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Sep 8, 2009 | Stacy Matson | Celebrity Health
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image by: Mark Coggins

Most celebrities don’t actually come right out and say that they are vegetarians/vegans but when it comes to losing weight they do talk about the “health benefits” of a plant-based diet

OK, I want to step away from celebrity death doom and gloom. Too depressing. Let’s talk about celebrity diets instead; much more fascinating because there are some really wacky ones out there.

Have you ever heard of the Morning Banana Diet - nothing but bananas and room temp water until 3 p.m, the Blood Type Diet - eating foods according to your blood type, the Facial Analysis Diet - a diet based on food intolerances revealed in the texture of your skin, eyes and hair, the Cabbage Soup Diet - 7 days of slurping watery, stinky, cabbage broth. Ugh!!! But, my favorite might be the Cardio Free Diet - which claims that cardio workouts are bad for your health so you skip them altogether. How would that work?? I’m still trying to figure that one out. Seriously.

I have been a lifelong dieter and exercise fanatic and I love to read about the newest weight loss secrets of celebs. Celebrities are usually on the cutting edge of whatever is new and trendy. They create the trends and we follow. At this point I should confess that I am a vegetarian and pretty darn close to being vegan. 

However, I am not a preachy vegetarian.  I don’t care if you eat meat.  That is your choice.  My meat (and most dairy) avoidance comes from my neurotic tendencies; I don’t like eating dead things and I don’t like the sight of blood, so why would I eat cooked blood?  Weird, right?  However, back to the point, I’m going to write about celebrities that follow a vegetarian/vegan diet because I think they are on to something. 

They look “fab” all the time and we want to know how and why.  Why is their skin peachy and clear?  Why do they look 10-20 years younger than the average human? How do they stay so thin?  Well, it seems that many are jumping on the vegetarian bandwagon.  It is the perfect blend of everything Hollywood appreciates- eco friendly, politically correct, and health conscious.  You can lose weight while doing something for the environment.  Perfect!

Alicia Silverstone is probably one of the most outspoken vegans in Hollywood. She has an organic garden in her yard and served vegan food and cake at her wedding.  In an interview with Health magazine she says she, “experienced a profound change in the way she felt and looked after she went vegan at age 21.

When I look at those pictures from back then, I can see the puffiness in my eyes. It’s weird to be 32 now and feel and look younger… Right after I first made the switch to a plant-based diet, people were literally telling me, ‘What have you done? You’re sparkling”. (and skinny)

Silverstone says that she doesn’t really need to exercise anymore either. The vegan lifestyle and dog walking is what keeps her in shape. She’s also written a book called The Kind Diet, due to be released in October. She says, “I’m excited about presenting something that can make you feel amazing and look your best. Once you’re informed, then you can be really gentle and kind to yourself, by giving yourself all the gifts life has to offer—like mental clarity and vitality—all while making the planet better”. (and skinny)

Another vegan lifestyle book that many celebrities follow is 'Skinny Bitch'. Not your typical tofu, granola, and patchouli offering.  Skinny Bitch’s motto is “Stop Being A Moron and Start Getting Skinny!” This book was written for you, “If you can't take one more day of self-loathing and you're ready to hear the truth: You cannot keep shoveling the same crap into your mouth every day and expect to lose weight”.

And, as the authors point out, fast food addictions, creative marketing campaigns, and food-industry lobbyists have created high levels of obesity, and ignorance about health and nutrition in Western cultures. Skinny Bitch is in your face, tell it like it is, lifestyle book that happens to promote a vegan diet.  But, most importantly, Skinny Bitch has been seen in the skinny arms of the skinniest bitch of all, Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) and if this is the book that helped her get that body, I want one also.

I don’t know if being vegetarian/vegan is a weight loss guarantee but most of them sure are thin.  And I can’t tell if simply cutting out animal products makes you more aware of everything else you put in your mouth or enlightens your thinking process but it seems that making a decision for whatever reason- weight loss, environmentalism, or health- can’t ever be a bad thing. I don’t mind sharing my tofu supply. 


Stacy Matson is a health enthusiast from Southern California and regularly blogs on Celebrity Health for A Healthier World, as well as contributing to the Best of the Best.

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