Lauren Manzo Lost 30 Pounds!

Real Housewives of New Jersey's Lauren Manzo Lost 30 Pounds!
After years of yo-yo dieting, Lauren Manzo's battle of the bulge became a major plot point on the current season of Real Housewives of New Jersey -- and she suffered cruel comments at the hands of anonymous Twitter followers.

"I hated myself," the 24-year-old, 5-foot-3 owner of makeup store Cafface tells Us Weekly exclusively. "I was depressed." At her heaviest, she weighed 185 pounds.

So, last September, Manzo finally followed the advice of concerned parents Caroline and Albert and underwent lap band surgery -- in which a silicone band is placed around the top part of the stomach to control food consumption. (Her dad Albert had the surgery back in 2008).

Losing 20 pounds over the next seven months, Manzo had the band loosened in May -- and dropped another 10 by following a strict protein-and-vegetable diet and working out six days a week. The Bravo star (who's been dating Vita Scalia for three years) hopes to lose 35 more pounds.

Showing off her incredible new shape to Us, Manzo says she feels "amazing. Getting the lap band was the best thing I've done in my life."

She admits to Us that she initially kept the lap band surgery secret. "So many fans related to my struggle," she says. "I didn't want to feel like I was letting them down."

She cautions of the device: "It's not a miracle button that lets you eat whatever you want . . . I wanted to try to lose weight on my own for a while."

And, indeed, although Manzo avoids salt, sugar, carbs and fat with her new diet regime -- and endures intense sessions with trainer Guy Del Corso -- she still loves to eat.

"I like food," she explains. "I can't drink liquid egg whites for the rest of my life. So I've learned a lot of great ways to cook now . . . I have great willpower." [usmagazine.com]

Skinnier Miley Cyrus in Mini Dress

This gluten-free girl is withering away.
She Looks Skinnier Than Ever in Mini Dress

While leaving the Delano Hotel in Miami Beach on Wednesday, Miley Cyrus tried to beat the South Florida heat by sporting a teeny gray mini dress with a low-cut scoop neck and super-short hem. The flimsy, body-hugging fabric put her shrinking figure on full display.

In April, the former Disney starlet was slammed when she explained to her 5.7 million Twitter followers that her weight-loss wasn't from battling an eating disorder but because of her gluten-free diet that excludes foods containing the protein found in wheat.

"For everyone calling me anorexic, I have a gluten and lactose allergy," the 19-year-old actress tweeted. "It's not about weight -- it's about health. Gluten is crap anyway!"

She then added, "Everyone should try no gluten for a week! The change in your skin, physical and mental health is amazing. You won't go back!"

Karen Ansel, a registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said that those listening to Cyrus' proclamation should proceed with caution.

"There's absolutely no evidence that a gluten-free diet promotes weight loss," Ansel explained. "However, there is data that indicates that following a gluten-free diet can result in a diet that's low in key nutrients -- especially iron, zinc and B vitamins such as folate and niacin."[usmagazine.com]

Anne Hathaway Goes on Extreme Diet to Prep for Les Miserables Role

Anne Hathaway Goes on Extreme Diet to Prep for Les Miserables Role
She is on a depravation diet.

Reportedly ordered to drop 16 lbs. in three weeks for her role as Fantine in the upcoming film adaptation of the musical Les Miserables, the 5-foot-8 actress, 29, is subsisting on a meager 500 calories per day (versus the recommended 2,000), according to the U.K. Daily Mirror.

While Hathaway, who portrays a prostitute stricken with a terminal case of tuberculosis, is losing weight for the role, her publicist explains that the specifics aren't quite accurate. "The numbers are exaggerated in both pounds and calories," her rep argues.

In addition to her strict diet, Hathaway had to endure grueling workout sessions stateside before jetting off to London where she's currently filming the flick.

"Anne was exercising two hours a day, five days a week!" a source close to the star explains.

Les Mis isn't the first role that's forced Hathaway to whittle her middle. For her role as Catwoman in this summer's The Dark Knight Rises, the actress has said she lived on "kale and dust."[usmagazine.com]

Jennifer Hudson's Weight-Loss Secrets

Those of us in need of a little weight-loss inspiration need look no further than Jennifer Hudson. The Oscar winner and former "American Idol" finalist has lost a whopping 80 pounds over the last two years and recently shared her secrets with Self magazine.

Hudson admits in the September issue that she never thought of herself as overweight. "I remember one of my first times on a red carpet, an interviewer asked, 'How does it feel to be plus-sized in Hollywood?' I looked around, like, Who is she talking to? Oh, me? I'm plus-sized?,'" the 29-year-old recalls. "In the neighborhood I'm from in Chicago, a 16 is normal. But in Hollywood, everyone looks exactly the same, so I stood out."

It was during her pregnancy with son David, who's now 2, when Hudson suddenly became inspired to finally revamp her lifestyle to become healthy and fit. "I thought, hold on -- why doesn't anybody know I'm pregnant?," she says. "And I wanted to set a good example for my son. Right after I had him, I began trying to change things."

Just a few days after giving birth to David via cesarean section, she started walking 30 minutes a day -- which became her much-needed time to herself -- and eventually began hitting the gym, jogging, and bike riding. Though she'd gone through three different weight losses before, Hudson decided, this time, to join Weight Watchers (she's also a company spokesperson) to get her eating habits on track after years of trying deprivation diets.

"[I] learned about balance. If you're on a strict diet that says you shouldn't have any carbs or this or that, your body won't function the way it should," Hudson tells the magazine. "I know now that I can eat anything I want and still lose or maintain my weight. It's about portions and balance."

These days, even when the busy mom is pressed for time, she squeezes in exercise, doing a workout called "trilogy" which includes sets of 25 squats, 25 push-ups, and 25 ab moves with minute-long rests in between for a total of 15 minutes. With her new, slimmed-down figure and healthy attitude, Hudson has become a new kind of idol for lots of her fans, but, of course, she's endured criticism as well.

"I can't care about whether I'm too big for some or too small for others. It goes back to how you feel about yourself," she insists. "I like me the way I am. For anyone who wants to lose: Dude, if I can do it, you can do it."[omg.yahoo.com]