The high-fat, ultra-low-carb diet has gotten a boost by being endorsed by several famous faces.
Celebrities didn’t start the ketogenic, or “keto,” diet trend, but they’ve certainly added fuel to the already-hot fire. The eating plan has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, and that could be due in part to its being embraced by several actors, sports stars, and reality TV stars. Here’s why and how these celebrities have maintained a keto lifestyle.
The ketogenic diet is low-carb to the extreme. Followers of a common version of the plan source 75 percent of their daily calories from fat, 20 percent from protein, and just 5 percent from carbohydrates. All it takes is a few days of eating this way for the body to enter ketosis, which essentially means the body starts burning fat instead of glucose (carbohydrates) for fuel.
RELATED: Everything to Eat and Avoid on the Ketogenic Diet
The keto diet has been shown to have many health benefits, including weight loss and possibly reducing the risk or severity of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, epilepsy, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. According to a study published in August 2013 the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there’s also some evidence that the keto diet can help clear up the skin, because high-glycemic foods (which are high in carbs) can promote acne.
Cutting carbs this drastically isn’t easy. Some celebs refreshingly admit to having the same troubles everyone else experiences on the diet — including irritability and headaches (commonly known as “the keto flu”) when starting out. Here are 12 stars who’ve tried or endorsed the keto diet, and we’ve also included links to products/supplements that will boost your keto results!
1. Katie Couric
In late August 2018, the 61-year-old former Today show anchor posted on her Instagram Stories that a week into the diet she did “feel better” but hinted that she’d experienced some symptoms of the keto flu, Women’s Health reports. “The fourth or fifth day, I felt a little shaky and headachy, but I feel much better,” Couric said on Instagram. Suffice it to say, the mother of two is enjoying incorporating more fat into her diet. “I’m eating mostly protein and some cheese,” she said. “And I’m putting half-and-half in my iced coffee, and I gotta tell ya, it’s damn good.”
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2. Halle Berry
The 51-year-old actress hasn’t been shy about her love for the keto diet. She told People in 2018 that she’s a big meat eater and doesn’t fill up on pasta or anything with added sugar, making her a good candidate for keto. Instead, she says she fills her plate with healthy fats, including avocado, coconut oil, and butter.
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3. Kourtney Kardashian
Kourtney Kardashian is considered among the healthiest of the Kardashian bunch. According to a People story from February 2018, Kardashian shared in her app that going keto was a “really positive experience.” She said she first went keto after doctors found high levels of mercury in her blood. She now eats cauliflower rice or broccoli rice in place of carbs. But just because she’s a reality TV star doesn’t make her immune to the negative side effects associated with this way of eating. Kardashian admits she suffered from headaches and low energy for a couple of weeks and makes the diet more sustainable by giving herself a “treat yourself day” every week.
4. Kim Kardashian
Kourtney’s not the only Kardashian who’s been a devotee to the low-carb lifestyle. Kim has jumped on the bandwagon, too, and, according to a story published in June 2016 in People, reportedly lost 60 pounds (lbs) after having her son, Saint, while on the Atkins 40 diet. Atkins 40 is a version of the Atkins diet designed for people with less than 40 lbs to lose, and has been around since the 1970s. Atkins is essentially the original keto diet and involves a very limited intake of carbs and high amounts of fat. The main difference is that on the Atkins diet you’ll slowly reintroduce carbs, so ketosis likely will only come into play during phase 1.
5. Gwyneth Paltrow
Paltrow has been known to dole out pretty wacky health advice through her wellness lifestyle brand Goop, like recommending body stickers to ease anxiety, as People reported in August 2017. According to a 2017 Bravo story, the actress and business mogul is a fan of the keto diet, which has a lot more research backing it up than some of her other claims.
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6. LeBron James
Flash back to the summer of 2014 when the baller slimmed down his 6-foot-8-inch-tall frame. When James showed off a six-pack in a series of Instagram posts, everyone got buzzing about what changes he’d been making. Dozens of news stories revealed the keto diet was the major reason. He told Sports Illustrated in September 2014 that he didn’t eat dairy, sugar, or carbohydrates for 67 days. The reasoning? To “test his mental fortitude.” Some outlets, including Business Insider, speculated he was trying to follow Kobe Bryant, who lost weight in his mid-thirties and ended up giving his career a second wind.
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7. Vinny Guadagnino
Guadagnino came back into the spotlight in 2018 with the reboot of MTV’s hit reality TV show Jersey Shore, called Jersey Shore Family Reunion. In the six years since the MTV show last aired, PopSugar reported in May 2018 that Guadagnino has adopted the keto diet and launched a dedicated Instagram account where he goes by @ketoguido. He recommends eating eggs, bacon, butter, steak, fatty fish, plants, and exercising a few times each week. According to a March 8, 2018, Instagram post, Guadagnino says his old way of eating had him 50 lbs heavier and looking 10 years older.
8. Megan Fox
The Transformers actress and mom of three turned to the keto diet to get her pre-baby body back. Fox told E! News in August 2104 that she cut out bread and carbs, including chips, pretzels, and crackers. She cleaned up her diet so much she says the worst thing she’d take in on any given day was coffee, and admitted to E! News: “I don’t eat anything fun.”
9. Adriana Lima
What does it take to get the body of a Victoria’s Secret angel? A low-carb diet and two-hour workouts each day. That’s apparently what Lima did to prep for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show a few years back, according to an article from The Cut. Her diet was primarily made up of green veggies, protein, and protein shakes or cereal bars as snacks. Since then, it seems she’s stuck to a keto diet, according to a story published in September 2017 in Harper’s Bazaar.
10. Alicia Vikander
Vikander adopted the keto diet two months before shooting began to prep for her role as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. According to an April 2018 story in POPSUGAR, Vikander’s trainer, Magnus Lygdback, said he could tell Vikander was struggling a bit in the beginning, but, thanks to her solid willpower, she stuck to it. She stocked up on fish for protein; MCT oil, coconut oil, and avocado for fat; and plenty of low-carb veggies while filming the 2018 blockbuster.
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11. Vanessa Hudgens
Hudgens doesn’t shy away from bacon. It’s all part of the High School Musical actress and singer’s keto diet plan, which she says helped her drop 20 lbs from of her 5-foot-2-inch-tall frame in 2017 (in addition to the twice-a-day SoulCycle sessions, that is). Her advice? She told People News in April 2017 that it’s best to view food as fuel. She advises eating the things that give you long-lasting energy, and don’t stress about counting calories.
12. Tim Tebow
The pro football player turned outfielder for the New York Mets told GQ in February 2017 that he followed the keto diet and reported his favorite source of fat was avocado. The guy really loves avocados, and says he probably eats about four a day, adding them to everything from guacamole to smoothies. He rounds out his diet with eggs, sea bass, steak, and vegetables like asparagus.