The biggest award show of them all is finally approaching, so how long have the stars been prepping for that perfect red-carpet photo moment? For months! But with just a few days to go, there's still a lot that even the most undisciplined celebs can do to get their bodies looking fabulous on the red carpet. Experts routinely share their health and fitness tips, so we've put together a timeline of all the diet and fitness advice making the rounds and being put into practice leading up to the Oscars. You can do the same in time for to attend your big event – a wedding, prom or when meeting your significant other's parents. Just remember to keep it healthy!
One Month Before
At this point, celebs have already selected "the" dress, so try it on to see what you're working with. Stars will often bring in their trainers at this point to look for problem areas or potential spillage. Fitness expert Lacey Stone, who has trained Nicole Kidman and Amanda Seyfried, has done this plenty of times, according to Marie Claire. She suggests some Lacey-approved workouts, like Bootcamp, spin classes or high-intensity interval training combined with yoga, barre, or a similar sculpting class. If the client is already where they want to be in terms of body sculpting, she suggests 20 minute workouts two to three days a week. To make the most of strapless dresses, others that show off your stomach or even super tight form-fitting gowns, she suggests daily early-morning workouts. Stone even does house calls, making her clients run sprints to make sure they are as toned as they can be.
Celebrities will also hire a private chef to cook them clean meals or they sign up meal delivery services like Klean, which offers a 24-day package of four healthy meals a day.
While fitness and diet is obviously the healthy way to go, desperate stars opt for liposuction.
"People have to be naked, or in a swimsuit for a shoot, or get into a dress for Cannes, and then try on their dress with their stylist and their love handles are poking out," Beverly Hills based Dr. Aaron Rollins told New York Magazine. "My motto is, 'If I can pinch it, I can take it.' I could take this much and have you wearing a sleeveless dress by the Oscars."
Rollins also explained that award season is his busiest time and that many celebrities will come into his office in a wheelchair with a sheet covering their head so paparazzi won't recognize them.
Three Weeks Before
"The Biggest Loser" coach and Hollywood trainer Bob Harper has come up with what he believes is the perfect three week plan, and it's what he suggests stars use to get in shape for big events like award shows, according to Reader's Digest. First, you have to cut your calories by a lot, but only under the following circumstances and for a very short period. Long term adherence could be dangerous.
For women, Harper advises consuming 800 calories a day; for men he advises consuming 1,200 a day. For these low calorie-diets, he suggests limiting complex carbs to breakfast only, eating as little sodium as possible (about 1,000 mg a day), loading up on vegetables, and avoiding alcohol.
As for working out: Harper doesn't believe in doing anything too crazy. Instead he suggest doing 45 minutes of cardio, even if that means just walking, in the morning. He says his research has shown that those who work out before they eat tend to stick to their diets, lose more weight and burn more fat. Last but not least, Harper suggests taking a fish oil pill supplement to help with post-exercise soreness and to boost immunity.
Two Weeks Before
Trainer, fitness and lifestyle consultant Ashley Borden believes that if celebrities are already training year-round, all they have to do is intensify their activity a few weeks out from an event and "clean up their food," according to Variety. "Stay hydrated and make sure there's protein and fiber in your diet," she explains. "We see a lot of requests for a combination of yoga and meditation: a workout for the mind helps rejuvenate and allows people to take on the day."
Borden also suggests getting enough sleep and doing some sort of daily movement – even if it's just 20 minutes of walking. Avoid sugary items, high salt and processed foods that could cause bloating and avoid coffee as much as possible.
Nutrition specialist and PhD Oz Garcia, who has worked with Heidi Klum and Hilary Swank, has revealed to Elle what he did to help his clients get ready. Garcia suggests 20 to 40 minutes on the treadmill daily, walking or running, to get your endorphins up, improve your mood and help regulate your cravings. He also suggests that clients get a massage to reduce stress hormones called cortisol and adrenaline, which have been linked to weight gain. Massages can also help decrease bloating.
Garcia recommends cutting out all wheat products two weeks before the event. "Wheat tends to bloat you," he explained. "It makes you hold water, it inflames you, it makes you gassier, and it increases cravings. It's one of the most important foods to get off the menu." He also bans high fructose corn syrup, grain-based starch, oatmeal, butter, beef, pork, bacon and fast-food. He suggests sticking to Greek yogurt, lean proteins, whey protein, nuts, eggs and plenty of fruits and veggies. He also suggests swapping coffee for green tea (about four cups a day) for a healthier caffeine intake which helps control cravings and boosts metabolism.
One Week Before
Certified fitness coach Scott Keppel advises clients to continue to eat fruits and vegetables but to cut out all gas-producing vegetables, like broccoli and cauliflower, a week before the event to reduce bloating, according to Shape Magazine. He also tells his clients to stop chewing gum which tricks the body into thinking it's eating, and and produces digestive chemicals that can eventually cause difficulty with digestion following actual meals.
Keppel recommends eat very few carbs in the days leading up to the event. He wants his clients eating foods like asparagus and beets that help rid the body of excess water. As for proteins, he suggests fish and chicken in place of red meat becase they are to digest.
MSNBC fitness trainer Kathy Kaehler tells her clients to cut out sugar, salt and alcohol, reports The Celebrity Workout. She explains how this helps clients look and feel lean and gives them the energy to workout. Her recommendations: adding 15 to 20 minutes to each session of whatever they're already doing, and hitting the gym five to six times a week. For cardio, she tells her clients to increase intensity by going up in levels on the machines they use or by adding sprints or hill runs or walks to burn more calories.
A Few Days Before
Juice cleanses, which are liquid-based diets mainly made up of fruits and vegetables and focused on the consumption of minimal calories, have become the go-to shape-up tool for celebrities during award season becuase they're a quick way to shed some pounds, according to Epicurious. "Sensible cleanses are fine in the short term – a few days," nutritionist Lauren Slayton, RD, says, explaining that they flush the body of toxins. "They can be a good way to hit the 'reset' button."
The Day Of The Event
Kaehler suggests working out on the day of the event; in particular, a 45-minute brisk walk up and down hills to tighten up the legs and hips and to burn a lot of calories. Follow this by doing three sets of one-minute planks to tighten up the abs.
Other experts suggest going to a sauna to sweat everything out, while New York Times best-selling author Harley Pasternak, who has worked with celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Rihanna and Behati Prinsloo, has come up with the ideal meal plan for the day of the event, according to Style Caster. He suggests an apple pie smoothie for breakfast, Greek yogurt with berries for a snack, a salad with avocado and salmon for lunch, beef jerky and an apple for a later snack, and shrimp and vegetable stir fry with quinoa for dinner.
