How to eat like an a-lister

Textures and colours plan

Celeb Fan: Christina Aguilera
Thanks to a brutal workout schedule, Christina has shed over 18 kilos since giving birth earlier this year. But the singer is as militant about what she eats as she is about her exercise regime.

The Basics: Christina eats four food items every meal time – one crunchy, one soft, one hot and one cold, and ensures these foods are of bright, contrasting colours.

The Science: Dividing meals into colours and textures ensures you get a healthy balance of nutrients as well as your required five a day. The more colour you have on your plate, the more disease preventing antioxidants you consume.

Star style verdict: Simple and effective – aside from boosting your health, eating a variety of fresh, fibre-packed food that are virtually fat free guarantees easy weight loss.

Portion Control

Celeb Fan: Hayden Panettiere
The actress can thank her daily date with the stairmaster, followed by weights and intense circuit training for her fantastic bod. But the Heroes star is also super careful about what she eats.

The Basics: Rather than counting calories, Hayden munches on whatever she wants, but divides her plate into quarters, waiting 20 minutes between each quarter to avoid overeating.

The Science: It takes around 20 minutes for the stomach to send a signal to the brain to indicate fullness. Waiting for a short time halfway through a meal aids digestion and reduces the tendency to overindulge.

Star style verdict: While eating food in stages may sound like a laborious task, if it stops you scoffing when you’re actually already stuffed, you too could shimmy into a Herve Leger frock like Hayden.

Nil by mouth

Celeb Fan: Rachel Zoe
Blaming her busy schedule for her stick-thin frame, uber-stylist Rachel Zoe is now deemed so skinny she was retouched from a size zero to a size eight in a recent photoshoot for Harper’s Bazaar.

The Basics: Despite protesting she “does eat”, Rachel admits to skipping lunch regularly. “I’m not a lady who lunches,” she says, and instead lives on “coffee and a grapefruit.” Adding, “It’s hard for me to take care of myself. I am my last priority.”

The Science: Skipping meals plays havoc with your moods and blood sugar levels, leaving you weak and irritable. Eating five small meals a day would regulate the metabolism and help you stay trim the healthy way.

Star style verdict: Is it any wonder Rach looks so miserable? This sounds less like a diet and more like an eating disorder.

Lemon-aid

Celeb Fan: Kim Cattrall
At 52, Kim has a body women half her age would kill for. But aside from staying in shape with the help of Russian kettle bells, Kim eats lemons with everything.

The Basics: Whenever she craves fatty food, Kim squirts lemon juice all over it to stop her eating too much. The same goes for leftovers, which she says helps her to stop picking.

The Science: None really. It’s just a simple way to make food taste horrid so you don’t eat more of it.

Star style verdict: We’d rather use lemon juice as a dressing as it adds taste minus the calories – use it to liven up anything from fish and chicken to salads.