That time of the year is just around the corner.  The Christmas festivities have come and gone, the New Year’s Eve party is just a blur, everyone in the office has a case of the post-Christmas blues, and this year, yes this year, you will get the body of your dreams!  But how?

Yes, January signals a UK-wide dieting frenzy.  However, with so many diet books and celebrity-endorsed fitness DVDs on the market, who’s cashing in and who’s worth checking out?

The BDA receives literally hundreds of calls from the media every year on this subject and they come across a huge range of weird and whacky diets and diet claims.

Based on telephone call volume and other contributing factors, here are the top 5 dodgy celeb diets to avoid in 2015.

5. The Baby Food Diet
Celebrity Fans:  Lady Ga Ga, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston are reportedly fans of this diet.

What’s it all about?
This diet calls for eating just up to 14 jars of pureed food or baby food every day or mostly pureed food or baby food and one adult meal or pureed food or baby food instead of snacks.

BDA Verdict:  The Ga Ga should be for babies only!  This diet works on portion control and guess what?  Yes, restricted calories, as a jar of baby food has very few.  Although fruit and veg are included they are pureed so have much less fibre and texture.  Chewing food is associated with feelings of fullness and satiety, so reach for an apple or a carrot rather than a jar. Also, how anti-social would you be whipping out your jars of baby food and a top restaurant?

4. Raw Food Diet
Celebrity Fans:  Demi Moore, Natalie Portman and Woody Harrelson are reportedly fans of this diet.

What’s it all about?
It’s the practise of eating raw uncooked food and non-pasteurised/non-homogenised dairy products. This diet can be used by vegans and meat eaters.

BDA Verdict:  This hits a raw nerve!  A raw diet can be low in fat and calories but can also be low in calcium, vitamin D, iron, zinc, and protein.  Many foods can only be eaten cooked, like rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, beans and pulses, so these are excluded.  The diet is unsuitable for pregnant women, children and other at risk groups.  In fact some foods are more nutritious if cooked, like carrots and tomatoes.  This diet is time consuming, socially isolating and you’ll have an awful lot of chewing to do.  For those who use meat in a raw diet, they put themselves at risk of food poisoning and gastroenteritis.

3. Blood Group Diet
Celebrity Fans:  Cheryl Cole, Sir Cliff Richard and Courtney Cox-Arquette are reportedly fans of this diet.

What’s it all about?
This diet is completely based on pseudo-science.  It claims that different nutrients are broken down in the body based on the body’s blood type.

Blood Group A – No dairy products allowed and a vegetarian-based diet.

Blood Group B – A more varied intake of food and the only blood group able to ‘manage’ dairy products.

Blood Group AB – Combination of diets A and B (confused yet? Yes or no to dairy?)

Blood Group O – High meat intake, no dairy, no wheat, no grains (think Atkins).
BDA Verdict:  Blood and sweat won’t make this work!  Cutting out food groups is never a good idea (unless medically advised to do so and with help making substitutions from a Dietitian).  This diet could lead to significant deficiencies such as calcium.  You lose weight on this diet because your calorie intake is very restricted and this diet is not sustainable in the long term.

2. Alcorexia / Drunkorexia Diet
Celebrity Fans:  It is widely thought that many top models and other celebrities are fans of this diet.

What’s it all about?
It’s when people eat very few calories during the day/week and think they can save all the calories they have not eaten then use them to binge drink alcohol.
For example, if you favour a VLC diet (very low calorie) to follow the Alcorexia Diet, you could be banking around 1,500 calories a day, which then gives you 10,500 calories to drink during the week.  This amounts to:

45 pints of lager (based on a single pint being around 230 kcals).  With a pint of lager being 2 units, this gives you a weekly alcohol intake of 90 units.

201 shots of spirits (based on a single shot being around 52 kcals).  With a single shot of spirit being 1 unit, this gives you a weekly alcohol intake of 201 units.

52 alcopops (based on a single alcopop being around 200 kcals).  With a single alcopop being 1 unit, this gives you a weekly alcohol intake of 52 units.

131 glasses of red wine, or 26 bottles (based on a glass of red being around 80 kcals).  With a single glass being 1 unit, this gives you a weekly alcohol intake of 131 units).

To put this in context, the safe weekly alcohol unit intake is 28 units for men and 21 units for women.

BDA Verdict:  You must be blind drunk!
Following a VLC diet alone is madness, as you will most certainly not be getting the calories, vitamins and nutrients your body needs to survive and function.  In addition, you will feel weak, tired have no energy and will become very irritable very soon.  Alcohol has little nutrition other than calories.  To do this in order to ‘bank’ your calories so you can go a use them on alcohol is pure madness and could easily result in alcohol poisoning and even death.  The BDA has received a significant increase in media calls about this diet and it is a worrying trend.

1. Dukan Diet
Celebrity Fans:  The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton (and her mother Carole Middleton), Jennifer Lopez and Gisele Bundchen are reportedly fans of this diet.

What’s it all about?
A complicated four-phase diet that starts off with a protein only approach that promotes weight loss of around 7lb per week.

BDA Verdict:  The Dukan’t Diet is Offal!  There is absolutely no solid science behind this at all.  This works on restricting foods, calories and portion control again.  Once again, cutting out food groups is not advisable.  This diet is so confusing, very rigid, full of very French foods that most Brits would run a mile from like rabbit and offal, and even Dr Dukan himself warns of the associated problems like lack of energy, constipation and bad breath – lovely!

Speaking about these and other fad diets, Sian Porter, consultant dietitian and Spokesperson for the BDA, said:

“Sadly, there is no magic wand you can wave.  There is no wonder diet you can follow without some nutritional or health risk and most are offering a short-term fix to a long term problem.  It may be obvious, but if you want to lose weight you need to eat a nutritionally balanced and varied diet with appropriately sized portions and burn off more calories than you consume. In short speak, eat fewer calories, make better choices and move a bit more!

“On a serious note, glamorous images of celebrities saturate our daily media in all forms.  These celebs have an army of people to help them to keep looking good, which is essential to their livelihood and plenty of money to do whatever they think it takes.  You need to remember too, a lot of these images are airbrushed and retouched to give celebrities an unachievable body image that does not exist in real life, yet many aspire to.  Some people look at these images and will try anything they think will help them achieve the ‘perfect’ body. “If you have some weight you need to lose, then do it in a healthy, enjoyable and sustainable way.  In the long term this will achieve the results you are after.”

For more information and tips about healthy weight loss, please visit www.bdaweightwise.com.

Kate Moss

Kate Moss launched her latest range of clothing at Sir Philip Green’s first branch of Topshop in America which is opening to the public today.

Jennifer Lopez was at the event to give her support and attend the star-studded dinner on the eve of the opening along with her husband Marc Anthony.  Other celebrities at the event were Blondie singer Debbie Harry and actress Rosario Dawson.

Keira Knightley has made an advertisement for a campaign against violence against women and children in which she is seen being attacked by a violent partner.

The 25-year-old actress, is shown in the 2-minute clip returning from work when she is confronted by her partner who slaps her, knocking her to the ground before kicking her, the campaign is raising awareness of domestic violence.

Kylie Minogue has allegedly confessed to using Botox in the past but says that she prefers to be more natural these days.

The 40-year-old Australian singer also hinted that she may have had other cosmetic procedures done in the past but did not elaborate.

The tag will be removed only for a limited period once their is medical evidence that the end is imminent to allow the couple to be together for their final few days as husband and wife.

The Brazilian supermodel Gisele has allegedly married her fiance of one month, Tom Brady,  at a private ceremony in California.

The 28-year-old and her New England Patriots quarterback husband, tied-the-knot yesterday at a Catholic church in St. Monica although an official statement has not yet been released.

Jennifer Lopez and husband Marc Anthony have apparently filed a lawsuit against Silver Cross Ltd, after a photograph of them was used without permission, pushing their babies in one of the companies pushchairs.

The company, which has outlets in the UK and the US, are facing a fine of a reported $30 million which includes not only $5 million in damages but also lawyers fees and profits associated with the sales of the baby buggy.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor

Singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor has given birth to a baby boy, nine weeks early after developing the potential lethal pre-eclampsia.

Her son arrived weighing 2lb 10oz after an emergency Cesarean but both are said to be doing well now.  Ellis-Bextor is married to Richard Jones from ‘The Feeling’ and they already have a son together, Sonny, 4.

Tiger Woods has become a father for the second time after his Swedish wife Elin gave birth to a son on Sunday.

The couple already have a 19-month-old daughter Sam Alexis and have named her brother Charlie Axel Woods.

According to reports, Rihanna was the victim in the alleged domestic violence attack by her boyfriend Chris Brown just hours after the Grammy Gala in Beverly Hills on Saturday.

It was reported that the woman, who was at the time unidentified, suffered visible injuries, including bite marks.  Both stars cancelled their performances due to take place at the Grammy Awards on Sunday.

Jennifer Lopez is set to take a break from her singing career to concentrate on TV and film producing.  The mother of twins has found it difficult to return to being ‘Jenny from the block’ and is now aiming to take a different route.

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez competed in her first triathlon yesterday in aid of Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.  She was joined by actor Matthew McConaughey as the entrants arrived at Zuma Beach.  The event raised almost £530,000.

According to reports, the Music producer Mark Ronson and his girlfriend Daisy Lowe have ended their relationship, now there’s a surprise!

Lowe, 19 and Ronson, 35, decided to separate after a series of rows in New York after starting their relationship six month ago.

Ant and Dec were awarded three prizes at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards on Saturday.  The popular duo won the Favourite Family TV show for Britain’s Got Talent, Favourite Funny Person and Favourite TV Presenters.

At the same ceremony, Leona Lewis was awarded for the Favourite Song ‘Bleeding Heart’ and McFly were awarded for being the Favourite Band.

Ulrika Jonsson

Ulrika  Jonsson has announced that she is planning on having a breast reduction and a lift after breast feeding four children.

Ms. Jonsson gave birth to her last child, Malcolm, two-and-a-half months ago and her breast size went up to a 34I.

Jordan recently had an attempted break-in at her home whilst on holiday with her family and has now hired 24-hour protection.

The burglars were spotted by neighbours and the police were called before they could get into the property, but the family aren’t going to take any chances.

Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony, are apparently being sued after their guard dog bit a flight attendant on their private jet.

The victim is claiming a massive $5 million in damages after the animal apparently went for her leg causing her to fall and injure her back.

The 38-year-old singer is the co-creator and executive producer of the show, which will be shown on the Learning Channel.

Ms Lopez and her third husband, the Latin singer, Marc Anthony, will be filmed as she launches her new perfume and also how she juggles her career with motherhood.

Ms Lopez said “I’m looking forward to sharing this exciting journey together.”

Angela Shapiro-Mathes, the channel’s president said “Jennifer is unbelievably passionate about life and will be an incredible role model for our audience.  I’m thrilled to be partnering with her on a series that will take our audience into a fascinating world.  It’s a fun, emotional journey that will be inspirational and yet very relatable to today’s women.”

And We Get Kerry Katona! 

The babies, a girl born at 12.12am and weighing 5lbs 7oz and a boy born at 12.23am and weighing 6lbs were born in Long Island, New York.

People Magazine have reportedly are reported to have paid £3 million for the photo rights.