1. Your Diet Is A Bank Account

According to Bettheny, you need to treat your dieting the same way you treat your finances.  While no one’s stopping you from eating a high-fat, high-calorie chocolate cake at lunch, you’ll need to cut back on your dinner so as not to go over your daily limits.  Think of the idea like splurging on a shopping spree - it probably means you’ll have to stay in for the weekend, since you spent your budget all in one place.

2. The Differential

When comparing two food types, there’s going to be something that separates one from the other that’s significant to you - that’s the differential.  That gap, whether it’s the taste, the fullness or the emotional satisfaction you will derive from it, is what should make you choose one type of food over another.

3. The Point Of Diminishing Return

This one sounds like what Paris actually does.  According to Bethenny, there’s a point in eating where proceeding isn’t going to satisfy you any further.  If you’re hungry and chance upon a plate of fries, for instance, eating those first couple of mouthfuls might feel like heaven; after that, the experience goes down in quality.  Once you notice the feeling sliding downwards, you should stop eating.

4. Downsize

Bethenny believes that food portions in the US is unrealistic.  As such, she’s in the habit of always leaving leftover food on her plate.  If you’re full, don’t force it in - mom’s no longer going to get mad if you don’t clean your plate.

Showing off her rock-hard abs during a recent cover shoot for Shape magazine, the actress divulged her secret to staying fit and beautiful, without resorting to dangerous plastic surgery and cosmetic operations.  According to Julia, the secret is plain, old hard-work.

Diet

The fitness begins first thing in the morning for Julia, who finds breakfast to be the hardest meal of the day.  Seldom in the mood to eat right after she wakes up, she has learned to train herself to get the proper morning nutrition, which helps curb her hunger throughout the day.  It helps, too, that her new favorite breakfast is a very healthy serving of two eggs (friend in olive oil) and a slice of whole wheat toast with honey - that’s protein and fiber, both great food choices to keep you satisfied for much longer.

Since she doesn’t make a habit of including vegetables with every meal and snacks, she eats a big serving of salad either for lunch or dinner to make up for the deficit.  She further advises that the real key to eating well is finding healthy food that you like - that way, you don’t end up craving for the rest of the day.

Exercise

Apart from watching her food intake, Julia gets her exercise three to five times a week.  She usually hits the outdoor trail jogging or performs indoor elliptical exercises in front of the TV.

Even though it’s difficult, there’s no denying that portion control is one of the easiest ways to try to lose weight.  If you’re trying to just cut down food consumption in general, without following any solid diet plan, here are a few things you can do to help you succeed.

1. Use smaller plates

The smaller your plates, the less chances you have of putting too much food on it.  With larger kitchenware, even a hefty double serving of pasta and mashed potatoes can look like a conservative amount.  A small plate will ensure this doesn’t happen.   The less food you have in front of you, the less chance you’ll eat too much.

2. Eat slowly

Eating slowly allows you to feel fuller without eating as much.  For most folks, it takes a bit of time for the brain to process that the body is satiated.  Taking smaller bits and slowly chewing food down allows you to to get to this point without having consumed too much.

3.  Size of your fist

In the Scarsdale Diet, portion control is loosely relegated to the size of one’s fist. Personally, I find that a very good guideline, as most folks struggling with weight loss consume two or three times that during their meals.

Kendra is naturally athletic and, as such, engages in a lot of sports that keep her in tip-top condition.  Her daily breakfast routine is a healthy one, too: Cheerios with milk and a bowl of assorted fruits (with strawberries and bananas being her favorite).  Apart from that, Kendra claims she’s able to eat most anything in moderation, since she’s such an active girl.

Bridget, on the other hand, has a propensity to gain weight.  As such, she has to watch her food consumption more intently than the other girls.  Instead of going on a tough diet, though, she just chooses to eat low-calorie fare whenever she can.  She also tries to eat early in the evening, so that she has time to burn it off, and avoids food late in the night.

Both girls also exercise regularly.  Kendra claims she always does a 22-minute drill on the treadmill before any big event so that she looks her best.  Bridget, on the other hand, finds most exercises boring so she tries to find creative ways to shed off the extra calories.  Right now, she does trapeze as her exercise!

Is she naturally blessed with great genes?  Does she work out harder than everyone else?  Has she got some super secret diet supplements her sleeve?

According to the book Naturally Thin: Unleash Your Skinny Girl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting, the secret isn’t all that unfamiliar.  Written by Bethenny Frankel, who once served as a personal assistant to Paris’ mom Kathy, the celebrity manages to keep her weight down really simply.

While Paris does indulge in fattening fare like burgers, crisps and fries, she eats very little of them.  In fact, she’d often take a bite just to satiate her longing for the taste and then get rid of the food.  Most likely, she has retained the habit till now, even extending it to how she treats alcohol.  As a result, she rarely gains weight.  Who would have thought Paris can exercise that much control?

Eggs. Eggs are great food items for breakfast.  The high amounts of protein can literally leave you feeling full for a good part of the day.  In fact, you can probably incorporate it into your regular diet without any problems.

Pizza. For healthier pizza, go with thin crust, since it’s less oily.  If you can find restaurants offering whole wheat crusts then all the better.  Choose flavors that are heavy on the meat and vegetables, while light on the cheese.

Bacon. While most bacon are greasy, oil-filled and fat, certain variants may not actually be that way.  Canadian bacon, for instance, is sourced from the loin, which happens to be the leanest part of a pig.

Hamburgers. If the patty is made out of lean beef (check the label to be sure), it’s a perfectly good source of protein.  Make sure you prepare it at home, though.  Avoid the fast food and diner varieties - there’s no way you can know what really goes in that meat.

How did she lose the weight?  According to Jenny, she signed up for Weight Watchers, which helped her cut down on the fat by exercising portion control and carefully watching the calorie content of what she ate.  She used the same eating restraint to maintain her figure once it has returned.

Three years ago, she also changed to a gluten-free and dairy-free diet, the same eating choices prescribed to help with her son’s autism symptoms.  The new diet helped her get in even better shape, allowing her to maintain the slim figure she sports to this day.

A typical food plan for Jenny McCarthy consists of egg whites for breakfast, fish, fruits and vegetables for major meals and nuts for snacks.  She also engages in regular yoga workouts.

If you are prone to gaining fat around your midsection, any weight gain is likely to result in increased fat tissue in the same area.  As such, the best way to prevent it to work to keep your weight at a normal level.

Spot Reduction

You’ve probably seen the glut of commercials on TV selling abdominal exercisers that purport to melt off your stomach fat by helping you build muscles in that area.  I can safely inform you that all those things - from the vibrating belt variety to the portable ab machines - are a load of crap.

Fat Loss

For most folks, losing that concentration of abdominal fat can only be achieved by a reduction in your total body fat.  As such, eating healthy and exercise continues to be the only sensible way of achieving it.  Instead of focusing on losing the belly, you should look towards losing overall body fat by a restricted diet and plenty of aerobic exercise.

Losing the belly will come with losing fat throughout the rest of your body.

According to the author, Kerry McCloskey, plenty of sex brings innumerable physical and emotional benefits, like a healthy heart, stronger immune system, less propensity for depression and weight loss.  At the bare minimum, practitioners of the Ultimate Sex Diet should have sex three to five times during the week and at least once on weekend.  The more sex you can fit into your schedule, the better the weight loss results will be.

That’s the exercise portion of the system, by the way.  It, of course, also involves an eating regimen that’s a little more forgiving than your typical diet programs. Recommended food types in the Ultimate Sex Diet consists of mostly low-fat and high-fiber fare.

Bread and pasta are particularly cited as good items you should limit.  Anytime it is available, dieters should always choose low-fat versions of dairy and milk.  Food choices that come highly recommended include whole grains, fruits, vegetables, sugar-free desserts, herbs, spices and seafood.  Aphrodisiacs like dark chocolate and wine are also encouraged, if they help increase your sexual appetite.

There is no calorie-counting in the Ultimate Sex Diet, where focus is trained on eating healthy while getting lots of sex to burn off  excess calories.  The book is currently available for about $28.

What’s a girl on a diet to do?  Find healthier barbecues to feast on, of course!

While the rest of the family waits for their fatty burgers, steaks and hotdogs to cook, I wait for my healthier barbecues to get well done.  Believe me, I get the complete set of nutrients my body requires with low calories to boot.  Want to know what I cook?

1. Vegetarian kebabs

Tofu, onions,  tomatoes, peppers and pineapple slices all skewered on a stick, cooked over fire.  Make sure to use a low-calorie marinade or you’ll be messing up your diet all the same!

2. Fish

What tastes better than grilled beef, chicken and pork?  Grilled fish!  Find fresh fish and have a healthy, tasty, meaty barbecue.

3. Corn

Not many people seem to know this but sweet corn cooked over a grill is incredibly delicious.  It literally tastes like no other preparation of corn is able to achieve - even without fattening butter!

4. A little lean meat

Lean meat is fine but when I begin banqueting on it during backyard barbecues, I just find it hard to stop.  Instead, I just take a small slice of meat and limit my consumption to that, followed by my healthier fire-cooked options.