10 Black Celebrity Diets to Try in 2013

The Atlanta music innovator and one-half of the rap duo Outkast, Andre 3000 touts his vegan-to-pescatarian diet in a feature on BonAppetit.com. “Kale is also nutritious, and by not boiling it to death like classic Southern greens, most of that nutrition stays intact," the rapper said in an interview with the food magazine. Andre 3000

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It worked for them, but can it work for people who don’t have big bucks?

Of all the New Year's resolutions that people continually make (and often break), weight loss and diet changes are among the top. With celebrities dropping post-baby weight, seemingly without much effort, it's easy to be fooled into thinking they've got some sort of magic pill. A quick surveying of recent celebrity diets, however, reveals almost all of them require a combination of drastic diet changes and military-precision exercise programs.

Beyonce, Jennifer Hudson and Mariah Carey all cited diet and exercise as a factor in their post-pregnancy weight loss. Rappers Common and Andre 3000 say their daily meal plans and guidelines keep them at optimal weights.

But there has always been debate about the rate at which dieters should shed pounds. According to Livestrong.com, the safest rate of weight loss is about 1 to 2 lbs per week. And even that rate will vary for men and women; a much cited study in the American Journal of Public Health found male dieters will typically lose 1.4 lbs. per week and women can lose as much as 1.5 lbs. per week.

While most health experts don't explicitly endorse celebrity diets, obesity among black Americans poses significant risks to their health outcomes. National health officials say black women have particularly high rates of obesity -- four out of five black women have a body mass index above the 25 percent threshold for being overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Attention to healthy living and weight management should start early. Data from the CDC also shows that, from 2007 through 2010, 23.3 percent of African American boys and 24.5 percent African American girls, ages 6 to 11, were obese.

"Clearly, obesity is currently a significant problem within the African American community that will continue to affect the overall health status of African Americans for years to come," wrote Dr. William Ritchie for BlackDoctors.org. "Steps must be taken to control the problem, such as through promoting increased physical activity and following a more healthy diet."

To decide what might work for you, browse through a gallery of some black celebrity dieters who found success on a variety of meal plans and exercise regimens.

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