give you an extra 30 days holiday entitlement if you lost 30 pounds and sculpted your muscles to look like a professional MMA fighter, I bet you will suddenly find the motivate to go running every day at 6 am and lift weights every evening. This is essentially why them celebrities manage it – they have a huge incentive to do it, their jobs rely on them getting in shape.

Can you imagine what the film 300 would have been like if all the cast just spent a year drinking beer and eating pizza? Or how daft Batman would look with a beer gut?

How the Celebs Stay Fit and Sexy

Celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon, Julianne Moore, and Meg Ryan follow the teachings of Hollywood’s most sought after fitness expert: Michael George. In fact, Michael has helped sculpt some of the best bodies in Hollywood. However, his programs are certainly not for the weak of heart. To get an actress ready for the big screen, he perscribes a strict diet, five days of weight training per week and six days of cardio.

Oprah Winfrey used the “Total Body Makeover” from personal trainer Bob Greene.
Lauren Graham does four-mile runs on the treadmill.
Kirstie Alley lost more than 50 pounds on the Jenny Craig Plan.
Jennifer Garner of Alias enjoys martial arts workouts and….
Halle Berry follows a nutrition and fitness routine known as 5-Factor Fitness.

Like many of today’s nutritional experts, he promotes eating five small meals per day versus two or three large meals. By eating every three hours, the metabolism is put into overdrive, helping the body to burn fat at an optimal level.

Other fitness celebrities swear by the power of Pilates. Rebecca Romijin is one of them. In fact, she’s been doing Pilates for the past seven or eight years. She also works the treadmill and the elliptical machine for about 40 minutes each.

Julia Roberts shed much of her extra weight after pregnancy with regular Pilates workouts. Other celebrities using this incredible workout routine include Madonna, Sharon Stone, Jennifer Anniston and many more.

One of the most popular celebrity fitness trainers is Kathy Kaehler, who has trained the likes of Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Ellen Degeneres, and others.

To get Julia Roberts ready for her role in America’s Sweethearts, Kathy designed a program centered around strength training, Yoga, and Pilates. Kathy Kaehler also helped Drew Barrymore get in peak shape for her role in Charlie’s Angels.

Although exercise is certainly an important part of staying in peak shape. You will never reach your fitness goals without proper nutrition. While starring in the popular TV show “Friends”, Jennifer Anniston chose the Zone Diet to look her best on screen.

The Zone diet was created by Dr. Barry Sears and promotes eating a ratio of 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein, and 30% fat. He advises you choose low-starch fruits and vegetables as your carbs and lean protein sources as well as healthy fats. Pork and red meat are certainly not on this menu.

So, do these whole foods and healthy portions work? I’d say so, and I think Jennifer would agree, along with other celebrities who have used this diet, including Renee Zellweger and Cindy Crawford.

However, keep in mind that not every body is the same. Some have a lower tolerance of carbohydrates and may have to limit their carbs intake more than others. The key is finding out what works for you and forming good habits that last a lifetime.

OK, so how about the men? They are also working hard to keep their bodies camera-ready. However, their workout routines look very different from
the women.

Let’s take Bruce Lee as an example. He not only has an incredible physique, but also incredible strength and style. Here is one of his favorite workout routines:

• Shoulders: Clean and presses: 2 sets, 8 reps
• Lats: Barbell pullovers: 2 sets, 8 reps
• Biceps: Barbell curls: 2 sets, 8 reps
• Chest: Bench-presses: 2 sets, 6 reps
• Lower Back/Glutes/Hams: Good mornings: 2 sets, 8 reps
• Quads: Squats: 2 sets, 12 reps
• Abs: Waist Twists: 4 sets, 90 repetitions; Sit up Twist: 4 sets, 20 repetitions; Leg Raises: 4 sets, 20 repetitions; Leaning Twist: 4 sets, 50 repetitions

Bruce Lee would perform this weight-lifting workout every other day while filling the rest of his time with stretching and aerobics. And then there’s LL Cool J. Certainly a very different style than Bruce Lee, but his physique is incredible. What is the answer to his huge biceps and ripped abs?

Hard Work. Heavy Lifting. Strict Diet.

LL Cool J does lots of cardio, weightlifting and boxing. He also works in lots of pushups and a lot of running. In fact, he’s running 12 miles per day.

Although you don’t have to go to these extremes to stay slim and fit. A healthy lifestyle certainly requires dedication. Healthy habits are the key to a lifetime of fitness, energy, and vitality.

We cannot give you money or cars, all we can do is provide you with some advice and hopefully a little motivation to help you get fit and lose weight. Take a look through the celeb workouts and see what you like and hop to it. We are here to answer your questions.