We love Scarlett Johansson for many reasons, not the least of which is that she refuses to just sit back and relax while everyone (present company included) makes a sport out of discussing her body.

Scarlett Johansson is giving the skinny on how she’s slimming down for her new role as Black Widow in ‘Iron Man 2,’ denying the rumors that she’s been on a crash diet. In a blog written for the Huffington Post, the actress says she’s taken her workout to a whole other level. “I’ve come to this conclusion: chin ups are near impossible and lunges suck,” she writes. “There is no magic wand to wave over oneself to look good in a latex cat suit. Eating healthy and getting fit is about commitment, determination, consistency and the dedication to self-preservation.”

Scarlett also posted the following on her personal blog site, firing back at folks who have accused her of employing unhealthy practices to drop 14 pounds:

“If I were to lose 14 pounds, I’d have to part with both arms. And a foot. I’m frustrated with the irresponsibility of tabloid media who sell the public ideas about what we should look like and how we should get there.” [Source]

It’s true: I’m irresponsible but at least I’m responsibly posting her rebuttal.

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Halle Berry has a body that is to-die-for, a fabulous career, a beautiful baby, and a hunk of a boyfriend. If there is anyone in the entertainment industry who is easily enviable, it’s her. It’s obvious that she works hard to be fit and healthy. I always assumed that she’s on a strict diet but I didn’t know that she can eat junk food, too! She explains in Harper’s Bazaar that she has one guilty pleasure.

Halle also explains that she has to watch her food anyway as a diabetic, but she does have one little guilty pleasure food she likes to indulge in while watching TV.

“I like Doritos,” she admits. “I’m usually watching The Biggest Loser eating Doritos.” [Source]

Some girls have all the luck.

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Sarah Chalke has an awesome body and she maintains it through diet and exercise. Her diet plan doesn’t seem too restrictive and it even includes a daily scoop of ice cream! Sounds good to me. Here’s a standard day for Chalke:

Breakfast Spinach and goat cheese omelet with whole-grain toast. 3 eggs: 230 calories. 1 oz. cheese: 80 calories. 1 slice bread: 91 calories.

Lunch Salad with chicken and butternut squash soup. 2 cups mixed greens: 60 calories. 4 oz. chicken breast: 110 calories. 1 cup soup: 110 calories.

Dinner Grilled salmon with rice and vegetables and pumpkin pie. 4 oz. salmon: 318 calories. 1/2 cup rice: 120 calories. 1 slice pumpkin pie: 372 calories.

Snack Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. 1/2 cup: 270 calories. [Source]

Looks to me like Miss. Chalke has a pretty insane sweet tooth. Ben & Jerry’s and pumpkin pie in one day?!? Might be a little excessive but it seems to work for her: she looks great.

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Kathy Ireland has a big fat secret. Apparently, she’s not the super swimsuit body that she used to be. When the former super model got a look at a recent photo her son snapped of her while she was making cookies at home, she realized something had to change:

“He said ‘Mom, you look pregnant. I didn’t recognize the person I saw. I saw someone who looked overwhelmed, overstressed, overweight, over-everything.”

In her latest book, Real Solutions for Busy Moms. Ireland talks about how mothers tend to put everybody else’s needs before their own. Case in point: she had put on 25 lbs. without even really realizing it.

“I was not making enough time to take care of me,” says Ireland, 46, a mother of three kids ranging in age from 6 to 14 and CEO of Kathy Ireland World Wide, a $1.4 billion design empire. She also runs a mentoring program for single teen mothers.

To get back on track, Ireland enlisted the help of a friend, who happens to be a personal trainer and nutritionist. Thanks to healthier food choices, including cutting down on snacking and desserts, plus three exercise sessions a week, Ireland says she’s almost back to where she feels her best.

Does that mean she wants to get back into a bikini?

“No, that’s not my goal. I want to be healthy, to be there for my husband and my kids.” [Source]

I guess it’s nice to know that even models can get a bit off track from time to time. Also, it seems like Ireland has the right goals and is being realistic about where she is in her life. Why worry about a bikini when happiness can be as simple as staying healthy and spending time with the fam?

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Jessica Alba has banned all processed foods from her house and won’t let anyone in the family touch anything white. No sugar, no flour, nothing that isn’t packed with the powerful nutritional goodness of whole grains. According to Life & Style magazine:

Alba, who quickly shed the 35 to 40 pounds she gained while pregnant with daughter Honor Marie, now 9 months, is making her whole family follow her strict diet.

“In order for her to stay thin, she needs everyone to be eating how she is,” an insider told Life & Style. “Even at restaurants, Jess will tell her mom to stay away from something.” [Source]

There really is nothing good about processed carbs and Jessica is doing her baby a great service but getting her started on a healthy diet this early in life. This isn’t just about weight—it’s about overall well being and it’s great that Alba recognizes that.

In another three years Taylor Dane will be a member of the 50+ Hotness Club. Right now, she’s just a 47-year old fading pop star with her eyes on the fitness prize. Dane told OK Magazine recently that while she does indulge in Botox and HRT every now and again (who doesn’t), she still makes diet and exercise a priority:

“And I’m telling you - exercise, exercise, exercise…As a woman, as you get older, you get challenged by that all the time because your body works against you a lot because we are hormonally challenged so much….I always had a lot of anxiety in my body, you know, so working out helps with that, and I believe in a lot of hormone replacement therapy. It’s worked for me successfully.”

Taylor has a unique exercise plan that offers a lot of good variety. She told the magazine,

“I like to mix it up. I do anything from hiking, running, I do something called Barry’s Boot Camp a couple times of week if I can do it, and just straight-up go to the gym.”

Barry’s Boot Camp is a mix of high-impact aerobics with running and incline and then 30 minutes of training with free-weights in traditional military style. As for Taylor’s diet plan, it isn’t so much of a diet but it’s more about being sensible and making healthy food choices. She explained,

“I hate dieting, but what am I going to do? With this body, I have to. I don’t naturally have Angelina Jolie’s body, let me tell you. I’m a curvaceous girl. It’s a day-to-day thing. It sucks. It’s awful. High protein, low carbs. I’m not a big sugar mama, so that’s OK, but the usual high protein, good food. Try to stay away from processed foods, because at the end of the day, that always kills you.” [Source]

Damned straight, Taylor. Processed foods are the devil. Maybe we should send Taylor in to get Lindsay Lohan back on the straight and narrow.

Anne Hathaway’s trainer is putting her on his own version of the Master Cleanser detox regimen. Oddly, it sounds exactly like the real thing except he’s only having her drink the spicy lemonade mix for two days, instead of two weeks.

HER DETOX PLAN: DAVID KIRSCH’S 48-HOUR DETOX
As a client of N.Y.C.-based trainer David Kirsch, Hathaway occasionally does his 48-Hour Detox, which involves ingesting his LemonAid (a concentrate of lemon, maple syrup and cayenne pepper) four times a day—and nothing else! It helps “to lighten it up a little bit,” says Kirsch, adding that she did it before January’s Golden Globe Awards. “Her arms were so well-sculpted, she wore a sleeveless dress that night.” [Source]

These stars are so silly. But I guess they absolutely must look flawless on the red carpet. If they don’t, the world will explode and life as we know it will cease to exist. Or maybe they’ll just have flabby arms and less than glowing skin. Either way, it’s too much to contemplate.

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Harley Pasternak is everywhere and his 5-Factor Diet is everywhere else. The Hollywood trainer extraordinaire has been behind the behinds of stars like Eva Mendes, Alicia Keys and Jessica Simpson. Now, Harley is using the constant celebrity buzz surrounding his diet routine to push it on us normal folks. But is it really worth the money? Here’s what Harley had to say about his plan:

Harley Pasternak: You don’t have to be a celebrity to use this program. Truly. I designed the 5-Factor Diet to work with any hectic lifestyle — including YOURS hot mama!

It’s five meals and snacks spaced throughout your day. Before your eyes glaze over from seeing five meals — let me tell you, this good stuff is totally quick to prepare, and your family will totally love it too. Each recipe uses no more than five main ingredients, and prep time is always just five minutes long. I know it may not feel like you have five minutes in between ballet class, soccer practice and picking up dry cleaning — but in those five minutes you can lose weight and change your life.

As for exercise the five-day exercise plan is simple and quick, as well. Just five sessions that take just five minutes to do. No excuses sister, there are five minutes in your day to take care of yourself.

Before you dismiss this as another ‘eat carrot sticks and that’s it’ plan, let me tell you that a HUGE part of my 5-Factor Diet is the Cheat Day. For six days, you eat my way. Then on the seventh day — your way. Big Mac? Supersize! Huge gooey sundae with massive amounts of whipped cream? Scarf that sucker down at your kid’s birthday party. No reading labels, no counting calories, no meal planning — no diet crap. It’s designed to give you a break — and get you focused. You’ll get right back on the program the very next day. [Source]

Back when I was boxing, I always looked forward to the day after the fight because it’s when I got to gorge myself on all the stuff I had to cut out to cut weight. But now I’m not entirely sold on the cheat day idea and whether or not it’s a reality given the craziness of modern life. But maybe that’s just an excuse and I suppose the diet is working for people. Best of luck building your diet empire, Harley!

Photo Credit: Fame Pictures