If there’s one diet that has taken the world by storm in recent years, it’s keto. The ketogenic diet has been around for some time now, but its massive spark in popularity has come from the many celebrities now endorsing the diet. Celebrity endorsements are one thing, but anyone who is serious about fitness wants to see results before they start making major dietary changes. Celebrities who’ve followed keto, such as Lebron James, Jenna Jameson, and Alicia Vikander, have shared some seriously epic transformations online that made everyone consider cutting out the carbs.
One of the biggest Keto-converts and proponents of the diet is none other than Vinny Guadagnino of Jersey Shore. When the franchise returned to MTV with Jersey Shore: Family Reunion, fans were shocked to see how ripped Guadagnino had gotten since he last hit the beach on their TV screens. He attributes it all to keto, dubbing himself “The Keto Guido,” and has an Instagram account specifically for his dieting journey.
Remember back in 2014 when those Instagram photos of “Skinny Lebron” first emerged? That was all thanks to keto, although Lebron James never actually used that term. Back then, the keto diet was largely unheard of by the general public and when James discussed his dietary changes, he instead called it “a mental challenge.”
For 67 days, James only ate meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables. He even turned down a custom-made cake from a Mykonos restaurant, according to Business Insider. Talk about a mental challenge. James’ diet may have been too severe and definitely not well-suited for the average person. Overall, limiting his diet to only 67 days—a little over two months—was a smart move on the NBA player’s part since research on keto is still ongoing and never intended to be a long-term dietary solution.
From the NFL to the MLB, Tim Tebow has done it all. The esteemed athlete is no stranger to physical fitness and a healthy diet, and since 2017 Tebow has been an outspoken supporter of the ketogenic diet. In a 2017 feature in GQ, Tebow describes why he chose the keto diet: “For me it’s more than just trying to stay in shape for sports, it’s a way of life, of trying to be healthy. Also, when so many of our next generation kids are just having sugar and carbs all the time, well, can we moderate that just a little bit?”
Tebow’s favorite food on the keto diet: avocados. This man can’t get enough of the green stuff. He puts them in smoothies, and even eats avocado ice cream. There isn’t anything an avocado can’t do, according to Tebow. He estimates that he eats around four avocados a day, which might not seem that extreme, but check out this tweet where he’s eating guacamole straight from the jar if you’re still unsure of how much this man really loves avocados.
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Alicia Vikander
Alicia transformed from being a former ballerina to fearless adventurer for her turn as Lara Croft in 2018’s Tomb Raider. For seven months, she worked with Hollywood trainer to stars, Magnus Lygdback, to get in superhero shape for the role, training nearly every day. For her Lara Croft diet, they decided on the keto diet early on because it’s easy to do while traveling.
“Since we were traveling so much over the holidays, we decided the keto diet would be best because it’s easier to control the macros that way,” Lygdback told PopSugar. “It was a high-fat, no-carb diet—not even low-carb. It’s always tricky the first couple of days, but [Alicia’s] willpower is just unbelievable, and she didn’t complain, even though I could see she was struggling a little bit. She kept on bringing it every day.”
No one is denying Halle Berry looks incredible. From her super-powered turns as Catwoman and weather goddess Storm of the X-Men, Berry has been a badass for more than two decades. Berry said she was misdiagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 22, but later found that she actually has type 2 diabetes.
The actress has always tied diabetes to her fitness journey, and recently, Berry became an outspoken promoter of the keto diet. Speaking with Women’s Health, the 51-year-old actress says that keto has helped her manage her weight and diabetes. Berry also shares her workouts and keto-friendly recipes on Instagram.
In 2017, Vanessa Hudgens told People that she lost 20 pounds by following the keto diet and attending SoulCycle classes. After gaining weight for her role in the 2013 film Gimme Shelter, Hudgens was worried she wasn’t going to be able to shed the pounds. Luckily for her, she found that keto was much easier than she had expected.
“You don’t really need to count calories as much as you think you do,” she says. “Think about eating things that are going to fuel you, give you sustainable energy. And don’t be afraid of fats. You can eat bacon; you can eat avocado. It’s good for you and it’s going to give you energy and keep you burning through the day.”
Jenna Jameson has always kept it real, and her health journey has been no exception. On Instagram, Jameson has been documenting and sharing with her fans the struggles of gaining weight through pregnancy and the work she’s put into loving her body again. Along with the keto diet, Jameson thanks sobriety for helping her lose and keep the weight off.
Being an international supermodel with as big of a following as Adriana Lima, you’d expect her to have a pretty strict diet. Lima herself has been pretty open about her diet for a long time now, including her strict preparations for a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. “Definitely zero carbs for sure,” she said in the interview. “I feel much healthier. Because everybody’s different, that’s why I have a nutritionist. I go there, and he checks my blood, my breathing, everything to make sure what’s going to work for your body, you know? For me, for example, if I eat chocolate or have dairy I will feel puffy. Sometimes carbs make me feel puffy—it makes me swollen.”
Today, Lima still loves the low-carb lifestyle. In Vogue, she spoke with nutritionist Dr. Charles Passler, who also has clients like Naomi Watts and Bella Hadid under his wing. He said a low-carb diet is the key to keeping off fat.
If you eat a lot of carbohydrates, with your protein and your fat, the body’s going to use the carbohydrates for fuel first,” he says. “The body loves using carbs for fuel. So the body’s going to soak up all of those carbs, and if then you don’t need any more fuel, the body’s going to just turn the extra calories from the fat and the protein into body fat. So by eliminating the carbohydrates, and consuming the protein and the fat, it not only keeps your calories down, but it keeps your energy stable.”
