46 THE IRISH DAILY STAR, Friday July 24 2015

lifestyle SHOWBIZ

� Celina MURPHYMARILYN MONROE started the day with two raw eggs mixed in warm milk, while Gwyneth Paltrow raves about kale juice.

Meanwhile, Sophia Loren swears by pasta, insisting: “Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti.”

Celebrity diets have captivated us since the birth of Hollywood and millions of fans have nibbled in the carb-counting footsteps of the stars, which is why US novelist Rebecca Harrington recently spent a year testing celebrity diets from stars of the past and present.

From Greta Garbo to Victoria Beckham, and Jacqueline Kennedy to Beyoncé, she bravely ate her way through some of their often inedible diets to write her book.

“A lot of it was so disgusting I couldn’t believe it,” says Harrington, who quickly

realised some celebrity diets require a Beverly Hills income too.

“I ended up getting a very good insight into the people, though — you realise that the diet is a reflection of who they are.”

■ BEYONCÉ — Harrington lost 10 pounds in 10 days following the regime superstar Beyoncé (33) used to get in shape for 2006 movie Dreamgirls.

This started with a liquid-only diet: a cay-enne pepper, lemon and maple syrup drink, nine times daily for the first two days, fol-lowed by several glasses of salt water.

Harrington also tried Beyoncé’s post-preg-nancy diet: egg whites for breakfast, turkey slices with capers for lunch, sushi for din-ner. Her verdict? “The most effective diet I

have ever tried.”

■ MARILYN MONROE — “I have been told my eating habits are absolutely bizarre but I don’t think so,” said Monroe, whose breakfast was two raw eggs whipped in warm milk. She skipped lunch and for dinner would broil liver, steak or lamb, accompanied by five car-rots. “I must be part rabbit,” mused Monroe, who would wreck her diet with a hot fudge sundae dessert.

■ MADONNA — Madge (56) follows a strict macro-biotic diet without wheat, eggs, meat and dairy but with plenty of “sea vegetables”.

Day one: breakfast, miso soup; lunch, soya meat and rice pasta; dinner, barley stew and sea-weed. Day two: main meal, steamed greens and an apple.

Day three: tofu in tartar sauce, “tremen-dously disgusting”.

Day four: quinoa and tofu salad.

“I feel like I am starving,” says Harrington. “Is it fun? No.”

■ ELIZABETH TAYLOR — Day one: breakfast, dry toast and fruit. Swordfish for dinner. “Impractical,” says Harrington. “After dinner I am starving.”

Day two: steak sandwich with peanut but-ter. “Despite being so hungry I could eat my hand, I cannot handle this concoction.”

Dinner: ratatouille or veal, fillet of sole or tuna salad.

Late Taylor’s favourite snack: cottage cheese and sour cream with fruit.

Verdict? “Absolutely repugnant.”

■ GWYNETH PALTROW — To banish toxins Paltrow (42) sometimes goes on a flax and dandelion detox diet.

Harrington sampled Paltrow’s gluten-free maintenance diet, heavy on veg and juice smoothies.

Banned: coffee, alcohol, red meat, dairy, eggs, sugar, shellfish, potatoes, tomatoes, aubergine, wheat and soy. What’s left? Fish, kale and lots of exotic vegetables.

“I have never paid this much for a week of groceries in my entire life,” says Harrington. A typical day: Kale juice for breakfast; beet-greens soup for lunch;

barbecue chicken for dinner.

■ JACKIE KENNEDY— The First

Lady dieted daily on a baked potato stuffed

with Beluga caviar and sour cream, which Harrington found “delicious but financially impractical”.

After periods of overindulgence,

Kennedy went on a fruit-only diet. Routine dining included

bay scallops with risotto, chicken in tarragon

casserole with sour cream and cottage

cheese followed by mango sorbet.

“I feel thinner and more refined,” says Harrington, after follow-ing this regime.

■ GRETA GARBO — Garbo’s diet gloried in vegetables, nuts, yogurt, brewer’s yeast, wheatgerm and molasses. “Her celery loaf tasted like vomit.

“She was the weirdest, drinking raw egg in orange juice and saying: ‘This is breakfast fit for a king!’”

For a time Garbo subsisted on chicken, dried apricots, brown beans and milk. She once ate only spinach for three weeks.

“No wonder she wanted to be alone,” says Harrington.

■ KARL LAGERFELD — The stick-thin German couturier dropped five stone following his austere regimen: two weeks on 900 calories a day; 1,200 daily for the following week; then 1,600 for maintenance.

The diet starts with minuscule portions of raw vegetables and sugar-free shakes, graduating to grilled chicken, avocado on toast and Greek yogurt.

Lagerfeld (81) curbed his appetite by guz-zling 10 Diet Cokes a day, despite studies showing fizzy diet drinks can lead to weight gain.

■ VICTORIA BECKHAM — The 41-year-old designer and mum-of-four fol-lows the Five Hands Diet — or five handfuls of food daily, without sugar or salt.

Minute portions of smoked salmon, prawns with chilli, tuna sushi, scrambled eggs and green veg. Snacks: goji berries and nuts. Harrington also endured Beckham’s “alkaline diet” of fruit and veg, ruling out acid- producing meat, pasta and dairy.

■ PIPPA MIDDLETON — To fit her famed derriere into her bridesmaid’s dress Pippa did the protein-heavy Dukan Diet, with occasional vegetable treats. It begins with a protein-only day: eggs for breakfast, a sashimi lunch and fish fillets for dinner.

Day two allows unlimited proteins such as grilled chicken breasts and vegetables. Dinner is an oat bran galette.

■ SOPHIA LOREN —“She has these delicious pasta recipes but the amount is so small all you can think about all day is how you want to eat more pasta,” says Harrington. “Eat very, very, very little things,” says Loren. “Almost starve.”

● I’ll Have What She’s Having: My

Adventures In Celebrity Dieting by Rebecca Harrington (Little Brown, €14.20)

CELEBDIETDIVASAuthor tries food regimes followed by the stars — but finds many of them hard to stomachAuthor tries food regimes followed by the stars — but finds many of them hard to stomach

HUNGRY FOR MORE:

(from left) Pippa,

Madonna and Marilyn

JUST NUTS: Liz Taylor enjoyed steak sandwiches with peanut butter

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