After a year of reviewing celebs and their diets, I felt it was high time to give my take on the best and the worst in celebrity diets for 2007. This year’s crop of celebrity diets proves the adage “you are what you eat.” Diets full of fruits and veggies have helped trim down Hollywood’s biggest “losers.” This “best” list of celebs also shows that you don’t have to knock yourself out at the gym to get fabulous. This year it’s all about healthy lifestyle activities with Ricki Lake, Andrea Baptiste and Lenny Clarke getting active by walking, hiking and biking.

Brittany Spears, Beyonce and Ashanti top the worst list by resorting to quick fix weight loss schemes. Diet pills and fasting “detox” diets only give dieters false hope, resulting in rebounding weight and yo-yo dieting. Under the body-conscious spotlight of the media, this list proves that eating well and creating a healthy lifestyle are the best revenge.

The Best Celebrity Diet List for 2007:
4. Jessica Simpson: Jessica got back her daisy dukes, shedding 25 lbs on a 5 Factor diet of lean protein, good carbs, healthy fats and fiber along with circuit and weight training.

3. Andrea Baptiste: She lost 56 lbs on The Biggest Loser and has since dropped another 8 pounds, proving not all weight loss reality TV contestants gain weight back. She continues to “lose” by daily walking and running along with a low fat and low refined-carbohydrate diet.

2. Lenny Clarke: The Rescue Me star has rescued himself, losing 144 lbs with the help of Weight Watchers and a diet of salads, fresh fruit and fish along with swimming and biking.

1. Ricki Lake: A former serial and yo-yo dieter, Ricki downsized from 250 lbs in 1991 to her present svelte 123 lbs by using a food delivery service to limit calories, daily hiking and frequent weigh-ins.

And the Worst Celebrity Diets for 2007:
4. Kirstie Alley: It’s time for Kirstie to call Jenny collect. Processed sugars fuel cravings which may make her diet difficult to stick with.

3. Dr. Phil McGraw: Is the tough-love author of The Ultimate Weight Loss Solution obese? Recent reports of his weight gain show even self-help gurus have trouble following their own advice.

2. Beyonce and Ashanti: Divas shouldn’t let divas do the Master Cleanse (aka the Lemonade Diet). Fasting “detox” diets wreak havoc on the metabolism and when stopped, more calories are stored as fat, so you not only re-gain weight but become proportionally fatter.

1. Britney Spears: Junk food and a quick-fix lifestyle of diet pills and energy drinks caught up with her at the recent Video Music Awards and had everyone thinking “Give Me Less.”

Ashanti denies allegations by the New York Post that she refused to have her picture taken at the Ivy Hotel in San Diego because of her recent weight gain. When asked about whether she gained weight, Ashanti told People that,

“I’m human. If I’m not working, I’ll eat barbecued chicken, and if I want Baskin-Robbins I get it. I’m going to enjoy life. Will I be in the gym every day if I know I’m not going to be on TV. No! But when it’s time to get it poppin’ again, I’m focused. I jump in the gym for a month and I’m solid. I’m ready to shoot the video.”

Ashanti: Diet
Ashanti says she does cut out fried foods and she doesn’t eat ice cream everyday. She also did the Lemonade, also known as the Master Cleanser, for a week this summer.

Celebrity Diet Doctor Weigh in…
Ashanti does appear to have gained weight from this recent photo. She may be looking for quick fixes when she feels she needs to slim down for public appearances. Although the Master Cleanser, or Lemonade Diet, may appeal as a quick fix solution, it is dangerous to your health and will lead to a yo-yo pattern of weight loss and weight gain. It’s a fasting diet, which has been used by Robin Quivers and Beyonce, consisting of a mix of lemon or lime juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper, and spring or purified water. Problem is, as you lose weight on this extremely low calorie “diet” you lose a lot of metabolically active muscle which slows down your metabolism. Your body goes into starvation mode and primes your body as a fat-making machine ready to pack on the pounds once you’re off the fast. This leads to yo-yo dieting in which you sacrifice lean muscle mass for fat, making you more prone to further weight gain later.

When it comes to weight loss there are no quick fixes. Slow and steady wins the race. As for the Master Cleanser, don’t do this at home. It will turn your body into a finely-tuned fat making machine.