Pills, potions or a peel-off body wrap? Peta Bee gives the skinny on how to look trim in your party frock

1 THE DIET

A bestseller in Australia, the Total Wellbeing Diet (TWD) is the result of studies carried out at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the country’s government research laboratory. This eating plan is less contentious than Atkins, simpler to follow than the GI diet – and combines the best elements of the two. More important, it promises to help even the most reluctant dieter to shed a stone and a half in 12 weeks. You don’t risk the side effects of energy slumps, headaches, constipation and bad breath, but neither do you go hungry. Experts from the British Dietetic Association give it the thumbs up. The Total Wellbeing Diet by Manny Noakes (Penguin £9.99)

2 THE SPA

Clinique La Prairie in Montreux, Switzerland, is best known for its revitalising technologies (such as injecting clients with live sheep-embryo cells to boost the immune system), but is equally famous for its two-week weight-loss programme. With a private hospital and resident doctors, Clinique La Prairie is consistently voted the world’s best medical spa, but at £8,200 for 13 nights’ full-board, it is not cheap. However, with the assistance of a personal trainer, a counsellor to get you emotionally primed for a thinner body, lymphatic drainage and anticellulite treatments, inch loss is virtually guaranteed. Best of all, you won’t starve – there are no drastic detox diets and the low-fat menu is one you will want to continue when you get home. www.laprairie.ch

3 THE DRINK

Victoria Beckham, Joss Stone and Jerry Hall are said to be among the fans of Pu’erh tea, an ancient Chinese drink first used 1,700 years ago and renowned for its fat-busting properties. Clinical trials in China have shown that three cups a day for a month can lower blood fats by up to 30%. For weight loss, it is recommended that you drink three cups a day for three months, then a cup a day for weight maintenance. From £37, from Harvey Nichols or www.eternalspring.org.uk

4 THE WONDER DRUG

Satiatrim, a drink that originated in the United States, is now available in the UK. According to Dr Tanya Little, a researcher at the University of Manchester who has conducted several clinical trials on the supplement, it “slows the movement of food through the stomach”. The result, she says, is that you feel full more quickly, which, in turn, “reduces the amount of food consumed in a subsequent meal”. A week’s supply of the ready-made drink version costs £35.95 (plus p&p), from www.victoriahealth.com

5 THE HOLISTIC GURU

At his London clinic in Wimpole Street, Nish Joshi has used a fusion of ayurvedic principles and orthodox medicine to help the likes of Sadie Frost, Kate Moss and Patsy Kensit to hone their bodies. Last month, he opened his latest venture, the Joshi Clinic Wellness Centre, in Marylebone, for those seeking the ultimate overhaul. Sign up for a weight-loss programme, and you will undergo a detailed tongue and dietary analysis to check for inadequacies in your current diet, prior to being given a tailored schedule of exercise, nutrition and treatments. Further wellness centres are planned in the UK, as well as New York and Dubai. Membership costs from £95 per month. For details, call 020 7723 2444 or visit www.thejoshiclinic.com

6 THE EXERCISE

Interval training is an exercise technique that gym-goers have used for years to improve cardiovascular fitness. But this summer, researchers at the University of Guelph, in Canada, proved that one hour of interval training (that’s alternating fast-paced running, swimming or cycling with a slower-paced activity) at least once a week increased fat-burning by 36%. If you want something more cutting edge, try lifting Russian kettlebells. Geri Halliwell got rid of her mummy tummy by working out with these cannonballs with handles, which range in size from 8kg to 40kg. Swing and lift them in a variety of ways to use every muscle in the body; the manufacturers claim you can burn up to 1,500 calories an hour. Trainers recommend working with them for one hour, three times a week. Kettlebells cost from £35, from www.optimallifefitness.com

7 THE FASHIONISTA’S DIET DOCTOR

How do celebrities shrink from porky to pin-thin in a matter of weeks? For many fashion insiders, the secret is a three-week course with the Harley Street doctor Jeffrey Fine. After a full medical examination, Fine prescribes a tailored, high-protein, low-fat diet in which, to begin with, no vegetables are permitted and the only fruits consumed are the citrus variety. After three weekly visits (during which time he will also prescribe vitamin and mineral supplements), the results are said to be dramatic: often a drop of two or three dress sizes in one fell swoop. £160 for the course; 020 7636 7661

8 THE DIET BOOK

Jessica Simpson, Eva Mendes and Alicia Keys are among the celebrities who currently have their noses buried in The 5-Factor Diet, a book by the personal trainer Harley Pasternak. The “five” comes not only from the number of food types each meal should include – protein, complex carbs, fibre, fat and fluids – but also from the five meals a day she recommends you eat, using recipes containing no more than five ingredients, which take no more than five minutes to prepare and five minutes to cook. There is also a five-day exercise plan consisting of – guess what? – five exercises you perform for five minutes each. It sounds faddy, but independent nutritionists from the American Dietetic Association have given it their approval. The 5-Factor Diet (Meredith Books £12.19). For more information and to buy the book, visit www.5factordiet.com

9 THE TREATMENT

There are few spa treatments that will dramatically whittle away pounds from your waistline and hips, but the Elemis Body Sculpting Cellulite and Colon Therapy comes close. If you are hoping to look a little slimmer by next month, then this detoxifying fennel-and-birch peel-off body mask, combined with specialist massage techniques that encourage blood flow and help break down fat cells, could shave off a couple of inches. In independent tests, 96% of women experienced significant improvements on the tape-measure front, having undergone the recommended twice-weekly sessions over four weeks. The treatment costs £90 an hour; www.timetospa.co.uk

10 THE PRE-DIET DETOX

When Madonna and Beyoncé want to lose a few extra pounds or kick-start a diet, they reportedly embark on the lemon detox, which involves knocking back glassfuls of Madal Bal natural tree syrup. It is formulated from four different Asian palm syrups that are rich in essential minerals; you mix it with the juice of freshly squeezed lemons and a pinch of cayenne pepper. During the five- to 10-day fast, it is recommended that no food is consumed, although those who find it too tough can have one meal a day. Expect to lose up to 2lb a day (Beyoncé reportedly lost 22lb in 10 days), some of which may be regained when you embark on a healthy diet. Nutritionist Amanda Griggs, of the fashionable Balance clinic on the King’s Road in London, and Dr Elizabeth Adalian, lecturer at the Centre for Homeopathic Education in London, are among the experts who support the plan. More than half a million litres of the syrup is sold across 33 countries every year. One litre costs £39.99. For information and stockists, visit www.lemondetox.com, or call 0845 370 1012 for mail order

Always consult your GP before embarking on a new diet

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