PHOTOSFrom Ice Cubes To Clay: The Most Extreme Celebrity Diets
Some celebrities will do anything for a role, which might mean changing their bodies in drastic ways. Everyone knows that Gerard Butler bulked up and toned for 300, but did you know that he lost those pounds for a different role? The tactics he used to get his scrawny physique made it onto this list of the most extreme celebrity diets.
MORE: Staying The Course: How Did Ashlee Simpson Lose 40 Pounds In Just 5 Months?
Sometimes the weight loss is all about looking good while wearing next to nothing. Jennifer Aniston cut down her caloric intake to make sure that she was toned for her onscreen pole routine. Other times the drastic weight loss is to portray a character more realistically. Either way, these stars found weird and sometimes dangerous ways to lose weight when time wasn’t on their side.
MORE: Jonah Hill Scarfs Down Food & Smokes Cigarettes. Is He Over His Weight Loss?
Ok! has a list of the strangest and most drastic ways celebrities have tried to lose weight.
Lady Gaga
The Role: The Super Bowl Halftime Show
The Diet: Her choreographer LaurieAnn Gibson told People that Gaga followed a low-glycemic diet of turkey, tofu, coconut water and grain chips with hummus to be in tip-top shape for the performance.
Chris Hemsworth
The Role: In the Heart of the Sea
The Diet: The hunky blond told Entertainment Tonight that he slowly starved himself down to 500 calories a day.
Jake Gyllenhaal
The Role: Nightcrawler
The Diet: To shed 30 lbs from his already lean 180 lbs frame Jake took only small bites of food. He told Variety, “I knew if I was hungry that I was in the right spot.”
Beyoncé
Role: Dreamgirls
The Diet: To shed 20 lbs, Queen Bey drank only lemonade made from cayenne pepper, lemons, Grade A maple syrup and a saltwater flush. Food was forbidden on her diet.
Megan Fox
The Role: Jennifer’s Body
The Diet: Megan shed her perfect curves, dropping to 97 lbs for this role “by basically not eating.”
Jennifer Aniston
Role: We’re The Millers
The Diet: “I was on a very, like, you know, greens and vegetables and lean proteins and kale,” Jen revealed to Access Hollywood about her diet to look amazing on screen in nothing but her bra and underwear.
Jonah Hill
The Role: 21 Jump Street
The Diet: Ditching the booze was Jonah's secret. He said on the Kyle and Jackie O radio show, “If I don't drink beer, I get really thin, and then when I drink beer, I get a little bigger."
Jennifer Hudson
The Role: Dream Girls
The Diet: “I throw the pancakes across the room! I don’t let the food intimidate me.” Jennifer told Yahoo Style that staying slim is a mental thing for her.
Charlize Theron
The Role: Atomic Blonde
The Diet: Charlize limited her calories to a diet of dark-colored fruits and vegetables and lean meats. Pasta, processed foods, sugar and alcohol were banned.
Shailene Woodley
The Role: Adrift
The Diet: The actress spilled to The Times that she only ate 350 calories each day during the last days of filming. That was on top of a diet that already included a teaspoon of clay a day to detox.
Gwyneth Paltrow
The Role: Goop
The Diet: Gwyneth published a Q&A with celebrity trainer Tracey Anderson. What was her goopy advice to lose weight? Work out every day, cut out gluten and go “very low carb.”
Snooki
The Role: Dancing With The Stars
The Diet: In order to drop the 42 lbs gained from her pregnancy Snooki ditched the carbs and swapped rolls for lettuce with her burgers and ate salads with chicken.
Madonna
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The Role: Remaining A Reigning Pop Star In Her 50s
The Diet: The Queen of Pop followed a strict macrobiotic diet that excluded wheat, eggs, meats and dairy.
Elizabeth Hurley
The Role: The Royals
The Diet: Hot water and espresso for breakfast are the only things that this English beauty ate to stay in shape. She even went on Twitter to support her weightloss choice saying, “I swear by almost nothing for breakfast for adults.”
Tom Hanks
The Role: Cast Away
The Diet: Tom Hanks shrunk down to 170 lbs by living off of water, vegetables, fish and coffee. Carbs were cut out.
January Jones
The Role: X-Men
The Diet: Sources revealed that in order for January to don the formfitting suit of the super villain Emma Frost, the actress only ate raw vegetables that were either juiced or put in a salad.
Will Smith
The Role: Suicide Squad
The Diet: Christmas was carb-free for Will who followed a body builder’s diet of grilled chicken breast, sweet potato and broccoli for dinner. “It was terrible,” the actor said.
Matthew McConaguhey
The Role: Dallas Buyers Club
The Diet: Matthew told Access Online how he restricted his calories, “I ate a lot of fish, but only five ounces of it, and then a cup of vegetables. That would be twice a day.”
Anne Hathaway
The Role: Les Miserables
The Diet: “I was on a starvation diet to look like I was near death in a film,” Anne said about dropping the pounds within weeks to play the role of a grief stricken prostitute.
50 Cent
The Role: Things Fall Apart
The Diet: He stayed on a liquid diet for nine weeks straight. The rapper turned actor told Parade Magazine that, “I started running to suppress my appetite.”
Mila Kunis
The Role: Black Swan
The Diet: To play a ballerina, the actress lived on 1,200 calories a day and smoked cigarettes to drop down to 95 lbs.
Natalie Portman
The Role: Black Swan
The Diet: Carrots and almonds were reported to be all that sustained Natalie’s eight-hour rehearsals. “There were some nights that I thought I was literally going to die.”
Michael Fassbender
The Role: Hunger
The Diet: In order to play a starving prisoner, Michael lived like one. He dropped to 900 calories a day and still exercised by walking and skipping.
Gerard Butler
The Role: Chasing Mavericks
The Diet: Joking with People, Gerard said “I ate my last meal in October and I run about 40 miles day. I’m joking! It’s just doing a lot of cardio and watching what I eat.”
Renée Zellweger
The Role: Chicago
The Diet: Rumor has it that Renée tried the ice cube diet. Apparently, if you suck on an ice cube it can curb your cravings for food.
Christian Bale
The Role: The Machinist
The Diet: In order to go from 180 to 120 lbs, Christian only allowed himself an apple and a can of tuna each day.
