Here’s a look at the most bizarre diet plans Hollywood celebs follow to lose weight; read on to know what not to do.

Baby food diet

Created by celebrity trainer Tracy Anderson, this weight-loss fad includes substituting high calorie snacks and meals with tiny jars of baby food. Celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Cheryl Cole have followed this diet.

Baby food curbs overeating and keeps you satisfied with smaller portions. Though it has plenty of nutrients, it’s not ideal for adult consumption, as it lacks fibre, calcium and vitamin D. Nutritionist Nupur Krishnan says, “An adult’s diet requirement cannot be compared to that of a baby. The digestion process in an adult takes about 21 hours, which is not the case with babies. Eating grated or mashed food brings down its nutritional value.”

Dietician Pooja Makhija adds, “This diet helps you lose weight as you’re eating the amount of food a one-month old baby would have. However, you only lose weight as a result of muscle loss.”

The sleeping beauty diet

Music legend Elvis Presley followed this diet. It involves being heavily sedated in order to sleep off pounds. When you are asleep, you don’t consume any calories. So your body is forced to burn the fats stored in your body during those hours.

The process is a bit like hibernation. Though the diet claims to regulate your metabolism and improve weight loss, there are side-effects like headaches, mood swings, irritability and an inability to get a good night’s sleep.

It’s a definitely a no-no for people who have regular routines that involve going to work and picking up kids from school. Makhija warns you about this diet in just one line, “Wouldn’t you rather eat properly and lose weight instead of sleeping your life away?”

Raw food diet

As the name suggests, in this diet, one needs to consume uncooked and unprocessed food like raw vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and seaweed. Celebrities like Demi Moore, Katie Holmes, Britney Spears and Taylor Swift are known to have tried this diet.

“This is not a bad detox diet, provided it is followed for a maximum of one week and includes the consumption of fish for protein. However, vegetarians may suffer due to protein deficiencies leading to weakness and hair and muscle loss. Besides, raw food can be contaminated,” explains Makhija.

Krishnan adds, “Certain food items, if consumed raw, can give you diarrhea or a stomach upset. The process of cooking not only makes the food tastier but also decreases its toxicity.” 

Charcoal diet

This diet involves using activated charcoal in your meals to get rid of toxins. Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding is a fan and sprinkles charcoal over her food to help her tone up. They come in the form of tablets sold in specialist health stores.

“This diet is beneficial only if you use activated charcoal. It has high intake of salt and minerals which is harmful if there are no proteins and carbohydrates in the system for nutrition,” explains Makhija.

Other weird diets

Spitting diet: Chewing the food about 80 times and then spitting out what remains.
 

Cotton ball diet: Eating a few cotton balls before a meal to help fill your stomach, leaving you less hungry.
 

Tapeworm worm: Injecting live tapeworms in your system so that they can consume the food you’ve eaten. 
 

Grapefruit oil diet: Sniffing grapefruit oil to reduce the appetite.

Hindustan times

Health Warning: Always consult with your doctor first before starting a diet.