The Zone Diet, devised by Barry Sears, M.D., and introduced in 1995, gained popularity through celebrity dieters like Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore and Madonna.

Like other weight-loss plans, the Zone Diet encourages dieters to cut calories, especially those from carbohydrates and unhealthy fats. It encourages people looking to lose weight to eat lots of lean meats and other foods filled with healthy omega-3 fatty acids as well as fiber-rich vegetables and fruits. To keep their blood-sugar levels stable and fend off hunger pangs, those on the plan eat five small meals a day.

Unlike some diets, the Zone Diet doesn't force people to buy certain foods, which can help cut down on the costs that sometimes accompany these plans. There are, however, a line of Zone Diet supplements. People who choose to eat them should be warned that they can be expensive.

Sounds perfect, right? Not so fast.

The diet discourages dairy consumption, which can keep those on the Zone Diet from getting several essential vitamins and minerals like Vitamin D, Vitamin E and calcium. Another common complaint is that the low-carb plan leaves dieters too tired to exercise. Coffee and soda intake can get tricky on the plan, too, because caffeine, which causes insulin levels to spike, is considered a no-no.

Others have a hard time understanding the 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent protein and 30 percent fat (40-30-30) ratio that Dr. Sears says will make your metabolism function best. These restrictions can be especially problematic when you're dining out. Dieters are also required to eat within one hour of waking and, roughly, every two to three hours after.

Additionally, Zone Diet creators claim -- despite a lack of evidence -- that those who follow the plan will decrease their risk of cancer, heart disease and other conditions while improving athletic performance.

If you have decided to lose weight, one of your best bets is a healthy, low-fat diet, paired with exercising several times a week. That's Fit has Diet and Weight Loss tips to help.

Read the full Zone Diet Review and Zone Diet Foods List from AOL Health.

Liz Neporent is a diet and fitness expert and co-author of "The Fat-Free Truth." She regularly appears on national TV programs and is the president of Wellness 360, a New-York based wellness provider. You can also follow her on Twitter @lizzyfit.

Photo: Getty Images

Have you ever seen that OK Go! Video, Here it Goes Again, where four guys do an amazingly-choreographed dance routine skipping between eight treadmills? Very entertaining. Am I the only one, or was it just a matter of time before someone came up with the bright idea to turn this thing into a workout?

The other day my friend and top fitness pro Terri Walsh sent me a link to Tracy Anderson's treadmill dancing video exercise routine. Anderson is the latest Hollywood "it" trainer. As Walsh puts it, "Fitness gurus come, and fitness gurus go, but one who trains Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow, our patron saints of enlightened blonde fabulousness -- must be the guru-iest of them all no? THEY think she's got something, so she must be good, right?"

Photo:Matrix/Flynet

Madonna's incredibly toned biceps have been a topic of debate for years. She follows a strict diet and a grueling workout schedule, and as a result, has very low body fat and plenty of muscle. Her dedication to fitness has always been impressive.

However, a photo taken of Madge earlier this week leaving London showed her arms looking, well, a little scary -- they were uber-ripped and veiny, and her skin looked like it was suctioned to the bones. As you can see in the picture, they looked totally unreal.

Some speculate that the singer exercises too much and eats too little. Others speculate that the photographer had a bit of Photoshop fun with the image before releasing it. After all, just the week before, she looked buff, but far from frightening.

Jessica Simpson is reportedly embracing her curvier new look, regardless of what anybody has to say about it. And Jess isn't all talk -- she just turned down a free lifetime membership to a weight loss spa with a value of approximately $21,000 per year!

FBE Holistic Health & Fitness in Los Angeles offered the free lifetime membership to Jessica, including a program designed by their in-house doctor, Ken Best. Best has some strict regulations regarding food, and encouraged her to do like Madonna and use the Whole Body Vibration Machine.

But, you know what? Jessica Simpson is not Madonna, in a lot of ways. And, insiders say that her body has changed because she's content and in love, so she truly has no desire to make a change. It's true -- when you're in love, it's easy to let your diet and fitness routine get a little lax, and I suppose, as long as you're happy, it's no big deal, as long as you're still healthy. Even if Jess and Tony are eating dinners out a bunch, I hope she's still finding time for fitness whether she cares about what size jeans she wears or not!

How about you? Do you think Jessica should take FBE Holistic Health & Fitness up on their offer? Would you? Let us know in the comments!

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When Gwyneth Paltrow gave birth to her second child, Moses, she turned to one person to help her get body back -- Tracy Anderson. (Though in Gwyneth's case, I'm not sure she ever lost her body. Have you ever seen an ounce of fat on that girl?)

In any case, it was a partnership that changed both their lives. Gwynny got her post-baby body firmed right up, and Tracy's honing her trainer-to-the-stars reputation. Luckily, you don't have to be a star to learn from Tracy, though. She's got a collection of fitness DVDs, including a new one for post-partum moms.

Tracy Anderson recently talked to Cookie about her own hot-mom secrets. Here are some tidbits:

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Madonna is obsessed with her body. Just my opinion, of course, but clearly, in order to look as slim and trim and toned as she is, one would need to focus almost entirely on pursuits of the body. Wish I could do it. Just don't have the time or resources to make it happen, though. But I can borrow some tips from the material girl. I can jump rope. I can ramp up my time with free weights. I can run (this one's easy since I already run). And I can retox with salmon. Huh?

Madonna is retoxing with salmon, says Life & Style magazine. It's her latest effort to turn back the clock, because, you know, she isn't in good enough shape at age 50. So why the salmon? It's all about the omega-3 oils, which apparently make her look younger and more radiant.

Ready to sneak some salmon into your diet? Check out this post for eight tasty recipes.

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Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answers. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Hi Fitz. I keep hearing both you and other people say I should do push-ups, but I'm a small woman and don't want to bulk up. Push-ups are hard, so should I do them if I want to stay toned yet trim? Alyssa

A. Great question, Alyssa! This common question is on the mind of many women, and I'm happy to give this answer as many times as there are women who need to hear it. What you need to know is that it requires extraordinary effort for most women to put on any sort of bulky muscle. That means: protein shakes, supplements and insane amounts of heavy lifting. Of course, there are a few rare women here and there who pack on muscle quickly, but if you're already telling me you are small ... you are not one of those rare women.

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Finding it hard to keep track of which celebrity is doing what workout? Each week, we wrap up our celebrity posts so you can review it all.

This week's round-up looks like the blonde bombshell edition -- click on your favorite star's picture to read the scoop on her diet and fitness secrets!

Unless you believe that old fountain of youth legend, there really isn't any way to turn back the time. But Madonna's personal trainer-to-the-stars Tracy Anderson thinks she can keep the Material Girl looking like she hasn't aged a day since the first time she sang Like a Virgin.

"I want to keep her body looking like it's 20 years old," says Tracy. "Because you don't have to have saggy arms, or poor skin tone in your 50s, or not have cute hips. It just doesn't have to happen. [A superfit body] should start being your standard when you're young - and after that, why should you ever want less?"

Though I can get behind the whole "age gracefully" movement, I like Tracy's line of thinking. We can't all have our 20-year-old bodies back, but growing older doesn't have mean giving in to gravity. Fitness is just important at age 50 as it is at age 20 ... why let those kids have all the fun?

Has your workout routine helped you defy the effects of aging?

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It doesn't need to be your gym bag. It can be your fridge, the door of your snack-filled pantry, your treadmill -- you name the place. But answer me this: Whose hot body would you plaster (in photo form, not the real thing) on your location of choice to keep you motivated? Kristen says in a recent post that she might tape a photo of hot momma Jessica Alba on her gym bag. She got me thinking that this isn't such a bad idea. So I want to know who motivates you.

Me? That tummy that belongs to Fitz is pretty inspirational. I'm a fan of Madonna's built bod too. I like Kelly Ripa's thin but toned physique. And The Biggest Loser trainer Jillian Michaels -- I love her look. Maybe I need a whole gallery of shots to keep me pumped.

What about you? Give me your pick -- celebrity or otherwise -- and I'll report back on what I learn.

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Which celebrity thinks you should forget about the decadent dishes and make sure "you take a moment to think about how much you do have (health, love, friendship, passion, perspective, appreciation, intellect, reason, kindness) and reflect on how you can share more of it with others."

Take your pick: Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow, Heidi Klum, or Kelly Ripa?

Get your answer after the jump.

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The demise of a marriage is difficult enough to deal with -- imagine how much more trying it would be if every explosively-bitter detail were splashed across the media. How do celebs deal with that kind of public anguish? If you're soon to be ex-Mr. Madonna, you drown your sorrows ... in beer and cheeseburgers.

Guy Ritchie, the British director who made international headlines when he married the first lady of pop, is apparently finding comfort in McDonald's take-out and late nights at the pub. But who can blame him after years of following a macrobiotic diet under Madge's reign? Still, if you're going through a public divorce, you don't want to be the one who gains weight -- especially when your ex is the uber-fit Madonna.

(via Calorie Lab)

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It's been a busy week in the world of celebrity fitness. But then again, when is it not? You know you love to get the scoop on what workouts and diets are transforming the stars, and this is just the place to peek at all the hot bodies from the past week! Click on the famous faces above to see which ones are making headlines.

Seems Madonna's strict diet and overboard fitness endeavors may have played a part in her impending divorce from hubby Guy Ritchie.

Speculators everywhere say Ritchie is fed up with the way he was being, well, fed -- house rules banned all cheese, cream, salt, and sugar and permitted a streamlined menu of mostly steamed fish, seasonal veggies, and rice milk. The former man of the house is also up to his eyeballs with Madge's bizarre attempts to hold back time. In addition to her over-the-top food fads, the once macrobiotic Madonna reportedly slathers her body with an expensive cream and wraps herself tight each night. I hear she is no stranger to surgery either.

Oh, and the exercise. Yes, the exercise. One recent TV report revealed that she spends half a day toning that body of hers. It shows -- the 50-year-old superstar looks terrific to me. She looks pretty single too, which makes me wonder: Is such a life worth the rigors -- and the consequences? What say you?

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Debra Messing is a big ol' complainer. She hates to exercise, and she doesn't care who knows it. But, with a job like hers, it's not really something she can skip.

How does this Reno 911! star keep in such svelte shape when her kids are keeping her busy and away from the gym? She has some special equipment that she uses in front of the TV, and you'll be surprised at what it is.

Have you given much thought to Sandra Bullock's butt? We're thinking about it, and we can tell you how to get it.