Celebrity diets in a fun photo project

The list of celebrities who go on a diet is updated every year, but this phenomenon is far from new. Idols of the past, like Lord Byron, also sat on diets, and now actresses, models, TV presenters and other stellar characters of our time are sitting.

Italian photographer Dan Bannino has created an unusual and ironic series of still lifes, which he called Still Diet ("Still on a diet" or "Still Life diets"). The artist's photo project demonstrates the gastronomic quirks of famous people. Among the heroes of the project were both modern stars and historical figures.

Beyonce Knowles: maple syrup, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, herbal laxative tea, salt. It is not surprising that with such a cleansing diet, the singer needs a considerable amount of toilet paper. It was this detox diet that the singer tried on herself when she had to lose weight for the role of a black singer in the musical "Dreamgirls" by 12 kilos.

Gwyneth Paltrow: broccoli, carrots, onions, nut-lentil pate, peas and water with lemon. The actress has been a strict vegetarian for many years and adheres to a gluten-free diet, so it's not surprising that there are so many vegetables on her table. In addition, slim Gwyneth has written four books about healthy eating and runs a blog about a healthy lifestyle called Goop.

Simon Cowell: strawberries, cranberries, grapes, pineapples, blueberries, avocados, oranges and mangoes — all in the form of a cocktail. Bathing milk and vitamins. Simon, an English TV presenter, producer, participant of fashionable screen shows, looks just great for his 59 years. Perhaps the reason for this is his diet, rich in exotic fruits and berries. The famous Briton prefers to make cocktails from them, which he also seasons with liquid vitamins. This zealot of diets and adept of eternal youth even bathes in milk, as Cleopatra once did.

King Henry VII: chicken, rabbit, lamb, pork, fruit and wine. The table of the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty demonstrates the eating habits of British aristocrats of the highest order in the late 15th and early 16th century. There are many different types of meat, no vegetables, but several types of fruits. All this was abundantly washed down with wine.

Venetian nobleman Luigi Cornaro: half a liter of grape juice and boiled eggs. This rich Venetian, who lived in the 16th century, caroused and burned his life until he was 35 years old, until doctors warned him of his imminent demise. Luigi took up his mind and became very moderate in eating and drinking: he ate only 2 times a day, but every day he consumed grape juice — the elixir of longevity. Thanks to such asceticism, he lived up to 102 years and wrote the book "The Art of Living Long", which has been read and translated for almost 500 years.

Bill Clinton: cabbage soup and a whole set of vegetables. Previously, Clinton was immoderate in food, which led to a mild degree of obesity. After doctors discovered heart problems in 2009, the former US president became a vegan, eliminating dairy products, eggs, meat and fish from his diet. Thanks to this diet, Clinton not only significantly lowered his cholesterol level in the blood, but also lost 11 kilos.

Kate Moss: cigarettes and alcohol. Perhaps the British super model has already given up bad habits, but she spent her turbulent youth in the company of alcohol and cigarettes. The photographer did not fail to decorate the table with spilled flour (near an overturned ice bucket), hinting that cocaine is also needed for cheerfulness in such a diet. And for good reason, because in 2005 a real scandal broke out when a video in which a model sniffed powder in the company of her friend Pete Doherty became public.

Charles Saatchi: a glass of wine and nine eggs cooked in different ways. The world-famous collector of contemporary art and the owner of The Saatchi Gallery eats eggs that are cooked in a variety of ways. In collaboration with the famous chef Nigella Lawson (his wife), he developed his own version of the egg-wine diet, thanks to which he lost more than 18 kg in 9 months. Among other things, there is a shark on the table — a collector's item purchased from art hooligan Damien Hirst in 1991.

Lord Byron: mineral water and potatoes in vinegar. One of the first idols of the crowd who adhered to a strict diet was Lord Byron. The English romantic poet, while studying at Cambridge University, was on a strict but rather strange diet. He ate cookies, potatoes soaked in vinegar, drank seltzer water, and wore several layers of woolen clothes in order to lose extra pounds while sweating.

As reported in the archival documents of Berry Bros & Rudd wine merchants that still exist, in 1806 Byron weighed 88 kg, but by 1811 he was already less than 57 kg, that is, he dropped more than 31 kg, which is really quite a lot.