BACKGROUND

She's all over the magazines, daytime talk shows like Oprah and entertainment TV these past few weeks, Mariah Carey is not only promoting her new album but celebrating her 20 pound weight loss. In the spring 2008, Mariah released her album E=MC2 and broke Elvis' record, but she also told the media how she lost 20 pounds to be in the best shape of her life.

After a friend politely told her she needed to lose weight, then a size 8, she hired a trainer from St. Barts, Patricia Guy, to work with her full time in New York as both fitness trainer and nutritionist. She chose to make a lifestyle change, rather than just dive into a quick weight loss diet. Mariah says "The biggest reward is feeling pretty, feeling sexy, feeling good."

As of Spring 2008, Mariah was bordering a size 0/2 and said she hadn't been so small since high school, but never this fit.

PRO

- Healthy diet approach

- Incorporates generous exercise regimen

- Removes fats and oils from diet

CON

- Heavily supported by full-time trainer

- No book or online explanation detailing the plan

- Serious time and financial commitment

FOOD and RECIPE
The biggest no-nos of this diet relate to food preparation. Mariah's nutritionist removed all butter from her diet, only allows food prepared in very light amounts of olive oil, and she has to avoid snacks.

Mariah consumes 1,000 to 1,500 calories each day. Her meals are portion controlled and the menu is completely designed and monitored by her full-time trainer/nutritionist. She credits 75% of her 20 pound weight loss to diet changes, the other 25% to exercise. In addition to eating much more healthy, she drinks upward of three liters of water each day.

A day on Mariah Carey's Diet could look like this:
Breakfast
- Nonfat plain yogurt
- Sliced fruit
- Banana
- Water

Lunch
- Grilled zucchini and squash
- Fresh spinach
- Grilled chicken seasoned with salt, pepper and parsley

Dinner
- whole grain rice with soy sauce
- Mixed vegetables with olive oil

Snacks
- Mid-morning is kalamata olives
- Mid-afternoon is a baked sweet potato seasoned with salt and pepper

Mariah recently told Oprah she also participates in the "morsel diet"- this allows her to take one or two small bites of some of her favorite comfort foods- like macaroni and cheese and fried chicken. This way she can sample a taste, but not have to splurge.

EXERCISE
Mariah's diet and exercise plan designed by Patricia Guy is very exercise intensive. She spends about 90 minutes, most days of the week, working out with her trainer. Since she loves spending time in the water, her trainer designed a planned that allows her to dive in. In addition to doing the exercise in an environment she enjoys, water creates a strong resistance making workouts more intense.

Her exercise regimen is as follows:
- Warmup is 20 minutes in the pool, lake or ocean doing breaststroke, water jogging and dolphin kicks
- 30 minutes of full-body work in the water. She uses a "noodle" float for kicking, "bicycling" and kickboxing
- Up to 45 minutes of a yoga/pilates combination, as well as crunches.

EXPENSE
It's hard to estimate the price Mariah Carey is paying for a full-time nutritionist and trainer who not only moved to New York to work with the star, but also travels on vacation to keep Mariah from slacking. Following a program similar to Mariah would require the expense of a gym membership, fitness trainer, nutritionist and cost of food.

CONCLUSION
It's no wonder we're awe-struck by the toned and sexy bodies of Hollywood's elite. Celebrities like Mariah Carey don the bodies we would love to have. We often forget the great means available to these stars- like hiring full-time trainers and nutritionists as Mariah has done. We also forget that for most of the stars, a cramped schedule juggling work, soccer practice, preparing dinner for a family and errands doesn't resemble theirs- meaning they have far more time to dedicate.

That's not to say there aren't smart and healthy take-aways from Mariah Carey's diet that you couldn't implement into your own lifestyle. Removing fats and oils when cooking, incorporating water exercises and drinking mostly water are all things that most people could introduce to their own healthy living routine.

Common Misspellings
Mariah Carrie, Mariah's Diet, Mariah Diet, Mariah Carry, Moriah Carey, mariahcareydiet.com